Job22

Eliphaz the Temanite accuses Job of great wickedness and infinite iniquities, asserting that his suffering is a direct consequence of specific sins like oppressing the poor and neglecting the needy. He challenges Job's implied doubt about God's omniscience and judgment from heaven. Eliphaz then urges Job to repent, reconcile with God, and embrace His law, promising restoration, prosperity, and answered prayers if he does so.

Eliphaz's Final Accusation Against Job

1
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,
2
“Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. ​
3
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that you are righteous? Or does it benefit him, that you make your ways perfect?
4
Is it for your piety that he reproves you, that he enters with you into judgment?
5
Isn’t your wickedness great? Neither is there any end to your iniquities. ​

False Charges of Social Injustice

6
For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing. ​
7
You haven’t given water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8
But as for the mighty man, he had the earth. The honorable man, he lived in it.
9
You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. ​
10
Therefore snares are around you. Sudden fear troubles you,
11
or darkness, so that you can not see, and floods of waters cover you.

God's Omniscience and the Fate of the Wicked

12
“Isn’t God in the heights of heaven? See the height of the stars, how high they are! ​
13
You say, ‘What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?
14
Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he doesn’t see. He walks on the vault of the sky.’ ​
15
Will you keep the old way, which wicked men have trodden,
16
who were snatched away before their time, whose foundation was poured out as a stream, ​
17
who said to God, ‘Depart from us;’ and, ‘What can the Almighty do for us?’
18
Yet he filled their houses with good things, but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19
The righteous see it, and are glad. The innocent ridicule them,
20
saying, ‘Surely those who rose up against us are cut off. The fire has consumed their remnant.’

Eliphaz's Call to Repentance and Restoration

21
“Acquaint yourself with him, now, and be at peace. Thereby good shall come to you. ​
22
Please receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.
23
If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up, if you put away unrighteousness far from your tents. ​
24
Lay your treasure in the dust, the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. ​
25
The Almighty will be your treasure, and precious silver to you.
26
For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and shall lift up your face to God. ​
27
You shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You shall pay your vows.
28
You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you. Light shall shine on your ways.
29
When they cast down, you shall say, ‘be lifted up.’ He will save the humble person. ​
30
He will even deliver him who is not innocent. Yes, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.” ​

Study Notes for Job 22

Verse 2

Eliphaz begins by asserting God's absolute transcendence and self-sufficiency, arguing that human righteousness offers no benefit or 'profit' to the Almighty.

Verse 5

Having established that God must be judging Job for a reason, Eliphaz moves from theological premise to direct, severe accusation, assuming Job’s guilt based on his suffering.

Verse 6

This verse and the following specify the sins Eliphaz believes Job must have committed, including violating laws against exploiting the poor by taking essential items (like clothing) as collateral (cf. Exod 22:26-27).

Verse 9

Exploiting the vulnerable, such as widows and orphans, was considered one of the most severe forms of social injustice under the covenant, confirming Eliphaz believes Job is utterly corrupt.

Verse 12

Eliphaz anticipates Job’s potential objection that God is too distant to care or judge human affairs, setting up a defense of divine omniscience and omnipresence.

Verse 14

Eliphaz accuses Job (or the wicked generally) of adopting a practical atheism, believing God is hidden behind the clouds and unable to pierce the darkness to see human actions.

Verse 16

The reference to those 'overflown with a flood' is a clear allusion to the Genesis Flood, used here as the archetypal example of swift, decisive divine judgment against wickedness.

Verse 21

This verse is the pivot point, offering a powerful conditional promise of restoration linked to immediate repentance and reconciliation with God, summarizing the friends' core advice.

Verse 23

The phrase 'shalt be built up' signifies complete restoration, prosperity, and the rebuilding of one's household and status, reversing the destruction Job experienced.

Verse 24

This hyperbolic promise illustrates the lavish material blessings that Eliphaz believes will follow repentance, implying Job will treat gold with such contempt that he will discard it like common dust.

Verse 26

To 'lift up thy face unto God' signifies confidence and freedom from shame or guilt, a stark contrast to Job's previous posture of distress and complaint.

Verse 29

Eliphaz promises that Job will be restored to a position of influence and spiritual authority, allowing him to be the one who pronounces deliverance and hope to the afflicted.

Verse 30

The final statement concludes Eliphaz's argument: deliverance (even for the community) is achieved through the purity of the individual’s hands and heart.

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