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Elihu Rebukes Job

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“But now, hear my speech, O Job,

and listen to all my words.

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See, I open my mouth;

the tongue in my mouth speaks.

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My words declare the uprightness of my heart,

and what my lips know they speak sincerely.

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The spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

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Answer me, if you can;

set your words in order before me; take your stand.

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See, before God I am as you are;

I too was formed from a piece of clay.

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No fear of me need terrify you;

my pressure will not be heavy on you.

 

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“Surely, you have spoken in my hearing,

and I have heard the sound of your words.

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You say, ‘I am clean, without transgression;

I am pure, and there is no iniquity in me.

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Look, he finds occasions against me,

he counts me as his enemy;

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he puts my feet in the stocks,

and watches all my paths.’

 

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“But in this you are not right. I will answer you:

God is greater than any mortal.

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Why do you contend against him,

saying, ‘He will answer none of my words’?

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For God speaks in one way,

and in two, though people do not perceive it.

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In a dream, in a vision of the night,

when deep sleep falls on mortals,

while they slumber on their beds,

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then he opens their ears,

and terrifies them with warnings,

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that he may turn them aside from their deeds,

and keep them from pride,

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to spare their souls from the Pit,

their lives from traversing the River.

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They are also chastened with pain upon their beds,

and with continual strife in their bones,

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so that their lives loathe bread,

and their appetites dainty food.

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Their flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen;

and their bones, once invisible, now stick out.

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Their souls draw near the Pit,

and their lives to those who bring death.

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Then, if there should be for one of them an angel,

a mediator, one of a thousand,

one who declares a person upright,

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and he is gracious to that person, and says,

‘Deliver him from going down into the Pit;

I have found a ransom;

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let his flesh become fresh with youth;

let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;

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then he prays to God, and is accepted by him,

he comes into his presence with joy,

and God repays him for his righteousness.

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That person sings to others and says,

‘I sinned, and perverted what was right,

and it was not paid back to me.

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He has redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,

and my life shall see the light.’

 

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“God indeed does all these things,

twice, three times, with mortals,

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to bring back their souls from the Pit,

so that they may see the light of life.

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Pay heed, Job, listen to me;

be silent, and I will speak.

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If you have anything to say, answer me;

speak, for I desire to justify you.

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If not, listen to me;

be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”