^22:15 Do you desire to keep the path of the ages, which iniquitous men have trodden?
^22:16 They were taken away before their time, and a river overthrew their foundation.
^22:17 They said to God: Depart from us. And they considered the Almighty as though he could do nothing,
^22:18 although he had filled their houses with good things; may their judgment be far from me.
^22:19 The just will see and rejoice, and the innocent will mock them.
^22:20 Has not their upraising been cut down? And fire has devoured their remnants.
^22:21 Yield therefore to him and have peace, and through these things you will have the best fruits.
^22:22 Receive the law from his mouth, and place his words in your heart.
^22:23 If you have returned to the Almighty, you will be rebuilt; and you will put iniquity far from your tabernacle,
^22:24 he will give flint in place of earth and golden torrents in place of flint.
^22:25 And the Almighty will be against your enemies, and silver will be heaped up for you.
^22:26 Then you will abound with delights in the Almighty, and you will lift up your face to God.
^22:27 You will ask him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows.
^22:28 You will decide a matter, and it will come to you, and light will shine in your ways.
^22:29 For he who has been humbled will be in glory, and he who has lowered his eyes, he will be saved.
^22:30 The innocent will be saved; moreover, he will be saved by the cleanness of his hands.

330. Do you desire to keep the path of the ages?, etc. Because Eliphaz, in the preceding words, seems to have charged Job with not believing that God has providence over human affairs, now consequently he seems to charge him with the effect of this unbelief: for those who do not believe that God cares for human affairs are accustomed, once the fear of God has been despised, to follow their own will in all things. Hence he says: Do you desire to keep the path of the ages? That is, the course of those who believe in nothing except these temporal things that they see, and from this proceed to works of injustice; whence he adds: which iniquitous men have trodden. Now those are said to tread some way who wear down a way frequently, without any hesitation, and by intention; and so those who do not believe in divine providence do works of injustice frequently, securely, and intentionally. This does not happen to those who believe in divine providence, although sometimes through weakness they turn aside to injustice. And lest they seem to have done this with impunity, he adds: They were taken away before their time, that is, they died before the natural span of life was completed, and he assigns the cause, adding: and a river overthrew their foundation. Now the foundation of each man is that on which his hope principally rests; but such men do not place their hope in God, but only in temporal things, which are corrupted by the very course of the changeability of things, which he names a river.

331. But what the aforesaid path is, he explains, adding: They said to God: Depart from us, namely, despising him and his spiritual goods with regard to their affection; but with regard to the intellect, he describes their unbelief, adding: And they considered the Almighty as though he could do nothing, because, namely, if care for human affairs does not pertain to him, he can do nothing good or evil to man, which is contrary to the meaning of Almighty. And to exaggerate their fault, he adds concerning their ingratitude, saying: although he had filled their houses with good things, namely, with temporal things, which are given to men by God; and to reject their assertion he adds: may their judgment be far from me.

332. And lest it seem that the just are overthrown together with the impious, he excludes this, adding: The just will see and rejoice, by which it is given to be understood that they themselves will not be overthrown but will be in gladness; and lest it seem that they would fall away from justice by the very fact that they rejoice over the overthrow of others, he adds: and the innocent will mock them, as if to say: with innocence preserved, they will be able to mock them over the fact that, contrary to their opinion, they are overthrown; for in this the just rejoice together with divine justice. And this seems properly to answer what Job had said: After my words, if it seems good, laugh, as though complaining that he was mocked by them.

333. And lest anyone doubt that the foundation of the impious has been overthrown by the river, he proposes this as manifest under a question, saying: Has not their upraising been cut down? For they seemed to be raised up on high after the manner of a tree through earthly prosperity or even through their own pride; but just as the upraising of a tree is suddenly hindered by being cut down, so also their elevation suddenly ceases through their being taken away. Now it sometimes happens that a tree that has been cut down cannot grow higher, but nevertheless its length still remains; yet if fire is applied, no trace of its former height remains. So also, if when a sinful man has died or been cast down, his sons also perish through the fire of adversity and his riches are plundered, nothing remaining of his former height will seem to be left; whence there follows: And fire has devoured their remnants, that is, the burning heat of tribulation, according to James 1:11: The sun rose with burning heat and dried the grass. Now a man’s remnants are called either his sons or whatever other things remain after him.

334. Therefore, because he had said that an overthrow of this kind happens to the impious from the fact that they strive against God, so that Job could avoid similar things, he adds: Yield therefore to him and have peace, as if to say: you are disturbed for this reason, that you wished to contend against him; and through this, namely, through the peace by which you will be reconciled to him, you will have the best fruits, as if to say: whatever can be best, you will obtain as the fruit of this peace. But how he ought to yield to him, he shows, adding: Receive the law from his mouth, as if to say: do not think that human affairs are not ruled by divine providence; on the contrary, dispose your life according to the law of his governance. And because some profess the law of divine governance but nevertheless do not follow it in deed, therefore he adds: and place his words in your heart, namely, so that you may meditate on his commandments and resolve to keep them. But how he will have the best fruits through this, he shows, adding: If you have returned to the Almighty, namely, so that you believe his omnipotence and subject yourself to him, you will be rebuilt, as if to say: the prosperity of your house that has been destroyed will be restored. But how he ought to return to God perfectly, he shows, adding: and you will put iniquity far from your tabernacle, and if is to be understood, so that the text may be read thus: if you put iniquity far from your tabernacle, he will give, namely, God, flint in place of earth and golden torrents in place of flint, so that what he says, you will put iniquity far from your tabernacle, is explanatory of what he had said: If you have returned to the Almighty. And he does not say, if you put iniquity far from yourself, but from your tabernacle, wishing to imply that adversity had happened to him not only because of the sin of his own person but also because of the sin of his family. But what he says, he will give flint in place of earth, is referred to what he said: you will be rebuilt, namely, so that it may be understood that restoration is going to happen, but unto something greater, so that he will restore greater things for those that were lost: for flint is more precious than a clod of earth, and gold more precious than flint.

335. But what these goods are that he promises will be restored to him, he consequently enumerates,

first setting down security from God’s protection when he adds: And the Almighty will be against your enemies, namely, so that they will not be able a second time to steal away the things that will be restored to you by God;

second, he sets down an abundance of riches when he says: and silver will be heaped up for you; for by the name of silver all riches are signified, because money is usually made from silver.

And lest he seem to promise only bodily goods, he adds concerning spiritual goods, among which he first sets down that man loves God and delights in him, whence there follows: Then you will abound with delights in the Almighty, that is, when you have peace with him, you will delight in him; and because everyone gladly looks upon that in which he delights, he adds: and you will lift up your face to God, that is, your mind, so that you may contemplate him frequently; and from this you will receive confidence to have recourse to him, whence he adds: You will ask him; and this not without fruit, for there follows: and he will hear you. But those heard by God are accustomed to fulfill the vows that they promised when asking, whence he adds: and you will pay your vows, as though as a sign of having been heard. Then he promises the prosperous outcome of a purpose when he adds: You will decide a matter, that is, you will ordain by your providence how something is to be, and it will come to you, that is, your disposition will not be frustrated; and lest you doubt what must be decided, this also will be made manifest to you, whence he adds: and light will shine in your ways, that is, it will clearly appear to you by which ways you ought to proceed.

336. But he shows the reason for these promises, adding: For he who has been humbled, namely, by subjecting himself to God through affection, will be in glory, which, namely, he will obtain from God; and he who has lowered his eyes, namely, lest through his intellect he think anything proud and foolish against God, he will be saved, namely, freed from evils and established in goods. But for salvation there is required not only interior humility of affection and intellect, but also exterior purity of works, whence he adds: The innocent will be saved; and by what merit he is saved he shows, adding: moreover, he will be saved by the cleanness of his hands, that is, by the innocence of his works. And it should be considered that here Eliphaz promises Job, if he is converted, not only temporal goods, which can be common to the good and the wicked, as he had done above, but also spiritual goods, which are proper to the good, yet only in this life.