214 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
214 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
Job's Final Protest of Innocence
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# Chapter 31
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1. "I made a covenant with my eyes
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not to look with lust at a young woman.
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2. For what has God above chosen for us?
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What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high?
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3. Isn't it calamity for the wicked
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and misfortune for those who do evil?
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4. Doesn't he see everything I do
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and every step I take?
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5. "Have I lied to anyone
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or deceived anyone?
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6. Let God weigh me on the scales of justice,
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for he knows my integrity.
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7. If I have strayed from his pathway,
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or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen,
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or if I am guilty of any other sin,
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8. then let someone else eat the crops I have planted.
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Let all that I have planted be uprooted.
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9. "If my heart has been seduced by a woman,
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or if I have lusted for my neighbor's wife,
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10. then let my wife serve another man;
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let other men sleep with her.
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11. For lust is a shameful sin,
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a crime that should be punished.
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12. It is a fire that burns all the way to hell.
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It would wipe out everything I own.
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13. "If I have been unfair to my male or female servants
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when they brought their complaints to me,
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14. how could I face God?
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What could I say when he questioned me?
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15. For God created both me and my servants.
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He created us both in the womb.
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16. "Have I refused to help the poor,
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or crushed the hopes of widows?
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17. Have I been stingy with my food
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and refused to share it with orphans?
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18. No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father,
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and all my life I have cared for widows.
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19. Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes
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and the needy with nothing to wear,
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20. did they not praise me
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for providing wool clothing to keep them warm?
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21. "If I raised my hand against an orphan,
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knowing the judges would take my side,
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22. then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place!
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Let my arm be torn from its socket!
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23. That would be better than facing God's judgment.
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For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?
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24. "Have I put my trust in money
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or felt secure because of my gold?
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25. Have I gloated about my wealth
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and all that I own?
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26. "Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies,
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or the moon walking down its silver pathway,
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27. and been secretly enticed in my heart
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to throw kisses at them in worship?
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28. If so, I should be punished by the judges,
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for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.
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29. "Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies,
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or become excited when harm came their way?
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30. No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone
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or by asking for revenge.
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31. "My servants have never said,
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'He let others go hungry.'
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32. I have never turned away a stranger
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but have opened my doors to everyone.
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33. "Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do,
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concealing my guilt in my heart?
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34. Have I feared the crowd
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or the contempt of the masses,
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so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?
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35. "If only someone would listen to me!
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Look, I will sign my name to my defense.
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Let the Almighty answer me.
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Let my accuser write out the charges against me.
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36. I would face the accusation proudly.
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I would wear it like a crown.
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37. For I would tell him exactly what I have done.
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I would come before him like a prince.
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38. "If my land accuses me
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and all its furrows cry out together,
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39. or if I have stolen its crops
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or murdered its owners,
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40. then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat,
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and weeds instead of barley."
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Job's words are ended.
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