74 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
74 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 15
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1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
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2 “A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk!
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You are nothing but a windbag.
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3 The wise don’t engage in empty chatter.
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What good are such words?
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4 Have you no fear of God,
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no reverence for him?
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5 Your sins are telling your mouth what to say.
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Your words are based on clever deception.
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6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I.
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Your own lips testify against you.
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7 “Were you the first person ever born?
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Were you born before the hills were made?
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8 Were you listening at God’s secret council?
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Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
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9 What do you know that we don’t?
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What do you understand that we do not?
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10 On our side are aged, gray-haired men
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much older than your father!
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11 “Is God’s comfort too little for you?
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Is his gentle word not enough?
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12 What has taken away your reason?
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What has weakened your vision,
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13 that you turn against God
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and say all these evil things?
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14 Can any mortal be pure?
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Can anyone born of a woman be just?
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15 Look, God does not even trust the angels.
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Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.
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16 How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person
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with a thirst for wickedness!
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17 “If you will listen, I will show you.
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I will answer you from my own experience.
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18 And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men
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who have heard the same thing from their fathers—
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19 from those to whom the land was given
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long before any foreigners arrived.
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20 “The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives.
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Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.
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21 The sound of terror rings in their ears,
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and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.
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22 They dare not go out into the darkness
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for fear they will be murdered.
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23 They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’
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They know their day of destruction is near.
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24 That dark day terrifies them.
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They live in distress and anguish,
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like a king preparing for battle.
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25 For they shake their fists at God,
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defying the Almighty.
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26 Holding their strong shields,
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they defiantly charge against him.
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27 “These wicked people are heavy and prosperous;
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their waists bulge with fat.
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28 But their cities will be ruined.
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They will live in abandoned houses
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that are ready to tumble down.
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29 Their riches will not last,
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and their wealth will not endure.
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Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.
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30 “They will not escape the darkness.
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The burning sun will wither their shoots,
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and the breath of God will destroy them.
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31 Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches,
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for emptiness will be their only reward.
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32 They will be cut down in the prime of life;
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their branches will never again be green.
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33 They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early,
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like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.
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34 For the godless are barren.
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Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.
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35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
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Their womb produces deceit.” |