131 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
131 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
Job's Fourth Speech: A Response to Zophar
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# Chapter 12
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1. Then Job spoke again:
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2. "You people really know everything, don't you?
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And when you die, wisdom will die with you!
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3. Well, I know a few things myself--
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and you're no better than I am.
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Who doesn't know these things you've been saying?
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4. Yet my friends laugh at me,
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for I call on God and expect an answer.
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I am a just and blameless man,
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yet they laugh at me.
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5. People who are at ease mock those in trouble.
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They give a push to people who are stumbling.
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6. But robbers are left in peace,
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and those who provoke God live in safety--
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though God keeps them in his power.
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7. "Just ask the animals, and they will teach you.
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Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
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8. Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you.
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Let the fish in the sea speak to you.
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9. For they all know
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that my disaster has come from the hand of the LORD.
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10. For the life of every living thing is in his hand,
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and the breath of every human being.
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11. The ear tests the words it hears
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just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.
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12. Wisdom belongs to the aged,
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and understanding to the old.
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13. "But true wisdom and power are found in God;
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counsel and understanding are his.
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14. What he destroys cannot be rebuilt.
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When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.
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15. If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert.
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If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.
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16. Yes, strength and wisdom are his;
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deceivers and deceived are both in his power.
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17. He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment;
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wise judges become fools.
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18. He removes the royal robe of kings.
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They are led away with ropes around their waist.
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19. He leads priests away, stripped of status;
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he overthrows those with long years in power.
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20. He silences the trusted adviser
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and removes the insight of the elders.
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21. He pours disgrace upon princes
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and disarms the strong.
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22. "He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness;
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he brings light to the deepest gloom.
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23. He builds up nations, and he destroys them.
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He expands nations, and he abandons them.
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24. He strips kings of understanding
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and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.
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25. They grope in the darkness without a light.
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He makes them stagger like drunkards.
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