1
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Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: |
2
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"Can a person do anything to help God? Can even a wise person be helpful to him? |
3
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Is it any advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous? Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect? |
4
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Is it because you're so pious that he accuses you and brings judgment against you? |
5
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No, it's because of your wickedness! There's no limit to your sins. |
6
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"For example, you must have lent money to your friend and demanded clothing as security. Yes, you stripped him to the bone. |
7
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You must have refused water for the thirsty and food for the hungry. |
8
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You probably think the land belongs to the powerful and only the privileged have a right to it! |
9
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You must have sent widows away empty-handed and crushed the hopes of orphans. |
10
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That is why you are surrounded by traps and tremble from sudden fears. |
11
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That is why you cannot see in the darkness, and waves of water cover you. |
12
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"God is so great-- higher than the heavens, higher than the farthest stars. |
13
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But you reply, 'That's why God can't see what I am doing! How can he judge through the thick darkness? |
14
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For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us. He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.' |
15
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"Will you continue on the old paths where evil people have walked? |
16
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They were snatched away in the prime of life, the foundations of their lives washed away. |
17
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For they said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?' |
18
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Yet he was the one who filled their homes with good things, so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking. |
19
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"The righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed, and the innocent will laugh in contempt. |
20
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They will say, 'See how our enemies have been destroyed. The last of them have been consumed in the fire.' |
21
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"Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you. |
22
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Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart. |
23
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If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored-- so clean up your life. |
24
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If you give up your lust for money and throw your precious gold into the river, |
25
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the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver! |
26
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"Then you will take delight in the Almighty and look up to God. |
27
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You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him. |
28
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You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you. |
29
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If people are in trouble and you say, 'Help them,' God will save them. |
30
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Even sinners will be rescued; they will be rescued because your hands are pure." |
Job 22:6 English Language Bible Words basic statistical display
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