Job

Chapter 22

Eliphaz: Can a Man Be of Use to God?

Eliphaz answers by turning Job's protest into a fresh accusation, insisting that God does not afflict him because righteousness is somehow useful to God but because his wickedness must be great. He imagines acts of cruelty and injustice behind Job's suffering, warns him not to follow the path of earlier rebels, and then offers a final formula of restoration in which repentance would supposedly bring peace, answered prayer, and renewed prosperity.

This chapter hardens the friends' case by moving from implication to direct indictment. Eliphaz no longer merely hints that suffering and sin belong together; he invents moral crimes to preserve that belief, which makes the chapter a crucial example of how theological certainty can become slander when it refuses the mystery of innocent suffering.

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Job 22

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vv. 1-30

Eliphaz: Can a Man Be of Use to God?

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T¹hen Eliphaz the Temanite replied: ²“Can a man be of use to God? ³Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous? ⁴Is it for your reverence that He rebukes you ⁵Is not your wickedness great? ⁶For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers ⁷You gave no water to the weary ⁸while the land belonged to a mighty man, ⁹You sent widows away empty-handed, ¹⁰Therefore snares surround you, ¹¹it is so dark you cannot see,

¹²Is not God as high as the heavens? ¹³Yet you say: ‘What does God know? ¹⁴Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us ¹⁵Will you stay on the ancient path ¹⁶They were snatched away before their time, ¹⁷They said to God, ‘Depart from us. ¹⁸But it was He who filled their houses with good things; ¹⁹The righteous see it and are glad; ²⁰‘Surely our foes are destroyed,

²¹Reconcile now and be at peace with Him; ²²Receive instruction from His mouth, ²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. ²⁴and consign your gold to the dust ²⁵then the Almighty will be your gold ²⁶Surely then you will delight in the Almighty ²⁷You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, ²⁸Your decisions will be carried out, ²⁹When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ ³⁰He will deliver even one who is not innocent,

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01vv. 1-30Eliphaz: Can a Man Be of Use to God?Eliphaz begins by arguing that human righteousness adds nothing to God, so Job's suffering cannot be explained as divine insecurity or arbitrariness but only as punishment for serious evil. From there he accuses Job of exploiting the vulnerable, warns him by recalling earlier rebels swept away in judgment, and ends by urging him to return to the Almighty with the promise that peace, restoration, and answered prayer will follow.