1Tedaj odgovori Elifaz Temančan in reče:
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,
2More li mož koristiti Bogu mogočnemu? Marveč sebi koristi razumnik.
2“Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
3Hasni li Vsegamogočnemu, da si pravičen, ali pa ima kaj dobička, ko brezmadežne hraniš poti svoje?
3Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that you are righteous? Or does it benefit him, that you make your ways perfect?
4Je li zaradi tvoje bogaboječnosti, da te svari, s teboj hodi v pravdo?
4Is it for your piety that he reproves you, that he enters with you into judgment?
5Ali ni velika tvoja hudobnost in krivic tvojih ni li brez konca?
5Isn’t your wickedness great? Neither is there any end to your iniquities.
6Brate svoje si rubil brez vzroka in polunagim si slekel obleko.
6For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7Utrujenega nisi napojil z vodo in lačnemu si odrekel kruh.
7You haven’t given water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8A siloviti mož si je lastil deželo, in imenitnik je prebival v njej.
8But as for the mighty man, he had the earth. The honorable man, he lived in it.
9Vdove si pošiljal prazne od sebe, in rame sirot so bile strte.
9You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10Zato je okrog tebe zadrga za zadrgo in plaši te nagel strah.
10Therefore snares are around you. Sudden fear troubles you,
11Ali pa ne vidiš temine in povodnji, ki te zagrinja?
11or darkness, so that you can not see, and floods of waters cover you.
12Ni li Bog visok kakor nebesa? Poglej le najvišje zvezde, kako so vzvišene!
12“Isn’t God in the heights of heaven? See the height of the stars, how high they are!
13A ti praviš: Kaj bi vedel Bog mogočni? more li skozi oblačno temino soditi?
13You say, ‘What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?
14Oblačje Mu je ovoj, da ne vidi, in po okrožju nebes se izprehaja.
14Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he doesn’t see. He walks on the vault of the sky.’
15Hočeš se li držati davnega veka steze, po kateri so hodili hudobni,
15Will you keep the old way, which wicked men have trodden,
16ki so bili odpravljeni pred svojim časom? njih trdna tla so se razlila kakor reka –
16who were snatched away before their time, whose foundation was poured out as a stream,
17ki so rekali Bogu mogočnemu: Pojdi od nas! in: Kaj more pač Vsemogočni storiti za nas?
17who said to God, ‘Depart from us;’ and, ‘What can the Almighty do for us?’
18In vendar je On napolnil njih hiše z blaginjo! – Toda svetovanje brezbožnih bodi daleč od mene!
18Yet he filled their houses with good things, but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19Pravični to vidijo in se vesele, in nedolžni jih zasmehuje,
19The righteous see it, and are glad. The innocent ridicule them,
20govoreč: Res, iztrebljeni so, ki so se vzpenjali zoper nas, in ogenj je požrl, kar je ostalo za njimi.
20saying, ‘Surely those who rose up against us are cut off. The fire has consumed their remnant.’
21Sprijazni se, pravim, ž Njim in imej mir, in blagostanje ti s tem pride.
21“Acquaint yourself with him, now, and be at peace. Thereby good shall come to you.
22Sprejmi vendar pouk iz ust Njegovih in vtisni si besede Njegove v srce!
22Please receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.
23Ako se obrneš k Vsemogočnemu, te zopet ustanovi, če odpraviš nepravičnost iz šatorov svojih.
23If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up, if you put away unrighteousness far from your tents.
24In vrzi v prah drago kovino in med kamenčke v potoku ofirsko zlato:
24Lay your treasure in the dust, the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
25potem bode Vsemogočni zaklad tvoj in drago srebro tebi.
25The Almighty will be your treasure, and precious silver to you.
26Kajti tedaj se boš razveseljeval Vsemogočnega in k Bogu povzdigneš obličje svoje.
26For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and shall lift up your face to God.
27Molil boš k njemu, in te usliši, in obljube svoje boš opravljal.
27You shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You shall pay your vows.
28Ko ukreneš kako stvar, se ti uresniči, in luč ti bo sijala nad poti tvojimi.
28You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you. Light shall shine on your ways.
29Ko bodo vodile doli, boš velel: Navzgor! in ponižanemu daje Bog pomoč.Rešil bo tudi njega, ki ni brez krivde, da, rešen bo po čistosti tvojih rok.
29When they cast down, you shall say, ‘be lifted up.’ He will save the humble person.
30Rešil bo tudi njega, ki ni brez krivde, da, rešen bo po čistosti tvojih rok.
30He will even deliver him who is not innocent. Yes, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”