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22:1  Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
22:2  “Can anyone be of real use to God? Can even a wise person do him good?
22:3  Does it help the Almighty for you to be good? Does he gain anything if you are innocent?
22:4  Does God punish you for respecting him? Does he bring you into court for this?
22:5  No! It is because your evil is without limits and your sins have no end.
22:6  You took your brothers’ things for a debt they didn’t owe; you took clothes from people and left them naked.
22:7  You did not give water to tired people, and you kept food from the hungry.
22:8  You were a powerful man who owned land; you were honored and lived in the land.
22:9  But you sent widows away empty-handed, and you mistreated orphans.
22:10  That is why traps are all around you and sudden danger frightens you.
22:11  That is why it is so dark you cannot see and a flood of water covers you.
22:12  “God is in the highest part of heaven. See how high the highest stars are!
22:13  But you ask, ‘What does God know? Can he judge us through the dark clouds?
22:14  Thick clouds cover him so he cannot see us as he walks around high up in the sky.’
22:15  Are you going to stay on the old path where evil people walk?
22:16  They were carried away before their time was up, and their foundations were washed away by a flood.
22:17  They said to God, ‘Leave us alone! The Almighty can do nothing to us.’
22:18  But it was God who filled their houses with good things. Their way of thinking is different from mine.
22:19  “Good people can watch and be glad; the innocent can laugh at them and say,
22:20  ‘Surely our enemies are destroyed, and fire burns up their wealth.’
22:21  “Obey God and be at peace with him; this is the way to happiness.
22:22  Accept teaching from his mouth, and keep his words in your heart.
22:23  If you return to the Almighty, you will be blessed again. So remove evil from your house.
22:24  Throw your gold nuggets into the dust and your fine gold among the rocks in the ravines.
22:25  Then the Almighty will be your gold and the best silver for you.
22:26  You will find pleasure in the Almighty, and you will look up to him.
22:27  You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will keep your promises to him.
22:28  Anything you decide will be done, and light will shine on your ways.
22:29  When people are made humble and you say, ‘Have courage,’ then the humble will be saved.
22:30  Even a guilty person will escape and be saved because your hands are clean.”