Job 22
1 Weer nam Elifaz van Teman het woord, en sprak:
Then Eliphaz replied,
2 Handelt de mens soms ten bate van God? Neen, ten eigen bate is men wijs.
“(Can anyone be useful to God?/Certainly no one can be useful to God.) [RHQ] Even people who are wise cannot be helpful to God.
3 Heeft de Almachtige er voordeel van, als ge vroom zijt, Of profijt, zo ge onberispelijk leeft?
If you were righteous, (would that benefit Almighty [God]?/that certainly would not benefit Almighty [God].) [RHQ] If you had (lived a perfect life/never done anything that is wrong), would that help him?
4 Bestraft Hij u soms om uw godsvrucht, Daagt Hij u daarom voor het gerecht?
“Is it because you have an awesome respect for God that he punishes you? Is that the reason that he puts you on trial?
5 Is het niet om uw grote boosheid, Om uw fouten, zonder eind?
No, it certainly must be [RHQ] because you are extremely wicked. It must be that the evil things that you have done are so many that no one can count them!
6 Ja, zonder noodzaak neemt ge pand van uw broeders, En trekt de berooiden de kleren uit;
You must have lent money to others and wrongly forced them to give you things to guarantee that they would pay that money back to you; you must have taken all their clothes and left them with nothing to wear.
7 Den dorstige geeft ge geen water, Den hongerige onthoudt ge zijn brood.
You must not have given water to those who were thirsty, and you must have refused to give food to those who were hungry.
8 Den man met de vuist moet het land toebehoren, En de gunsteling moet het bewonen;
Because you were very powerful, you [must have] taken over all the people’s land, and then, being very respected, you have begun to live on that land.
9 Maar de weduwen zendt ge zonder iets heen, De armen der wezen slaat ge stuk!
[When] widows [came to you for help], you [must have] sent [them] away without giving them anything, and you must have oppressed orphans.
10 En daarom zijt ge van strikken omringd, Plotseling verbijsterd van schrik;
Because of all that, now there are pits around you for you to fall into, and suddenly there are things that terrify you and cause you to tremble.
11 Is uw licht verduisterd, zodat ge niet ziet, Slaat de stortvloed over u heen!
[It is as though] it has become very dark, with the result that you cannot see anything, and [it is as though] [MET] a flood covers you.
12 Woont God niet hoog in de hemel? Zie eens, hoe hoog de sterren staan!
“[But consider this, Job]: God lives [RHQ] high up in the heavens. From there he [RHQ] looks down on the highest stars.
13 Maar gij besluit er uit: Wat kan God weten, Of richten door de wolken heen?
So why do you say, ‘What does God know [about what we are doing]? [He is hidden from us by] dark clouds, so ([how] can he judge us?/he certainly cannot judge us.) [RHQ]’
14 Het zwerk is een sluier voor Hem, zodat Hij niet ziet, Hij wandelt rond op het hemelgewelf.
[Do you think that] while he walks on the dome that covers the sky, there are thick clouds around him, with the result that he cannot see [what we do]?
15 Wilt ge de weg van vroeger bewandelen Die de boosdoeners hebben betreden:
Will you continue to conduct your life the old way that evil people have done [for many years]?
16 Die vóór hun tijd zijn weggesleurd, Toen de vloed hun grondvesten wegspoelde?
They suddenly died while they were still young; they disappeared [like everything disappears when there is] a flood [MET].
17 Die tot God durfden zeggen: Weg van ons! Wat kan de Almachtige ons doen?
They kept saying to God, ‘Do not bother us,’ and they also said [defiantly], ‘Almighty [God] can do nothing [RHQ] to [harm] us!’
18 Hij had hun huizen met voorspoed gevuld, En Zich niet met de plannen der bozen bemoeid.
But it was God who filled their houses with good things, so I cannot at all understand why wicked people think like they do.
19 De vromen zien het met vreugde, De onschuldige drijft de spot met hen:
“But when God punishes wicked people, and righteous people see that, they are glad, and they laugh, ridiculing the wicked people.
20 "Waarachtig, hun have vernield, Hun overvloed door het vuur verteerd!"
They say, ‘Now our enemies have been destroyed, and all [their possessions] that were left have been burned in a fire.’
21 Verzoen u met Hem, dan leeft ge in vrede, Dan wordt uw rijkdom weer groot;
“So, [Job, ] be reconciled to God and make peace with him; if you do that, good things will happen to you.
22 Neem de onderrichting aan uit zijn mond, En bewaar zijn woord in uw hart.
Allow him to teach you, and keep thinking about what he has told you.
23 Wanneer ge vol ootmoed u tot den Almachtige bekeert, De ongerechtigheid uit uw tent verwijdert:
If you humble yourself and return to God, if you stop doing all the evil things that you have been doing in your house,
24 Dan zult ge het goud als stof gaan schatten, Het Ofirgoud als kiezel der beken.
if you throw away your gold, even the fine gold from the dry stream beds in Ophir [land],
25 Want de Almachtige zal het fijnste goud voor u zijn, En stapels van zilver;
and if you allow Almighty [God] to be [as precious to you as] your gold and your silver [have been],
26 Dan zult ge u in den Almachtige verlustigen, En uw aanschijn verheffen tot God.
you will be happy because of your close relationship with God, and you will be able to approach him [IDM] [confidently].
27 Dan zult ge Hem roepen: Hij zal u verhoren, En ge zult Hem dankoffers brengen;
You will pray to him, and he will do what you request him to do; you will do the things that you promised him that you would do.
28 Onderneemt ge iets, het komt tot stand, En het licht zal uw wegen bestralen!
Everything that you decide to do will be successful; [it] will [be as though] a light [is] shining on the road in front of you.
29 Want Hij vernedert de trots, Maar redt, wie de ogen neerslaat;
God humbles those who are proud, but he saves those who are downcast/discouraged.
30 Hij verlost den onschuldige: Door de reinheid uwer handen wordt ook gij dus verlost!
God rescues those who (are innocent/have not done things that are wrong), so he will rescue you if you (start doing things that are right/are not guilty [IDM] of doing things that are wrong).”
