Eliphaz Accuses Job and Urges Repentance
Job 22:1-30
Job.22.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויען: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אליפז: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- התמני: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Job 4:1 (structural): Eliphaz’s first speech opens with the same speaker-introduction formula (“Eliphaz the Temanite answered”), showing a repetition of Eliphaz addressing Job across the dialogues.
- Job 8:1 (structural): “And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said” — another friend’s speech-opening formula; parallels the dialogical pattern of friends taking turns to answer Job.
- Job 11:1 (structural): “Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said” — similar speech-introduction formula used by Job’s friends, highlighting the formal structure of the debate.
- Job 32:6 (structural): Introduction of Elihu’s speech (“And Elihu the son of Barachel… answered”) — another instance of a speaker-introduction marking a shift in perspective within the book’s dialogic framework.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
- Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
Job.22.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הלאל: PART
- יסכן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- גבר: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- כי: CONJ
- יסכן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עלימו: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- משכיל: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 20:5 (allusion): Articulates the idea of punishment extending to descendants (visiting iniquity on later generations), a retributive framework that underlies Eliphaz’s assumption about suffering affecting one’s offspring.
- Deuteronomy 24:16 (structural): Places the legal/theological counterpoint to collective punishment—command that fathers and sons shall not die for one another—challenging the notion that a man's suffering is necessarily due to his children.
- Ezekiel 18:20 (thematic): Emphasizes individual responsibility for sin (the son shall not suffer for the father's sin), directly opposing the retributive presumption that misfortune strikes a man because of his offspring.
- Jeremiah 31:29–30 (thematic): Explicitly rejects the proverb that the fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge, denying inherited guilt and critiquing the folk wisdom that justifies punishment across generations.
- Psalm 127:3 (thematic): Presents an alternative theological perspective that treats children as a blessing/heritage from the LORD rather than as the cause or occasion of a parent's divine chastening.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is not a man in peril because of his neighbor? Will a prudent man be overthrown on his account?
- Can a mortal be of advantage to God? Surely the prudent man profits only himself.
Job.22.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- החפץ: PTCP,qal,act,m,sg
- לשדי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- תצדק: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ואם: CONJ
- בצע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- תתם: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- דרכיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Job 35:6-8 (verbal): Elihu asks whether a person’s righteousness does anything for God—directly echoing the rhetorical question whether God benefits from human uprightness.
- Psalm 50:9-12 (thematic): Yahweh declares he does not need sacrifices or creatures (‘Do I eat the flesh of bulls?’), asserting God’s self-sufficiency and that human offerings/righteousness are not for His gain.
- Acts 17:25 (thematic): Paul says God ‘is not served by human hands’ and ‘needs nothing,’ a New Testament statement comparable to the claim that God does not benefit from human righteousness.
- Isaiah 1:11-17 (thematic): God rejects empty ritual and demands justice and genuine behavior, challenging the idea that outward righteousness (or offerings) is what benefits God.
- Micah 6:6-8 (thematic): Micah contrasts costly offerings with God’s true requirement—doing justice and mercy—shifting focus from performing for God’s sake to covenantal faithfulness and right motives.
Alternative generated candidates
- Does the Almighty take pleasure in you that you are righteous, or gain anything if your ways are perfect?
- Would it please the Almighty if you were righteous? Would He be profited if your ways were blameless?
Job.22.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- המיראתך: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- יכיחך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יבוא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2m
- במשפט: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 9:32-33 (verbal): Both passages raise the question of whether a human can come into judgment with God—Job 9:32–33 explicitly denies the possibility of 'coming together in judgment,' echoing 22:4's challenge about God entering judgment with a person.
- Psalm 50:21-22 (verbal): Psalm 50 warns 'I will reprove you' and speaks of God's judicial action against the hypocrite; the language of reproof and divine judgment parallels the charge in Job 22:4.
- Micah 6:1-2 (thematic): Micah summons the mountains to hear the LORD's case and declares that the LORD has a controversy with his people—a thematic parallel to the idea of God entering into judgment with an individual or community.
- Isaiah 3:13 (thematic): Isaiah depicts the LORD standing to judge and contend with the people, reflecting the same motif of God coming forward to reprove and enter judgment as in Job 22:4.
Alternative generated candidates
- Will he reprove you for your fear of him, will he enter into judgment with you?
- Will He reprove you for your fear, and enter into judgment with you?
Job.22.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הלא: PART
- רעתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+2,m
- רבה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- קץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לעונתיך: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+2ms
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:4 (thematic): Declares the nation as 'laden with iniquity' and characterizes widespread, persistent sin—paralleling Eliphaz’s charge that Job’s evil is great.
- Jeremiah 2:22 (verbal): Speaks of a persistent 'stain of guilt' that remains despite washing, echoing the idea of iniquity that is extensive and not easily removed.
- Romans 3:23 (thematic): States the universal and comprehensive reality of sin ('all have sinned'), resonating with the charge that one’s wickedness is great and pervasive.
- Proverbs 20:9 (structural): Uses a rhetorical question ('Who can say, I have made my heart clean?') similar in form to Eliphaz’s accusatory question about the magnitude and endlessness of sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is not your wickedness great, and your iniquities without end?
- Is not your wickedness great, and is there no end to your iniquities?
Job.22.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- תחבל: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אחיך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- חנם: ADV
- ובגדי: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss,2,m,sg
- ערומים: ADJ,m,pl
- תפשיט: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 22:26-27 (verbal): Law concerning taking a neighbor’s cloak as a pledge and the obligation to return it (cannot keep a poor man’s garment overnight) — a direct legal/word-level parallel to seizing a brother’s pledge and stripping the naked.
- Deuteronomy 24:12-13 (verbal): Repeats the injunction to return a debtor’s cloak before sunset so it may serve as his covering — closely mirrors the practice criticized in Job of taking garments from the vulnerable.
- Proverbs 22:22-23 (thematic): Warning not to exploit or rob the poor and the promise that the LORD will defend them — echoes the moral condemnation of taking from brothers and stripping the naked.
- Amos 2:6 (thematic): Condemns selling the righteous and the poor for silver and other forms of exploitation — thematically parallels Job’s charge of unjust seizure and stripping of the vulnerable.
Alternative generated candidates
- For you have taken pledges from your brothers for nothing; you have stripped the naked of their clothing.
- For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their garments.
Job.22.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עיף: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- תשקה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- ומרעב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תמנע: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 31:16-20 (verbal): In Job's own self‑defense he insists he gave food and water to the needy and did not turn them away—directly echoes the motif of providing bread and water to the hungry and thirsty.
- Proverbs 25:21 (verbal): Uses nearly the same concrete acts—giving bread to the hungry and water to the thirsty—as moral imperatives (even toward an enemy), reflecting widespread wisdom language for charity.
- Isaiah 58:7 (thematic): Connects true piety with sharing bread and giving shelter/water to the oppressed and needy; emphasizes social justice as the proper religious response.
- Matthew 25:35 (thematic): Jesus defines righteous action as feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty, linking such acts to final judgment and identifying them with service to him.
- Deuteronomy 15:11 (structural): A covenantal command to open one's hand to the poor because they will always be present in the land; provides the legal/ethical background for obligations to feed the needy.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have given no water to the weary, and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
- You have withheld water from the weary and denied bread to the hungry.
Job.22.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואיש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זרוע: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ונשוא: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- פנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ישב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 73:3-12 (thematic): The psalmist laments that the wicked prosper, live in ease and possess the land while the righteous suffer—paralleling Job 22:8’s observation of the powerful occupying the earth.
- Micah 2:2 (thematic): Condemns those who covet and seize fields and houses from others; closely parallels the theme of land and property being taken and held by the strong.
- Isaiah 5:8 (thematic): Woe against those who join house to house and add field to field—an indictment of unjust accumulation of land and wealth similar to the situation described in Job 22:8.
- Amos 5:11 (thematic): Accuses the prosperous of trampling the poor and seizing their goods; connects to the social-justice concern behind the image of the earth being held by the powerful in Job 22:8.
Alternative generated candidates
- The man of strength has the land, and the honored man dwells in it.
- The mighty have a claim on the land, and the favored sit in it.
Job.22.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אלמנות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- שלחת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ריקם: ADV
- וזרעות: NOUN,f,pl,cstr
- יתמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ידכא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Exodus 22:22 (verbal): Explicit law forbidding afflicting widows; contrasts Job 22:9's accusation about sending widows away empty and uses the same concern for widows' treatment.
- Deuteronomy 10:18 (thematic): Describes God as one who executes justice for the fatherless and widow—background theological principle countering human abuse of orphans and widows mentioned in Job 22:9.
- Deuteronomy 24:17 (thematic): Prohibits perverting justice against the foreigner and the fatherless and taking a widow's pledge; echoes the social-justice theme implicit in the charge against Job.
- Psalm 146:9 (thematic): Affirms that the Lord upholds the widow and the fatherless—serves as a theological counterpoint to human mistreatment described in Job 22:9.
- Zechariah 7:10 (verbal): Commands do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor—uses similar language condemning exploitation of widows and orphans as in Job 22:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have sent the widow away empty, and the arms of the orphan you have crushed.
- You have sent the widow away empty, and crushed the arms of the fatherless.
Job.22.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- סביבותיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2ms
- פחים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ויבהלך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- פחד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פתאם: ADV
Parallels
- Proverbs 29:25 (thematic): Links fear and snare—'The fear of man lays a snare' echoes Job's image of being surrounded by snares and seized by fear.
- Proverbs 1:27 (thematic): Speaks of sudden calamity and terror coming upon the complacent—parallels Job's language of sudden fear and encircling danger.
- Psalm 31:13 (thematic): Describes being 'terrified on every side' (whisperings and terror), echoing the sense of sudden dread and enclosure in Job 22:10.
- Job 18:11-15 (structural): Bildad's catalogue of the wicked's fate (calamity, terrors taking hold) parallels the motif in Job 22:10 of being hemmed in by snares and sudden fear.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore snares are round about you, and sudden terror shall frighten you.
- Therefore snares surround you, and sudden dread will terrify you.
Job.22.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- או: CONJ
- חשך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- תראה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ושפעת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תכסך: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Jonah 2:3 (verbal): Jonah describes the flood and waves covering him—"the flood surrounded me; the deep closed around me; the weeds were wrapped about my head"—using imagery of waters overwhelming the speaker similar to Job 22:11.
- Psalm 69:2 (verbal): The psalmist laments that he sinks in deep mire and that floods overflow him, echoing the motif of waters covering and overwhelming found in Job 22:11.
- Lamentations 3:54 (verbal): Lamentations uses the image "waters flowed over my head," a concise portrayal of being submerged and oppressed by overwhelming waters comparable to Job 22:11's language.
- Isaiah 43:2 (thematic): Isaiah treats the theme of passing through deep waters and being overwhelmed by floods, but as a promise of God's presence and deliverance—providing a thematic contrast to Job 22:11's warning of waters that cover.
Alternative generated candidates
- Or darkness—you shall not see it—and a flood of waters shall cover you.
- Darkness will hide you so that you do not see, and a flood of waters will cover you.
Job.22.12 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ה: PART
- לא: PART_NEG
- אלוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גבה: ADJ,m,sg
- שמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וראה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- ראש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כוכבים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כי: CONJ
- רמו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 33:13-14 (thematic): Both verses depict God as looking down from heaven, beholding humanity and events from His heavenly vantage point (God ‘looks from heaven’ and ‘sees’).
- Psalm 113:4-6 (thematic): Affirms God’s exalted position ‘high above the nations’ and ‘above the heavens,’ echoing the image of God’s height and sovereign oversight in Job 22:12.
- Isaiah 40:22 (allusion): Portrays God enthroned above the earth and stretching out the heavens — a similar cosmic transcendence and high heavenly perspective as in Job 22:12.
- Job 9:8 (verbal): Within the same book, this verse speaks of God’s sovereign control over the cosmos (‘He alone stretches out the heavens’), paralleling the theme of God’s loftiness in the heavens.
- Job 25:5 (thematic): Refers to the stars in relation to God’s purity and transcendence (‘the stars are not pure in his sight’), connecting to Job 22:12’s focus on the lofty stars and God’s superior position above them.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is not God high in the heavens? Look at the heights of the stars—how lofty they are.
- Is not God exalted in the heavens? Look at the heights of the stars—how lofty they are!
Job.22.13 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמרת: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- ידע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- הבעד: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ערפל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישפוט: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Job 11:7-9 (verbal): Zophar's challenge—'Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?'—echoes the rhetorical questioning of God's knowledge and the inscrutability of the divine in Job 22:13.
- Job 23:8-9 (thematic): Job's lament that God is hidden—'I go forward, but he is not there... he hideth himself... I cannot see him'—parallels the motif of divine hiddenness and judgment occurring within darkness raised in Job 22:13.
- Psalm 139:7-12 (thematic): Affirms God's omnipresence and perception in darkness—'If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me... the darkness hideth not from thee'—responds to the question in Job 22:13 by asserting that God knows and sees even in darkness.
- Amos 9:2 (thematic): God's pursuit into dark or remote places—'If they hide themselves... I will search and take them'—reflects the idea that divine judgment and knowledge penetrate darkness, countering the suggestion that God cannot judge from the 'thick darkness.'
Alternative generated candidates
- And you say, ‘What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?'
- And you say, 'What does God know? Can He judge through the thick darkness?'
Job.22.14 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עבים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- סתר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- יראה: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- וחוג: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יתהלך: VERB,hitp,imprf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 40:22 (verbal): Uses the same idea and Hebrew motif of God and a 'circle' (חוג/חוג) of the heavens—depicts God's exalted, cosmic realm akin to 'he walks in the circuit of heaven.'
- Psalm 18:11 (verbal): Speaks of God wrapped in thick clouds and darkness ('his canopy'/'thick clouds'), echoing Job's image of clouds covering God so he is not seen.
- Psalm 104:3 (thematic): Portrays God moving with/above the clouds ('makes the clouds his chariot' and moves on the wind), paralleling Job's theme of divine movement across the heavens.
- Job 9:8 (thematic): Describes God's sovereign action over the heavens (stretching out the heavens, walking on them), a parallel statement within Job about God's transcendent, cosmic mobility.
- Job 26:8 (verbal): Uses cloud imagery to describe God's control over the waters and the sky ('He binds up the waters in his clouds'), resonating with Job 22:14's depiction of clouds as a veil around God.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thick clouds veil him so he does not see, and he walks around the vault of heaven.
- Thick clouds are a covering for him; he does not see; he walks about the vault of heaven.
Job.22.15 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הארח: NOUN,m,sg,def
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תשמר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- דרכו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- מתי: ADV,int
- און: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 1:1 (thematic): Contrasts the 'way' or path of the wicked with the righteous; both texts frame moral character in terms of following a path or way.
- Proverbs 4:14 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel using the imagery of entering or treading the path of the wicked—warning against walking the 'way' of evildoers.
- Jeremiah 6:16 (structural): Appeals to the idea of 'ancient' or 'old' paths; Jeremiah calls people to seek the ancient good way, offering a contrast to following an old way trodden by the wicked in Job 22:15.
- Job 21:7-15 (thematic): Within the same book, Job defends himself by describing the prosperity and ways of the wicked—engaging the same concern with the course or 'way' of the wicked that Eliphaz invokes here.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do you know the ancient path, the way in which wicked men perish?
- Have you marked the ancient road that the wicked have trodden?
Job.22.16 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אשר: PRON,rel
- קמטו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- נהר: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- יוצק: VERB,qal,part,3,m,sg
- יסודם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3mp
Parallels
- Psalm 11:3 (thematic): Both texts use the image of ruined or overthrown foundations to describe catastrophic collapse and the loss of stability for the righteous or the community (Job’s reference to foundations poured out parallels the question about destroyed foundations).
- Psalm 69:2–3 (thematic): Psalmic language of sinking into deep mire and being overwhelmed by floods resonates with Job’s picture of a river pouring out and undermining foundations—shared imagery of drowning/overwhelming waters.
- Nahum 1:8 (thematic): Nahum depicts overflowing floodwaters as an instrument of destruction (‘He will make an utter end…with an overflowing flood’), paralleling Job’s motif of waters pouring out and destroying foundations as a form of ruin.
- Isaiah 57:20–21 (thematic): Isaiah compares the wicked to a restless, tossing sea and emphasizes instability and lack of peace—echoing Job’s image of waters that unsettle and pour out foundations, producing disorder and collapse.
Alternative generated candidates
- Those whose foundations were washed away—whose fabric the river has ruined?
- They were cut down and perished; out of season their foundations were swept away by a flood.
Job.22.17 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- האמרים: VERB,qal,ptcp,0,m,pl
- לאל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- סור: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ממנו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ומה: CONJ+PRON,int
- יפעל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שדי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למו: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Job 21:14-15 (verbal): Direct verbal echo in Job: the same formula—‘They say to God, “Depart from us”’ followed by the rhetorical question about what the Almighty can do.'
- Isaiah 50:2 (thematic): Both passages treat the theme of people rejecting God and questioning his power; Isaiah uses a rhetorical question about whether God’s hand is shortened to answer claims that he cannot deliver.
- Deuteronomy 32:20 (thematic): Moses’ song describes people provoking God and God hiding his face from them—parallel dynamic of human rejection of God and the motif of withdrawal/abandonment.
- Matthew 27:43 (thematic): The mockers at Jesus’ crucifixion taunt, ‘He trusted in God; let him deliver him now,’ echoing the contemptuous challenge to God’s ability found in Job’s question about what the Almighty can do.
Alternative generated candidates
- Who say to God, ‘Depart from us’—what can the Almighty do for them?
- Those who said to God, 'Depart from us'—what can the Almighty do for them?
Job.22.18 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- והוא: CONJ+PRON,3,m,sg
- מלא: ADJ,m,sg
- בתיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ועצת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- רשעים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- רחקה: ADJ,f,sg
- מני: PREP+PRON,1,_,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 1:1 (verbal): Uses the same key phrase and concept — blessed is the one who does not walk in or take the counsel of the wicked, paralleling Job 22:18's distancing from wicked counsel.
- Psalm 73:3-12 (thematic): Asaph's complaint that the wicked prosper and enjoy ease and abundance (houses full of good things) echoes Job's observation of the prosperity associated with the wicked.
- Job 21:7-16 (structural): Within the same book Job questions the prosperity and security of the wicked — a close thematic and contextual parallel addressing the apparent blessings of the wicked.
- Proverbs 12:5 (thematic): Contrasts the righteous versus the wicked in terms of counsel and intent; like Job 22:18 it treats the 'counsel' or thoughts of the wicked as something to be contrasted with the righteous.
Alternative generated candidates
- Yet he fills their houses with good things, and the counsel of the wicked is far from them.
- Yet he filled their houses with good things; the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
Job.22.19 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- יראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- צדיקים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וישמחו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- ונקי: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ילעג: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- למו: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 58:10 (verbal): Speaks of the righteous rejoicing at divine vindication and even imagery of the righteous gloating over the fate of the wicked—closely parallels Job 22:19's note that the righteous will see and the innocent will mock.
- Psalm 37:34 (thematic): Promises that the righteous will 'look on' when the wicked are cut off and exhorts waiting on the LORD—matches Job's theme of the righteous witnessing and rejoicing at the downfall of the wicked.
- Proverbs 11:10 (thematic): States that when things go well for the righteous the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness—echoes the social/communal rejoicing and mocking of the wicked in Job 22:19.
- Isaiah 66:24 (allusion): Describes people going out to 'look' upon the dead bodies of rebels—parallels the motif of the righteous seeing the punishment of the wicked and the resulting response.
- Job 20:5-11 (structural): Zophar's speech detailing the swift downfall and disgrace of the wicked within the same book; thematically parallels Job 22:19's claim that the righteous will see and mock the ruined.
Alternative generated candidates
- The righteous observe and rejoice, and the innocent mock them.
- The righteous shall see and be glad, and the innocent shall mock them.
Job.22.20 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אם: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- נכחד: VERB,niph,perf,3,m,sg
- קימנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
- ויתרם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אכלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 5:24 (verbal): Uses the same image of fire devouring stubble/chaff to portray decisive divine judgment (Hebrew wording parallels 'fire will eat/consume').
- Psalm 37:20 (thematic): Depicts the fate of the wicked as sudden consumption/vanishing (like smoke or stubble), echoing the theme of destruction by consuming forces.
- Malachi 4:1 (thematic): Describes the coming day burning like an oven that will scorch the wicked—similar imagery of fire consuming the unrighteous remnant.
- Nahum 1:10 (thematic): Compares the destruction of foes to dry thorns/stubble being devoured by fire—parallels the motif of complete, fiery annihilation.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is not their confidence shaken? Their support is consumed by fire.
- If not, his right hand was cut off, and his remnant consumed by fire.
Job.22.21 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הסכן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- נא: PART
- עמו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ושלם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- תבואתך: NOUN,f,sg,cons,2,m
- טובה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:19 (thematic): Conditional promise: if you are willing/obedient, ‘good’ will come to you—parallels Job 22:21’s assurance that reconciling with God brings welfare.
- James 4:8 (verbal): ’Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you’ echoes the exhortation to ‘acquaint yourself with him’—a call to approach God that results in restored relationship.
- Proverbs 3:1-2 (thematic): Keeping wisdom/commandments is promised to bring long life and peace—similar link between right relationship with God and resulting wellbeing in Job 22:21.
- Isaiah 26:3 (thematic): God’s preservation of the steadfast in trust—’perfect peace’ for those who trust parallels the promise that being at peace with God yields good outcomes.
Alternative generated candidates
- Now acquaint yourself with him, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you.
- Acquaint yourself now with him, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you.
Job.22.22 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- קח: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- נא: PART
- מפיו: PREP+NOUN+PRON,3,m,sg
- תורה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ושים: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- אמריו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3ms
- בלבבך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 11:18 (verbal): Commands to ‘lay up these my words in your heart’ echo the imperative to receive instruction and put words in the heart.
- Proverbs 4:21 (verbal): Urges keeping wisdom ‘in the midst of thy heart,’ closely paralleling the language of placing words in the heart.
- Proverbs 2:1 (verbal): ‘If thou wilt receive my words’ parallels the call to take instruction from a speaker’s mouth and accept his teaching.
- Psalm 119:11 (thematic): ‘I have hidden your word in my heart’ reflects the same theme of internalizing divine instruction to guide life and conduct.
- Jeremiah 31:33 (allusion): God’s promise ‘I will put my law within them…write it in their hearts’ parallels the notion of inwardly receiving and retaining words/teaching.
Alternative generated candidates
- Receive instruction from his mouth, and put his words in your heart.
- Receive instruction from his mouth, and put his words in your heart.
Job.22.23 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אם: CONJ
- תשוב: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- עד: PREP
- שדי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תבנה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- תרחיק: VERB,hiph,impf,2,m,sg
- עולה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מאהלך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUFF,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 55:7 (thematic): Calls the wicked to forsake their way and return to the Lord, promising mercy and abundant pardon—parallels Job’s promise that returning to the Almighty brings restoration.
- Ezekiel 18:21-22 (thematic): Declares that if the wicked turn from transgression and do what is lawful they shall live—echoes the causal link between turning from sin and being restored/upheld.
- Proverbs 28:13 (verbal): States that whoever conceals sins will not prosper but whoever confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy—parallels Job’s injunction to remove iniquity and the resulting vindication.
- Luke 15:20-24 (structural): The prodigal son’s return and the father’s full restoration (robe, feast) structurally parallels the motif of returning to be rebuilt and restored to former standing.
- Acts 3:19 (allusion): Calls for repentance and conversion so that sins may be blotted out and times of refreshing come from the Lord—New Testament echo of restoration promised upon turning to God.
Alternative generated candidates
- If you return to the Almighty you will be rebuilt; remove iniquity far from your tent.
- If you return to the Almighty you will be restored; you will put far from your tent the iniquity.
Job.22.24 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ושית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- עפר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בצר: PREP
- ובצור: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נחלים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אופיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 31:24-28 (thematic): Within Job the speaker rejects making gold his hope or rejoicing in great riches—a thematic counterpoint to Eliphaz’s counsel about casting gold down, both addressing the moral stance toward wealth.
- Matthew 6:19-21 (thematic): Jesus warns against laying up treasures on earth and ties treasure to the heart, paralleling the admonition to abandon trust in wealth implicit in casting gold to the dust.
- Luke 12:33 (thematic): Jesus’s command to ‘sell your possessions and give to the poor’ echoes the practical impulse behind ‘cast your gold upon the dust’—relieve yourself of earthly riches for higher gain.
- Proverbs 23:4-5 (thematic): Warnings about the fleeting nature of wealth and the folly of laboring for riches correspond to the verse’s suggestion to discard or devalue gold (including Ophir gold) as unreliable.
- 1 Kings 10:11 (verbal): A direct verbal parallel in the OT referencing ‘gold of Ophir’—this historical/royal material connects the specific image of Ophir’s gold in Job 22:24 to other biblical references to that famed source of wealth.
Alternative generated candidates
- Lay your gold in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
- You will heap up gold as dust and lay up the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
Job.22.25 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- שדי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בצריך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וכסף: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תועפות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 112:3 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language about wealth and riches being in a person's house—parallels Job's promise of abundant silver/wealth.
- Job 42:10-12 (structural): Within the same book, God restores and multiplies Job's possessions—a direct narrative counterpart to the promise of recovered/abundant wealth.
- Deuteronomy 8:18 (thematic): Attributes the ability to acquire wealth to God (the giver); resonates with Job 22:25's implication of divine provision of riches (Shaddai as source).
- Proverbs 10:22 (thematic): States that the blessing of the LORD makes rich without added sorrow, thematically echoing the idea of God-bestowed prosperity (abundant silver).
- Isaiah 45:3 (allusion): God promises hidden treasures and secret riches to give to the recipient—an image closely related to divine bestowal of wealth/silver in Job 22:25.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver.
- Indeed the Almighty will be your gold, and choice silver to you.
Job.22.26 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אז: ADV
- על: PREP
- שדי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תתענג: VERB,hitpael,impf,3,f,sg
- ותשא: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אל: NEG
- אלוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פניך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 58:14 (verbal): Shares nearly identical language and idea—'then you shall delight yourself in the LORD' (Heb. תתענג על־יהוה), a close verbal parallel to delighting in the Almighty (שדי).
- Psalm 37:4 (verbal): 'Delight yourself also in the LORD' echoes the exhortation to find joy in God (parallel verbal theme of delighting in the divine).
- Numbers 6:25–26 (allusion): Priestly blessing language about God's face ('The LORD make his face shine upon you' / 'lift up his countenance') connects to the imagery of lifting one's face to God (פנים).
- Psalm 16:11 (thematic): 'In your presence is full joy' (or 'pleasures forevermore') parallels the theme of finding delight and blessedness in communion with God (delighting in the Almighty).
Alternative generated candidates
- For then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.
- For then you will take delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.
Job.22.27 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- תעתיר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- וישמעך: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg+PRON,2,m,sg
- ונדריך: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- תשלם: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 116:14 (verbal): “I will pay my vows to the LORD” — language and action of fulfilling vows parallels Job’s assurance that one will pay vows after God hears prayer.
- Psalm 66:13-20 (thematic): Combines the themes that God hears prayer (66:19–20) and the psalmist’s vow to bring offerings and pay vows (66:13–14), linking hearing and vow-fulfillment as in Job 22:27.
- Deuteronomy 23:21-23 (verbal): Law about not delaying to pay a vow made to the LORD — a direct legal/ethical parallel to the obligation and reality of paying vows mentioned in Job 22:27.
- Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 (thematic): Warnings about making vows and the necessity of promptly fulfilling them — echoes the concern for paying vows that follow prayer in Job 22:27.
- Jeremiah 33:3 (thematic): “Call to me and I will answer you” — a parallel promise that God will hear when one prays, corresponding to Job’s statement that God will hear your prayer.
Alternative generated candidates
- You will pray to him, and he will hear you; and you will fulfill your vows.
- You will pray to him, and he will hear you; your vows you will pay.
Job.22.28 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ותגזר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אומר: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- ויקם: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- דרכיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- נגה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 16:3 (thematic): Both speak of God's role in establishing plans or deeds—'commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established' echoes Job's promise that a declared thing will be established.
- Proverbs 18:21 (verbal): Emphasizes the power of speech to bring about outcomes ('death and life are in the power of the tongue'), paralleling Job's idea that declaring a thing can establish it.
- Mark 11:23 (verbal): Jesus' statement that speaking to a mountain and believing it will be removed parallels the NT theme of words/declarations effecting reality, resonant with Job's decree motif.
- Psalm 119:105 (thematic): The image of divine illumination guiding one's path ('Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path') parallels Job's promise that 'light shall shine upon your ways.'
- Isaiah 9:2 (thematic): Speaks of people seeing light after walking in darkness ('the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light'), thematically echoing the promise of light upon one's ways.
Alternative generated candidates
- You will decree a thing, and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways.
- You will decree a thing, and it will be established for you; light will shine upon your ways.
Job.22.29 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- השפילו: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,pl
- ותאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- גוה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- ושח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עינים: NOUN,f,du,abs
- יושע: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 138:6 (verbal): Affirms that although Yahweh is exalted, he regards the lowly — echoing Job’s claim that the humble are saved or lifted up by God.
- Psalm 34:18 (thematic): Declares that the LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit, paralleling Job’s emphasis on God’s help for the humbled/downcast.
- Isaiah 57:15 (thematic): God’s dwelling is described as reviving the spirit of the lowly and the heart of the contrite, resonating with Job’s theme of divine aid for the humble.
- James 4:6 (thematic): “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” reflects the same moral theological principle that God supports the lowly whom humans despise.
- Matthew 5:3 (thematic): “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Beatitude) parallels the idea that the humble/lowly receive God’s favor or salvation.
Alternative generated candidates
- When men are brought low, and you say, ‘Exalt them,’ then he will save the humbled.
- When people are humbled and you cry, 'Lift up!' the lowly will be delivered.
Job.22.30 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ימלט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אי: PRON,interrog
- נקי: ADJ,m,sg
- ונמלט: CONJ+VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
- בבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כפיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 40:2 (verbal): Speaks of being lifted 'out of a horrible pit' and set on a rock—near-verbal imagery of rescue from the pit by God's intervention, echoing Job 22:30's deliverance motif.
- Psalm 30:3 (verbal): Explicitly states God 'brought up my soul from Sheol' and kept one from going down to the pit, directly paralleling the language and theme of rescue from the pit.
- Jonah 2:6 (verbal): Jonah's prayer describes being brought up from the depths and from the 'roots of the mountains' (the pit), echoing the motif of deliverance from the pit/sea of death.
- Isaiah 38:17 (thematic): Hezekiah speaks of being delivered from the pit of corruption by God's favor—theologically parallel in depicting God as the rescuer who averts descent into death.
- Psalm 34:19 (thematic): Affirms that the righteous face many troubles yet the LORD delivers them—connects thematically to Job 22:30's claim that the innocent are rescued by God's hand.
Alternative generated candidates
- He will deliver the innocent by your hand; and the guilty one you will free.
- He will rescue the innocent; he will be delivered through the purity of your hands.
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
Can a man be of benefit to God? Can any mortal be profitable to the Almighty?
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous, or is it gain to him that you make your ways perfect?
Will your reverence reprove you, or will he enter into judgment with you?
Is not your wickedness great, and is there no end to your iniquities?
For you have taken pledges from your brothers for nothing, and you have stripped the naked of their garments.
You have withheld water from the weary and you have held back bread from the hungry.
You have given the land to the powerful, and men of favor have dwelt in it.
You have sent away the widow empty, and the arms of the fatherless you have crushed.
Therefore snares are round about you, and sudden dread shall terrify you.
Or darkness so that you cannot see, and an overflowing flood shall cover you.
Is not God high in the heavens? Look at the heights of the stars—how lofty they are! And you say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through the thick gloom?'
Clouds are a hiding place for him, so he does not see; he walks in the circuit of heaven.
Have you kept the ancient path which wicked men have trod,
those whose foundations were bent and whose foundations the torrent washed away,
who say to God, 'Depart from us'—what can the Almighty do for them?
Yet their houses are full of good, and the counsel of the wicked is far from them.
The righteous will see and be glad, and the innocent will mock them.
Unless his arm is cut off and his remnant consumed by fire.
Acquaint now yourself with him, and be at peace; thereby good shall come to you.
Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.
If you return to the Almighty you will be rebuilt; remove iniquity far from your tents.
Lay your gold in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent.
Then the Almighty will be your gold and choose silver to you.
For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.
You will call to him, and he will answer you; you will pay your vows.
You will decree a thing, and it will be established for you; light will shine upon your ways.
When men are brought low you will say, 'Lift up!' and he will save the humble.
He will rescue even the guilty, and they shall be rescued through the purity of your hands.