1
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Job continued by saying: |
2
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"So what's new? I know all this. The question is, 'How can mere mortals get right with God?' |
3
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If we wanted to bring our case before him, what chance would we have? Not one in a thousand! |
4
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God's wisdom is so deep, God's power so immense, who could take him on and come out in one piece? |
5
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He moves mountains before they know what's happened, flips them on their heads on a whim. |
6
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He gives the earth a good shaking up, rocks it down to its very foundations. |
7
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He tells the sun, 'Don't shine,' and it doesn't; he pulls the blinds on the stars. |
8
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All by himself he stretches out the heavens and strides on the waves of the sea. |
9
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He designed the Big Dipper and Orion, the Pleiades and Alpha Centauri. |
10
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We'll never comprehend all the great things he does; his miracle-surprises can't be counted. |
11
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Somehow, though he moves right in front of me, I don't see him; quietly but surely he's active, and I miss it. |
12
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If he steals you blind, who can stop him? Who's going to say, 'Hey, what are you doing?' |
13
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God doesn't hold back on his anger; even dragon-bred monsters cringe before him. |
14
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"So how could I ever argue with him, construct a defense that would influence God? |
15
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Even though I'm innocent I could never prove it; I can only throw myself on the Judge's mercy. |
16
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If I called on God and he himself answered me, then, and only then, would I believe that he'd heard me. |
17
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As it is, he knocks me about from pillar to post, beating me up, black and blue, for no good reason. |
18
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He won't even let me catch my breath, piles bitterness upon bitterness. |
19
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If it's a question of who's stronger, he wins, hands down! If it's a question of justice, who'll serve him the subpoena? |
20
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Even though innocent, anything I say incriminates me; blameless as I am, my defense just makes me sound worse. |
21
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"Believe me, I'm blameless. I don't understand what's going on. I hate my life! |
22
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Since either way it ends up the same, I can only conclude that God destroys the good right along with the bad. |
23
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When calamity hits and brings sudden death, he folds his arms, aloof from the despair of the innocent. |
24
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He lets the wicked take over running the world, he installs judges who can't tell right from wrong. If he's not responsible, who is? |
25
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"My time is short--what's left of my life races off too fast for me to even glimpse the good. |
26
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My life is going fast, like a ship under full sail, like an eagle plummeting to its prey. |
27
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Even if I say, 'I'll put all this behind me, I'll look on the bright side and force a smile,' |
28
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All these troubles would still be like grit in my gut since it's clear you're not going to let up. |
29
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The verdict has already been handed down--'Guilty!'-- so what's the use of protests or appeals? |
30
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Even if I scrub myself all over and wash myself with the strongest soap I can find, |
31
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It wouldn't last--you'd push me into a pigpen, or worse, so nobody could stand me for the stink. |
32
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"God and I are not equals; I can't bring a case against him. We'll never enter a courtroom as peers. |
33
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How I wish we had an arbitrator to step in and let me get on with life-- |
34
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To break God's death grip on me, to free me from this terror so I could breathe again. |
35
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Then I'd speak up and state my case boldly. As things stand, there is no way I can do it. |
Job 9:1 English Language Bible Words basic statistical display
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