Job 22

²Can a man be profitable unto God?

Surely he that is wise is profitable unto himself.

³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?

Or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?

⁴Is it for thy fear of him that he reproveth thee,

That he entereth with thee into judgment?

⁵Is not thy wickedness great?

Neither is there any end to thine iniquities.

⁶For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought,

And stripped the naked of their clothing.

⁷Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,

And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

⁸But as for the mighty man, he had the earth;

And the honorable man, he dwelt in it.

⁹Thou hast sent widows away empty,

And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

¹⁰Therefore snares are round about thee,

And sudden fear troubleth thee,

¹¹Or darkness, so that thou canst not see,

And abundance of waters cover thee.

¹²Is not God in the height of heaven?

And behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

¹³And thou sayest, What doth God know?

Can he judge through the thick darkness?

¹⁴Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he seeth not;

And he walketh on the vault of heaven.

¹⁵Wilt thou keep the old way

Which wicked men have trodden?

¹⁶Who were snatched away before their time,

Whose foundation was poured out as a stream,

¹⁷Who said unto God, Depart from us;

And, What can the Almighty do for us?

¹⁸Yet he filled their houses with good things:

But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁹The righteous see it, and are glad;

And the innocent laugh them to scorn,

²⁰Saying, Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off,

And the remnant of them the fire hath consumed.

²¹Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:

Thereby good shall come unto thee.

²²Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth,

And lay up his words in thy heart.

²³If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up,

If thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.

²⁴And lay thou thy treasure in the dust,

And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;

²⁵And the Almighty will be thy treasure,

And precious silver unto thee.

²⁶For then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty,

And shalt lift up thy face unto God.

²⁷Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee;

And thou shalt pay thy vows.

²⁸Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee;

And light shall shine upon thy ways.

²⁹When they cast thee down, thou shalt say, There is lifting up;

And the humble person he will save.

³⁰He will deliver even him that is not innocent:

Yea, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.