“Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
Parallel translations
- KJV Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?
- BSB “Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him?
- NKJV “Cana man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?
- NASB “Can a strong man be of use to God, Or a wise one be useful to himself?
- NLT “Can a person do anything to help God? Can even a wise person be helpful to him?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Eliphaz asks whether a man can be of any benefit to God, implying that human righteousness adds nothing to Him. He uses this truth to belittle Job's appeal for vindication.
Overview
Eliphaz states a real truth, that God gains nothing from human virtue (cf. Ps 16:2; Luke 17:10), but misapplies it to argue that God therefore has no stake in vindicating Job. While God is indeed self-sufficient, Scripture reveals He nonetheless delights in His people's righteousness and cares deeply for the upright (Prov 11:20). Eliphaz weaponizes a doctrine to dismiss Job's cry.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Luke 17:10Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”
- Gal 6:7–8Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
- Job 35:6–8If you have sinned, what effect do you have against him? If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
- Prov 3:13–18Happy is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gets understanding.
- Ps 16:2My soul, you have said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.”
- Job 21:15What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What profit should we have, if we pray to him?’
- Eccl 7:11–12Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. Yes, it is more excellent for those who see the sun.
- Matt 5:29If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
- Prov 4:7–9Wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom. Yes, though it costs all your possessions, get understanding.
- Prov 9:12If you are wise, you are wise for yourself. If you mock, you alone will bear it.
- Deut 10:13to keep Yahweh’s commandments and statutes, which I command you today for your good?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 22:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.