Then answered Eliphaz the Themanite:

Respondens autem Eliphaz Themanites, dixit:

Then Eliphaz the Themanite answered, and said:

A man cannot hope to implead God, even a man of perfect wisdom.

Numquid Deo potest comparari homo, etiam cum perfectæ fuerit scientiæ?

Can man be compared with God, even though he were of perfect knowledge?

Just though thou be, how is God the better for knowing thou art just? Can stainless life of thine advantage him?

Quid prodest Deo, si justus fueris? aut quid ei confers, si immaculata fuerit via tua?

What doth it profit God if thou be just? or what dost thou give him if thy way be unspotted?

Or dost thou think that fear of thee will persuade him to appear in court, and prove thee in the wrong?

Numquid timens arguet te, et veniet tecum in judicium,

Shall he reprove thee for fear, and come with thee into judgment:

Must he browbeat thee over a long record of guilt, over many heinous deeds done;

et non propter malitiam tuam plurimam, et infinitas iniquitates tuas?

And not for thy manifold wickedness, and thy infinite iniquities?

remind thee of the usurer’s pledge needlessly taken, of thy brother left to go naked while thou hadst his garment by thee,

Abstulisti enim pignus fratrum tuorum sine causa, et nudos spoliasti vestibus.

For thou hast taken away the pledge of thy brethren without cause, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

of water grudged to thirsty men, bread refused to the hungry?

Aquam lasso non dedisti, et esurienti subtraxisti panem.

Thou hast not given water to the weary, thou hast withdrawn bread from the hungry.

Must he tell the story of a rich tyrant that had lands and held to them;

In fortitudine brachii tui possidebas terram, et potentissimus obtinebas eam.

In the strength of thy arm thou didst possess the land, and being the most mighty thou holdest it.

of widows sent away without redress, orphans left without support, through thy means?

Viduas dimisisti vacuas, et lacertos pupillorum comminuisti.

Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless thou hast broken in pieces.

Must he say, that is why thou art caught in the snare, dismayed by sudden peril,

Propterea circumdatus es laqueis, et conturbat te formido subita.

Therefore art thou surrounded with snares, and sudden fear troubleth thee.

left benighted when thou thoughtest to see day, overwhelmed by the unexpected flood?

Et putabas te tenebras non visurum, et impetu aquarum inundantium non oppressum iri?

And didst thou think that thou shouldst not see darkness, and that thou shouldst not be covered with the violence of overflowing waters?

Bethink thee, God is high as heaven itself, reaches beyond the uttermost star.

an non cogitas quod Deus excelsior cælo sit, et super stellarum verticem sublimetur?

Dost not thou think that God is higher than heaven, and is elevated above the height of the stars?

Wouldst thou tell us that he has no knowledge of what passes, that he issues his decree blindly,

Et dicis: Quid enim novit Deus? et quasi per caliginem judicat.

And thou sayst: What doth God know? and he judgeth as it were through a mist.

gives no heed to our mortal doings, there where he walks above heaven’s vault, all wrapped in cloud?

Nubes latibulum ejus, nec nostra considerat, et circa cardines cæli perambulat.

The clouds are his covert, and he doth not consider our things, and he walketh about the poles of heaven.

That were to follow old paths of error, trodden long ago by impious feet.

Numquid semitam sæculorum custodire cupis, quam calcaverunt viri iniqui,

Dost thou desire to keep the path of ages, which wicked men have trodden?

Snatched away before their time were the men that reasoned so; a flood engulfed the solid ground beneath them.

qui sublati sunt ante tempus suum, et fluvius subvertit fundamentum eorum?

Who were taken away before their time, and a flood hath overthrown their foundation.

These, beyond doubt, were men who bade God keep his distance from them, thought the Omnipotent could give them no aid,

Qui dicebant Deo: Recede a nobis: et quasi nihil posset facere Omnipotens, æstimabant eum,

Who said to God: Depart from us: and looked upon the Almighty as if he could do nothing:

when he had filled their abode with blessings! Not for nothing do I shun their counsels!

cum ille implesset domos eorum bonis: quorum sententia procul sit a me.

Whereas he had filled their houses with good things: whose way of thinking be far from me.

Here was a sight to make the just triumphant, make innocent folk laugh aloud in scorn,

Videbunt justi, et lætabuntur, et innocens subsannabit eos:

The just shall see, and shall rejoice, and the innocent shall laugh them to scorn.

to see how their proud hopes vanished, and all that was left of them perished in the flames.

nonne succisa est erectio eorum? et reliquias eorum devoravit ignis?

Is not their exaltation cut down, and hath not fire devoured the remnants of them?

Fall in with the Lord’s ways, and be his friend; thou shalt be well rewarded.

Acquiesce igitur ei, et habeto pacem, et per hæc habebis fructus optimos.

Submit thyself then to him, and be at peace: and thereby thou shalt have the best fruits.

Let his lips be thy oracle, his words written on thy heart.

Suscipe ex ore illius legem, et pone sermones ejus in corde tuo.

Receive the law of his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart.

Turn back to the Almighty for thy healing, and rid thy dwelling-place of guilt.

Si reversus fueris ad Omnipotentem, ædificaberis, et longe facies iniquitatem a tabernaculo tuo.

If thou wilt return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, and shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle.

Firm rock thou shalt have for shifting dust, and for firm rock streams of gold;

Dabit pro terra silicem, et pro silice torrentes aureos.

He shall give for earth flint, and for flint torrents of gold.

the Almighty himself will be thy shield, and silver thou shalt never lack.

Eritque Omnipotens contra hostes tuos, et argentum coacervabitur tibi.

And the Almighty shall be against thy enemies, and silver shall be heaped together for thee.

In those omnipotent arms thou shalt rest content, thy face upturned towards God himself,

Tunc super Omnipotentem deliciis afflues, et elevabis ad Deum faciem tuam.

Then shalt thou abound in delights in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face to God.

thy prayer heard as soon as offered, thy vows paid as soon as due;

Rogabis eum, et exaudiet te, et vota tua reddes.

Thou shalt pray to him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay vows.

all thy desire thou shalt have, and all thy paths will be sunshine.

Decernes rem, et veniet tibi, et in viis tuis splendebit lumen.

Thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall come to thee, and light shall shine in thy ways.

He that was once brought low shall be high in renown; the downcast eye shall win deliverance.

Qui enim humiliatus fuerit, erit in gloria, et qui inclinaverit oculos, ipse salvabitur.

For he that hath been humbled, shall be in glory: and he that shall bow down his eyes, he shall be saved.

But the innocent shall be kept safe; in a pair of clean hands there was safety ever.

Salvabitur innocens: salvabitur autem in munditia manuum suarum.

The innocent shall be saved, and he shall be saved by the cleanness of his hands.