1
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Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: |
2
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"Can a mortal be of use to God? Can even the wisest be of service to him? |
3
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Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous, or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless? |
4
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Is it for your piety that he reproves you, and enters into judgment with you? |
5
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Is not your wickedness great? There is no end to your iniquities. |
6
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For you have exacted pledges from your family for no reason, and stripped the naked of their clothing. |
7
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You have given no water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry. |
8
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The powerful possess the land, and the favored live in it. |
9
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You have sent widows away empty-handed, and the arms of the orphans you have crushed. |
10
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Therefore snares are around you, and sudden terror overwhelms you, |
11
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or darkness so that you cannot see; a flood of water covers you. |
12
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"Is not God high in the heavens? See the highest stars, how lofty they are! |
13
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Therefore you say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through the deep darkness? |
14
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Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he does not see, and he walks on the dome of heaven.' |
15
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Will you keep to the old way that the wicked have trod? |
16
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They were snatched away before their time; their foundation was washed away by a flood. |
17
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They said to God, 'Leave us alone,' and 'What can the Almighty do to us?' |
18
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Yet he filled their houses with good things-- but the plans of the wicked are repugnant to me. |
19
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The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent laugh them to scorn, |
20
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saying, 'Surely our adversaries are cut off, and what they left, the fire has consumed.' |
21
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"Agree with God, and be at peace; in this way good will come to you. |
22
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Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. |
23
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If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored, if you remove unrighteousness from your tents, |
24
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if you treat gold like dust, and gold of Ophir like the stones of the torrent-bed, |
25
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and if the Almighty is your gold and your precious silver, |
26
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then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and lift up your face to God. |
27
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You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows. |
28
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You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. |
29
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When others are humiliated, you say it is pride; for he saves the humble. |
30
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He will deliver even those who are guilty; they will escape because of the cleanness of your hands." |
Job 22:1 English Language Bible Words basic statistical display
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