1
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Then Eliphaz from Teman answered: |
2
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"Does God need our help? Even the wisest of us is not really useful to him. |
3
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Does your living right benefit him? Does God All-Powerful gain anything if you follow him? |
4
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Why does God blame and punish you? Is it because you worship him? |
5
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No, it is because you sin so much. You never stop sinning. |
6
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Maybe to guarantee loans you took things from people for no reason. Maybe you took a poor man's clothes to make sure he paid you back. |
7
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Maybe you failed to give water or food to people who were tired or hungry. |
8
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You have a lot of farmland, and people respect you. |
9
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But maybe you sent widows away without giving them anything. And maybe you took advantage of orphans. |
10
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That is why traps are all around you, and sudden trouble makes you afraid. |
11
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That is why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you. |
12
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"God lives in the highest part of heaven and looks down on the highest stars. |
13
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But you might say, 'What does God know? Can he see through the dark clouds to judge us? |
14
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Thick clouds hide us from his eyes, so he cannot see us as he walks around the edge of the sky.' |
15
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"Job, you are walking on the old path that evil people walked on long ago. |
16
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They were destroyed before it was their time to die. They were washed away by the flood. |
17
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They told God, 'Leave us alone!' and said, 'God All-Powerful cannot do anything to us!' |
18
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And it was God who filled their houses with good things. No, I would never follow the advice of evil people. |
19
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Those who do what is right are happy to see them destroyed. The innocent laugh at them and say, |
20
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'Surely our enemies are destroyed! Their wealth burned up in the fire!' |
21
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"Now, Job, give yourself to God and make peace with him. Do this, and you will get many good things. |
22
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Accept his teaching. Pay attention to what he says. |
23
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If you return to God All-Powerful, you will be restored. But remove the evil from your house. |
24
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Think of your gold as nothing but dirt. Think of your finest gold as rocks from a stream. |
25
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And let God All-Powerful be your gold. Let him be your pile of silver. |
26
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Then you will enjoy God All-Powerful, and you will look up to him. |
27
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When you pray, he will hear you. And you will be able to do all that you promised him. |
28
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If you decide to do something, it will be successful. And your future will be very bright! |
29
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When people are brought down and you ask God to help them, he will rescue those who have been humbled. |
30
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Even those who are guilty will be forgiven. They will be saved because you did what was right." |
Job 22:15 English Language Bible Words basic statistical display
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