1: Once again Eliphaz the Temanite took up his theme:
2: "Are any of us strong enough to give God a hand, or smart enough to give him advice?
3: So what if you were righteous--would God Almighty even notice? Even if you gave a perfect performance, do you think he'd applaud?
4: Do you think it's because he cares about your purity that he's disciplining you, putting you on the spot?
5: Hardly! It's because you're a first-class moral failure, because there's no end to your sins.
6: When people came to you for help, you took the shirts off their backs, exploited their helplessness.
7: You wouldn't so much as give a drink to the thirsty, or food, not even a scrap, to the hungry.
8: And there you sat, strong and honored by everyone, surrounded by immense wealth!
9: You turned poor widows away from your door; heartless, you crushed orphans.
10: Now you're the one trapped in terror, paralyzed by fear. Suddenly the tables have turned!
11: How do you like living in the dark, sightless, up to your neck in flood waters?
12: "You agree, don't you, that God is in charge? He runs the universe--just look at the stars!
13: Yet you dare raise questions: "What does God know? From that distance and darkness, how can he judge?
14: He roams the heavens wrapped in clouds, so how can he see us?'
15: "Are you going to persist in that tired old line that wicked men and women have always used?
16: Where did it get them? They died young, flash floods sweeping them off to their doom.
17: They told God, "Get lost! What good is God Almighty to us?'
18: And yet it was God who gave them everything they had. It's beyond me how they can carry on like this!
19: "Good people see bad people crash, and call for a celebration. Relieved, they crow,
20: "At last! Our enemies--wiped out. Everything they had and stood for is up in smoke!'
21: "Give in to God, come to terms with him and everything will turn out just fine.
22: Let him tell you what to do; take his words to heart.
23: Come back to God Almighty and he'll rebuild your life. Clean house of everything evil.
24: Relax your grip on your money and abandon your gold-plated luxury.
25: God Almighty will be your treasure, more wealth than you can imagine.
26: "You'll take delight in God, the Mighty One, and look to him joyfully, boldly.
27: You'll pray to him and he'll listen; he'll help you do what you've promised.
28: You'll decide what you want and it will happen; your life will be bathed in light.
29: To those who feel low you'll say, "Chin up! Be brave!' and God will save them.
30: Yes, even the guilty will escape, escape through God's grace in your life." Job's Defense I'm Completely in the Dark