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22:1  Another address from Eliphaz:
22:2  “Is mere man of any worth to God? Even the wisest is of value only to himself!
22:3  Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous? Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect?
22:4  Is it because you are good that he is punishing you?
22:5  Not at all! It is because of your wickedness! Your sins are endless!
22:6  “For instance, you must have refused to loan money to needy friends unless they gave you all their clothing as a pledge—yes, you must have stripped them to the bone.
22:7  You must have refused water to the thirsty and bread to the starving.
22:8  But no doubt you gave men of importance anything they wanted and let the wealthy live wherever they chose.
22:9  You sent widows away without helping them and broke the arms of orphans.
22:10  That is why you are now surrounded by traps and sudden fears, and darkness and waves of horror.
22:11  That is why you are now surrounded by traps and sudden fears, and darkness and waves of horror.
22:12  “God is so great—higher than the heavens, higher than the stars.
22:13  But you reply, ‘That is why he can’t see what I am doing! How can he judge through the thick darkness?
22:14  For thick clouds swirl about him so that he cannot see us. He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.’
22:15  “Don’t you realize that those treading the ancient paths of sin are snatched away in youth, and the foundations of their lives washed out forever?
22:16  “Don’t you realize that those treading the ancient paths of sin are snatched away in youth, and the foundations of their lives washed out forever?
22:17  For they said to God, ‘Go away, God! What can you do for us?’
22:18  (God forbid that I should say a thing like that.) Yet they forgot that he had filled their homes with good things.
22:19  And now the righteous shall see them destroyed; the innocent shall laugh the wicked to scorn.
22:20  ‘See,’ they will say, ‘the last of our enemies have been destroyed in the fire.’
22:21  “Quit quarreling with God! Agree with him and you will have peace at last! His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong.
22:22  Listen to his instructions and store them in your heart.
22:23  If you return to God and put right all the wrong in your home, then you will be restored.
22:24  If you give up your lust for money and throw your gold away,
22:25  then the Almighty himself shall be your treasure; he will be your precious silver!
22:26  “Then you will delight yourself in the Lord and look up to God.
22:27  You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill all your promises to him.
22:28  Whatever you wish will happen! And the light of heaven will shine upon the road ahead of you.
22:29  If you are attacked and knocked down, you will know that there is someone who will lift you up again. Yes, he will save the humble
22:30  and help even sinners by your pure hands.”