1
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"I made a solemn pact with myself never to undress a girl with my eyes. |
2
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So what can I expect from God? What do I deserve from God Almighty above? |
3
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Isn't calamity reserved for the wicked? Isn't disaster supposed to strike those who do wrong? |
4
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Isn't God looking, observing how I live? Doesn't he mark every step I take? |
5
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"Have I walked hand in hand with falsehood, or hung out in the company of deceit? |
6
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Weigh me on a set of honest scales so God has proof of my integrity. |
7
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If I've strayed off the straight and narrow, wanted things I had no right to, messed around with sin, |
8
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Go ahead, then-- give my portion to someone who deserves it. |
9
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"If I've let myself be seduced by a woman and conspired to go to bed with her, |
10
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Fine, my wife has every right to go ahead and sleep with anyone she wants to. |
11
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For disgusting behavior like that, I'd deserve the worst punishment you could hand out. |
12
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Adultery is a fire that burns the house down; I wouldn't expect anything I count dear to survive it. |
13
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"Have I ever been unfair to my employees when they brought a complaint to me? |
14
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What, then, will I do when God confronts me? When God examines my books, what can I say? |
15
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Didn't the same God who made me, make them? Aren't we all made of the same stuff, equals before God? |
16
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"Have I ignored the needs of the poor, turned my back on the indigent, |
17
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Taken care of my own needs and fed my own face while they languished? |
18
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Wasn't my home always open to them? Weren't they always welcome at my table? |
19
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"Have I ever left a poor family shivering in the cold when they had no warm clothes? |
20
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Didn't the poor bless me when they saw me coming, knowing I'd brought coats from my closet? |
21
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"If I've ever used my strength and influence to take advantage of the unfortunate, |
22
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Go ahead, break both my arms, cut off all my fingers! |
23
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The fear of God has kept me from these things-- how else could I ever face him? If Only Someone Would Give Me a Hearing! |
24
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"Did I set my heart on making big money or worship at the bank? |
25
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Did I boast about my wealth, show off because I was well-off? |
26
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Was I ever so awed by the sun's brilliance and moved by the moon's beauty |
27
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That I let myself become seduced by them and worshiped them on the sly? |
28
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If so, I would deserve the worst of punishments, for I would be betraying God himself. |
29
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"Did I ever crow over my enemy's ruin? Or gloat over my rival's bad luck? |
30
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No, I never said a word of detraction, never cursed them, even under my breath. |
31
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"Didn't those who worked for me say, 'He fed us well. There were always second helpings'? |
32
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And no stranger ever had to spend a night in the street; my doors were always open to travelers. |
33
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Did I hide my sin the way Adam did, or conceal my guilt behind closed doors |
34
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Because I was afraid what people would say, fearing the gossip of the neighbors so much That I turned myself into a recluse? You know good and well that I didn't. |
35
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"Oh, if only someone would give me a hearing! I've signed my name to my defense--let the Almighty One answer! I want to see my indictment in writing. |
36
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Anyone's welcome to read my defense; I'll write it on a poster and carry it around town. |
37
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I'm prepared to account for every move I've ever made-- to anyone and everyone, prince or pauper. |
38
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"If the very ground that I farm accuses me, if even the furrows fill with tears from my abuse, |
39
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If I've ever raped the earth for my own profit or dispossessed its rightful owners, |
40
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Then curse it with thistles instead of wheat, curse it with weeds instead of barley." The words of Job to his three friends were finished. |
Job 31:1 English Language Bible Words basic statistical display
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