1
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Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: |
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2
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“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind? |
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3
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Should he argue with useless words or speeches that serve no purpose? |
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4
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But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before Him. |
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5
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For your iniquity instructs your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty. |
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6
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Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you. |
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7
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Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills? |
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8
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Do you listen in on the council of God or limit wisdom to yourself? |
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9
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What do you know that we do not? What do you understand that is not clear to us? |
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10
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Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—men much older than your father. |
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11
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Are the consolations of God not enough for you, even words spoken gently to you? |
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12
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Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash, |
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13
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as you turn your spirit against God and pour such words from your mouth? |
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14
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What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous? |
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15
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If God puts no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes, |
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how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water? |
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17
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Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen, |
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18
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what was declared by wise men and was not concealed from their fathers, |
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19
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to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them. |
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20
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A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless. |
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21
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Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him. |
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22
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He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword. |
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23
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He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand. |
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24
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Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack. |
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25
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For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty, |
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26
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rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield. |
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27
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Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh, |
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28
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he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become rubble. |
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29
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He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not overspread the land. |
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30
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He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away. |
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31
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Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward. |
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32
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It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish. |
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33
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He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms. |
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34
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For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery. |
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35
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They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.” |
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