Eliphaz delivers his third and final speech, and it represents a dramatic escalation. In his first speech (chapters 4-5) Eliphaz was gentle and diplomatic, offering general wisdom. In his second speech (chapter 15) he grew sharper. Now he abandons all restraint and launches direct, specific accusations against Job. He begins with a theological argument: can a man be useful to God? God has no need of human righteousness. Then Eliphaz springs the trap: is it for your piety that God rebukes you? No — it must be because your wickedness is great and your sins are endless. He then invents a catalog of specific crimes: Job stripped the naked of their clothing, withheld water from the thirsty, refused bread to the hungry, sent widows away empty, and crushed the arms of orphans. That is why snares surround him, sudden terror overwhelms him, darkness covers his sight, and a flood of water engulfs him. Eliphaz then describes the wicked who say to God 'what can the Almighty do?' — echoing Job's own words from chapter 21. He closes with an appeal: if Job will return to the Almighty, put away iniquity, and throw his gold into the dust, then the Almighty will be his gold, and God will hear his prayer. The speech is the most theologically coercive moment in the dialogue.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
Eliphaz's third speech marks the moment when retribution theology turns from implicit accusation to explicit fabrication. In chapters 4-5, Eliphaz suggested that all humans sin; in chapter 15, he argued that no mortal can be righteous before God. But here he lists specific crimes: Job withheld water, denied bread, stripped clothing, abused widows and orphans. These are the classic prophetic sins — violations of social justice listed in Isaiah 58, Ezekiel 18, and Amos 2. The devastating irony is that the reader knows from the prologue (1:1-5) and from God's own testimony (1:8, 2:3) that none of these accusations are true. Eliphaz has been driven by his theological system to invent sins that Job did not commit. This is the ultimate indictment of retribution theology: when the framework demands guilt and reality provides none, the theologian manufactures evidence. The friends' pastoral failure is complete — they have moved from misdiagnosis to bearing false witness.
Translation Friction
Eliphaz's speech contains genuine theological truth mixed with devastating misapplication. His opening point — that human righteousness does not benefit God (verses 2-3) — is actually sound theology that God himself will affirm in the speeches from the whirlwind. His closing appeal (verses 21-30) — that repentance leads to restoration and intimacy with God — contains beautiful promises that are true in general. The tragedy is that both the theology and the appeal are aimed at a man who does not need to repent of the crimes he is accused of. Eliphaz is offering real medicine to a patient who does not have the disease he diagnosed. The result is that true theology becomes an instrument of cruelty. This is the book's deepest warning: correct doctrine wrongly applied is more dangerous than honest doubt, because it carries the authority of truth while doing the work of lies.
Connections
Eliphaz's catalog of sins (verses 6-9) mirrors the prophetic social-justice tradition: withholding water and bread from the hungry (Isaiah 58:7, Ezekiel 18:7, 16), stripping clothing from the naked (Amos 2:8, Ezekiel 18:7), mistreating widows and orphans (Exodus 22:22-24, Isaiah 1:17, 23). The command to throw gold into the dust (verse 24) connects to Job's later oath in 31:24-25 where he swears he never placed his confidence in gold. Eliphaz's promise 'you will pray and he will hear you' (verse 27) is fulfilled ironically in 42:8-9, where God commands Eliphaz to ask Job to pray on Eliphaz's behalf — the exact reversal of Eliphaz's assumed roles. The description of God in the high heavens (verse 12) uses language that will reappear in God's own speeches (38:31-33) but with radically different implications.
Job 22:1
וַ֭יַּעַן אֱלִיפַ֥ז הַתֵּמָנִ֗י וַיֹּאמַֽר׃
Then responded:
KJV Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Eliphaz ha-Temani ('the Temanite') speaks for the third and final time. Teman was a region in Edom associated with wisdom (Jeremiah 49:7, Obadiah 8-9). Eliphaz has been the most measured of the three friends, but this speech abandons his earlier restraint entirely.
Can a man be of use to God?
Even a wise man benefits only himself.
KJV Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb sakan ('to be of service, to be useful, to benefit') appears twice. The gaver ('strong man, hero') cannot benefit God. The maskil ('the wise one, the prudent one, the one who acts with insight') benefits only aleimu ('upon himself, for himself'). Eliphaz starts with God's transcendence — a true starting point — but draws a false conclusion from it.
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Does he profit if you make your ways blameless?
KJV Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
צְדָקָהtsedaqah
"righteousness"—righteousness, justice, right standing, vindication, right action in accordance with covenant relationship
Eliphaz uses the verb form titsddaq ('you are righteous, you justify yourself'). The root ts-d-q carries the sense of being in right relationship — with God, with community, with the created order. Eliphaz's question implies that Job's righteousness is irrelevant to God, but the prologue has already established that Job's tsedaqah matters enormously — it is the very thing being tested.
Translator Notes
The ha-chefets le-Shaddai ki titsddaq ('is it desire/pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous?') — does God benefit from Job's righteousness? The ve-im betsa ki tattem derakhekha ('or is it gain/profit that you perfect your ways?'). The Shaddai ('the Almighty') is contrasted with human righteousness (tsadaq) and blamelessness (tamam). The tam ('blameless') root echoes God's own description of Job in 1:8 and 2:3 — Eliphaz unwittingly uses the very term God used to vindicate Job.
Is it for your piety that he rebukes you?
Is it for that that he brings you to trial?
KJV Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ha-mi-yir'atkha yokhichekha ('is it from your fear/reverence that he reproves you?') — Eliphaz asks rhetorically whether God is correcting Job because Job is too pious. The implied answer is absurd: of course not. The yavo immekha ba-mmishpat ('does he come with you into judgment?') — would God take a pious man to court? Eliphaz's logic is that since God would never punish piety, Job must have committed sins worthy of punishment.
Is not your wickedness vast?
Are not your sins without end?
KJV Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The pivot: ha-lo ra'atkha rabbah ('is not your evil/wickedness great?'). The ve-ein qets la-avonotekha ('and there is no end to your iniquities'). Eliphaz has moved from insinuation to direct accusation. The ein qets ('no end, infinite') is an extraordinary claim — Job's sins are not merely present but limitless. This is the necessary conclusion of Eliphaz's syllogism: God punishes sin, Job is being punished severely, therefore Job's sin must be severe. The logic is airtight and completely wrong.
For you took pledges from your relatives for no reason
and stripped the clothing from the destitute.
KJV For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The first fabricated charge: tachbol achekha chinnam ('you took pledges from your brothers/kinsmen for nothing') — seizing collateral from family members without cause. The u-vigdei arummim tafshit ('and the garments of the naked you strip off'). Taking a poor person's garment as collateral was explicitly prohibited in Exodus 22:26-27 and Deuteronomy 24:12-13, because the cloak served as a blanket for sleeping. Eliphaz accuses Job of the exact crime the Torah forbids. The reader knows this is false — Job will later swear an oath denying these charges (31:19-20).
You gave no water to the exhausted
and withheld bread from the starving.
KJV Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The second fabricated charge: lo mayim ayef tashqeh ('not water to the weary/exhausted you give to drink'). The u-me-ra'ev timna lachem ('and from the hungry you withhold bread'). Denying water and bread to the needy is a fundamental violation of ancient Near Eastern hospitality law and Israelite covenant obligation (Isaiah 58:7, Ezekiel 18:7). Eliphaz constructs a portrait of Job as a cruel oppressor — the opposite of who Job actually was.
The powerful man — the land belonged to him.
The privileged one settled in it.
KJV But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ve-ish zeroa ('and the man of arm/power') lo ha-arets ('to him the land') — Eliphaz describes a world where the powerful seize land. The u-nesu fanim ('and the one lifted of face, the honored one, the privileged one') yeshev bah ('dwells in it'). Eliphaz implies that Job was one of these powerful landowners who dispossessed others. The 'man of arm' is an idiom for someone who uses force to get what he wants.
You sent widows away empty-handed
and crushed the arms of orphans.
KJV Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The climactic accusation: almanot shillachta reiqam ('widows you sent away empty') — Job allegedly dismissed vulnerable women with nothing. The u-zero'ot yetomim yedukka ('and the arms of the fatherless are crushed'). Widows and orphans are the two most protected categories in Israelite law (Exodus 22:22-24, Deuteronomy 10:18, 27:19). To abuse them invites divine wrath directly. Eliphaz is accusing Job of the most socially heinous crimes in Israel's moral vocabulary. The irony is savage: Job, who chapter 29 will reveal was the supreme protector of widows and orphans, is accused of being their oppressor.
That is why snares surround you
and sudden terror overwhelms you.
KJV Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The al ken ('therefore, for this reason') draws the causal link: because of the crimes listed in verses 6-9, sevivotekha pachim ('around you are traps/snares') and vivahalekha pachad pit'om ('sudden fear/dread terrifies you'). Eliphaz's logic is simple: Job's suffering (snares, terror) is the direct consequence of Job's sins (oppression). The al ken is the hinge of retribution theology — the word 'therefore' that connects sin to suffering. Job has spent the entire dialogue trying to break this causal link.
Or is it darkness so thick you cannot see,
and a flood of water covering you?
KJV Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The o choshekh lo tir'eh ('or darkness — you cannot see') — Job's suffering is like being engulfed in impenetrable darkness. The ve-shif'at mayim tekhassekka ('and an abundance of waters covers you') — the flood imagery describes being overwhelmed, drowned in calamity. Both images — darkness and drowning — describe the totality of Job's affliction, which Eliphaz attributes to hidden sin.
Is not God in the heights of heaven?
Look at the topmost stars — how far above they are!
KJV Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ha-lo Eloha govah shamayim ('is not God in the height of the heavens?') establishes divine transcendence. The u-re'eh rosh kokhavim ki rammu ('and see the head/top of the stars, how high they are'). Eliphaz uses God's exalted position to set up his next argument: some people think God's height means he cannot see what happens below (verse 13). The stars' height is a measure of divine transcendence — but Eliphaz will argue that transcendence does not equal ignorance.
And yet you say, 'What does God know?
Can he judge through the thick darkness?'
KJV And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Eliphaz attributes to Job the claim: ma yada El ('what does God know?') — that God is ignorant of human affairs. The ha-be'ad arafel yishpot ('can he judge through the deep darkness/thick cloud?') — the arafel is the dense cloud associated with God's presence on Sinai (Exodus 20:21, Deuteronomy 4:11). Eliphaz accuses Job of saying that the cloud that surrounds God blocks his vision. Job never actually said this — Eliphaz is constructing a straw man from Job's complaints about divine injustice.
Clouds are a screen for him — he cannot see!
He walks along the vault of heaven.
KJV Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Continuing the alleged quote from Job: avim seter lo ('clouds are a covering/hiding-place for him') ve-lo yir'eh ('and he does not see'). The ve-chug shamayim yithalakh ('and the circle/vault of heaven he walks about'). The chug ('circle, vault, horizon') describes the dome of the sky. Eliphaz portrays Job as claiming God is a distant deity who strolls along the sky dome, hidden by clouds, oblivious to earthly affairs. This caricature is unfair — Job has never denied God's awareness; he has challenged God's justice.
Will you keep to the ancient path
that the wicked have trodden?
KJV Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ha-orach olam tishmor ('will you keep/guard the path of antiquity?') — Eliphaz warns Job against following the ancient road of the wicked. The asher darkhu metei aven ('which the men of wickedness/iniquity walked'). The orach olam ('eternal path, ancient way') may refer to the way of the generation before the flood (Genesis 6). Eliphaz implies Job is heading down the same path that led to divine catastrophe.
They were snatched away before their time;
a river poured over their foundations.
KJV Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The asher qummettu ve-lo et ('who were seized/shriveled and not in time, before their time') — premature death. The nahar yutsaq yesodam ('a river/flood was poured out on their foundation'). The flood reference almost certainly alludes to the generation of Noah (Genesis 6-8). Eliphaz cites the flood as proof that God does indeed judge the wicked — but Job has never denied that God sometimes judges. Job has denied that God always judges, and that all suffering is judgment.
They said to God, 'Leave us alone!'
And 'What can the Almighty do to us?'
KJV Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ha-omerim la-El sur mimmenu ('those who say to God: depart from us') directly echoes Job's quotation in 21:14. Eliphaz throws Job's own words back at him — the wicked who dismissed God in Job's speech are now cited as examples of the path Job is following. The u-ma yif'al Shaddai lamo ('and what can the Almighty do for/to them?') — the wicked challenged the Almighty's power or relevance. Eliphaz implies that Job's complaints about divine injustice amount to the same defiance.
Yet it was God who filled their houses with good things.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!
KJV Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ve-hu mille batteihem tov ('and he filled their houses with good') — Eliphaz acknowledges (as Job did in 21:16) that God is the source of the wicked's prosperity. The va-atsat resha'im rachaqa menni ('and the counsel of the wicked is far from me') is an almost verbatim repetition of Job's own disclaimer in 21:16b. Eliphaz appropriates Job's language, claiming the same distance from wicked ideology. The verbal echo is pointed: I can say it too, and when I say it, I mean it.
The righteous see it and rejoice;
the innocent laugh them to scorn.
KJV The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The yir'u tsaddiqim ve-yismachu ('the righteous see and rejoice') — when the wicked are finally punished, the righteous celebrate. The ve-naqi yil'ag lamo ('and the innocent one mocks them'). Eliphaz describes the satisfaction of the righteous when justice is done. The tsaddiqim ('righteous') and naqi ('innocent, clean') are exactly what Job claims to be — but Eliphaz has already placed Job among the wicked, not among the righteous onlookers.
'Surely our adversary is cut off,
and fire has consumed what they left behind.'
KJV Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The righteous taunt the wicked: im lo nikhchad qimanu ('surely our adversary/opponent is cut off, destroyed'). The ve-yitram akhlah esh ('and their remnant/excess fire has consumed'). The qimanu is debated — it may mean 'our adversary,' 'our substance,' or 'those who rose against us.' The fire consuming the remnant echoes the supernatural fire in 20:26. The righteous rejoice that nothing of the wicked remains.
Make peace with God and be reconciled to him;
through this, good will come to you.
KJV Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Eliphaz shifts to appeal: hasken na immo ('be familiar with him, acquaint yourself with him now'). The u-shelam ('and be at peace, be reconciled'). The bahem tevo'atkha tovah ('through these things good will come to you'). The verb sakan ('to be familiar, to be of service, to know intimately') invites Job into restored relationship with God. The appeal is beautiful in isolation — the tragedy is that it presupposes Job has been estranged from God by his own wickedness, which is not true.
Receive instruction from his mouth;
store his words in your heart.
KJV Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The qach na mi-ppiv torah ('receive, please, from his mouth instruction/teaching') — torah here means 'instruction, teaching, guidance' rather than the formal Torah/Pentateuch. The ve-sim amarav bi-lvavekha ('and place his sayings in your heart'). Eliphaz counsels Job to listen to God's instruction and internalize it. The irony is that God's actual instruction, when it comes (chapters 38-41), will vindicate Job and rebuke Eliphaz.
If you return to the Almighty, you will be rebuilt.
Put injustice far from your tent.
KJV If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
שׁוּבshuv
"return"—to turn, to return, to go back, to repent, to restore, to do again
shuv is the primary verb of repentance in the Hebrew Bible. It carries the image of turning around on a road — you were going the wrong direction, and you turn back to God. The prophets use it constantly (Hosea 14:1, Joel 2:12, Malachi 3:7). Eliphaz's appeal to shuv is theologically sound — repentance does lead to restoration. The problem is the presupposition: Job has not turned away from God, so the call to 'return' implies a departure that never happened.
Translator Notes
The conditional promise: im tashuv ad Shaddai ('if you return to the Almighty') tivvaneh ('you will be built, you will be restored'). The verb shuv ('to return, to turn back, to repent') is the fundamental verb of repentance in Hebrew. The tarchiq avlah me-ohalekha ('put injustice far from your tent'). Eliphaz promises restoration through repentance — a true theological principle misapplied to a man who has nothing to repent of in the way Eliphaz means.
Throw your gold in the dust,
your gold of Ophir among the stones of the stream.
KJV Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ve-shit al afar batser ('and put upon the dust gold/ore') — Eliphaz commands Job to throw his gold on the ground, treating it as worthless. The u-ve-tsur nechalim Ofir ('and in the rock of the streams, Ophir gold'). Ophir was the legendary source of the finest gold (1 Kings 9:28, 10:11). The command is to renounce wealth as a source of security. Ironically, Job will later swear that he never placed his trust in gold (31:24-25), making Eliphaz's command unnecessary.
Then the Almighty will be your gold,
your precious silver heaped high.
KJV Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The wordplay is significant: batser ('gold, ore') in verse 24 becomes betsarekha ('your gold/treasure' or possibly 'your stronghold') in verse 25, with Shaddai as the subject. The verb hayah ('to be, to become') marks the exchange: throw away gold, receive God. The to'afot ('heaps, abundance, heights') describes the overwhelming quantity of divine provision.
Then you will delight in the Almighty
and lift your face toward God.
KJV For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ki az al Shaddai tit'annag ('for then over/upon the Almighty you will take delight') — the verb anag ('to be delicate, to take pleasure, to delight') describes intimate enjoyment of God's presence. The ve-tissa el Eloha panekha ('and you will lift your face to God') — the lifted face is the posture of confidence and intimacy, the opposite of the downcast face of shame. Eliphaz promises that repentance will restore Job's ability to look God in the eye.
You will pray to him, and he will hear you;
you will fulfill your vows.
KJV Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ta'tir elav ('you will pray abundantly to him, you will entreat him') ve-yishma'ekka ('and he will hear you'). The u-nedarekha teshallem ('and your vows you will pay/fulfill'). Eliphaz promises that restored prayer will be answered and vows can be completed. The promise is fulfilled in a way Eliphaz never imagined: in 42:8-9, God instructs the friends to ask Job to pray for them. Job's prayer is the one that God hears — not as a restored sinner but as a vindicated righteous man.
You will decide on a matter, and it will stand.
Light will shine on your paths.
KJV Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ve-tigzar omer ('and you will decree a word/matter') ve-yaqom lakh ('and it will be established for you, it will stand') — Job's decisions will succeed, his plans will come to fruition. The ve-al derakhekha nagah or ('and upon your paths light shines'). Darkness was Job's condition (verse 11); Eliphaz promises light. The promise of light upon one's path echoes Psalm 119:105 ('your word is a lamp to my feet'). Eliphaz envisions full restoration: answered prayer, successful plans, illuminated paths.
When others are brought low, you will say, 'There is lifting up!'
He saves the one whose eyes are downcast.
KJV When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ki hishpilu ('when they are brought low, humbled') va-tomer gevah ('and you will say: exaltation, lifting up, pride/height'). Job will become a source of hope for the humbled, declaring that God lifts up the lowly. The ve-shach einayim yoshia ('and the downcast of eyes he saves'). The shach einayim ('lowered eyes, cast-down eyes') describes humility or shame. God saves the humble. Eliphaz's theology here aligns with Hannah's song (1 Samuel 2:7-8) and Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:52) — God brings down the proud and lifts up the lowly.
He delivers even one who is not innocent;
he is rescued by the cleanness of your hands.
KJV He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The yemallit i naqi ('he delivers the not-innocent' or 'he delivers the island/coastland of the innocent') — the phrase is textually difficult. If i naqi means 'not innocent,' then even the guilty are delivered through the intercession of a righteous person. If it means 'the island of the innocent,' it describes God's protection of the innocent. The ve-nimlat be-vor kappekha ('and he is rescued by the cleanness/purity of your hands'). Either way, Eliphaz promises that clean hands lead to deliverance. The supreme irony: in 42:8, Job's clean hands will indeed deliver Eliphaz himself. The friend who demanded Job repent will be saved by Job's prayer. Eliphaz spoke more truly than he knew.