Job 22

_1-2Is there anyone, even the wisest,

who could ever be of use to God?

₃Does your doing right benefit God,

or does your being good help him at all?

₄It is not because you stand in awe of God

that he reprimands you and brings you to trial.

₅No, it's because you have sinned so much;

it's because of all the evil you do.

₆To make your brother repay you the money he owed,

you took away his clothes and left him nothing to wear.

₇You refused water to those who were tired,

and refused to feed those who were hungry.

₈You used your power and your position

to take over the whole land.

₉You not only refused to help widows,

but you also robbed and ill-treated orphans.

₁₀So now there are pitfalls all round you,

and suddenly you are full of fear.

₁₁It has grown so dark that you cannot see,

and a flood overwhelms you.

₁₂Doesn't God live in the highest heavens

and look down on the stars, even though they are high?

₁₃And yet you ask, “What does God know?

He is hidden by clouds — how can he judge us?”

₁₄You think the thick clouds keep him from seeing,

as he walks on the dome of the sky.

₁₅Are you determined to walk in the paths

that evil people have always followed?

₁₆Even before their time had come,

they were washed away by a flood.

₁₇These are the ones who rejected God

and believed that he could do nothing to them.

₁₈And yet it was God who made them prosperous —

I can't understand the thoughts of the wicked.

₁₉Good people are glad and the innocent laugh

when they see the wicked punished.

₂₀All that the wicked own is destroyed,

and fire burns up anything that is left.

₂₁Now, Job, make peace with God

and stop treating him like an enemy;

if you do, then he will bless you.

₂₂Accept the teaching he gives;

keep his words in your heart.

₂₃Yes, you must humbly return to God

and put an end to all the evil

that is done in your house.

₂₄Throw away your gold;

dump your finest gold in the dry stream bed.

₂₅Let Almighty God be your gold,

and let him be silver, piled high for you.

₂₆Then you will always trust in God

and find that he is the source of your joy.

₂₇When you pray, he will answer you,

and you will keep the vows you made.

₂₈You will succeed in all you do,

and light will shine on your path.

₂₉God brings down the proud

and saves the humble.

₃₀He will rescue you if you are innocent,

if what you do is right.