Job 22:6
“For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.”
What does Job 22:6 mean?
Eliphaz is accusing Job of exploiting vulnerable people through harsh lending practices, a serious charge in ancient culture where pledges (collateral) were how poor people secured loans. By taking even the basic garments of those who had nothing, Job supposedly showed cruelty to the defenseless. What makes this accusation sting is that Eliphaz presents it as the hidden reason for Job's suffering, as if God is punishing him for greed and heartlessness. Whether or not this charge is true (and the book's opening tells us Job was actually righteous), it reveals what Eliphaz assumes wealthy people do, and it also shows us what God's laws clearly forbade. The passage reminds us that how we treat those with less power matters deeply to God, and that financial dealings can reveal our character in profound ways.