73 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
73 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 36
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1 Elihu continued speaking:
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2 “Let me go on, and I will show you the truth.
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For I have not finished defending God!
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3 I will present profound arguments
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for the righteousness of my Creator.
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4 I am telling you nothing but the truth,
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for I am a man of great knowledge.
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5 “God is mighty, but he does not despise anyone!
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He is mighty in both power and understanding.
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6 He does not let the wicked live
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but gives justice to the afflicted.
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7 He never takes his eyes off the innocent,
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but he sets them on thrones with kings
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and exalts them forever.
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8 If they are bound in chains
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and caught up in a web of trouble,
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9 he shows them the reason.
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He shows them their sins of pride.
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10 He gets their attention
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and commands that they turn from evil.
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11 “If they listen and obey God,
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they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives.
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All their years will be pleasant.
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12 But if they refuse to listen to him,
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they will cross over the river of death,
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dying from lack of understanding.
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13 For the godless are full of resentment.
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Even when he punishes them,
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they refuse to cry out to him for help.
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14 They die when they are young,
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after wasting their lives in immoral living.
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15 But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer.
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For he gets their attention through adversity.
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16 “God is leading you away from danger, Job,
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to a place free from distress.
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He is setting your table with the best food.
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17 But you are obsessed with whether the godless will be judged.
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Don’t worry, judgment and justice will be upheld.
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18 But watch out, or you may be seduced by wealth.
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Don’t let yourself be bribed into sin.
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19 Could all your wealth
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or all your mighty efforts
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keep you from distress?
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20 Do not long for the cover of night,
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for that is when people will be destroyed.
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21 Be on guard! Turn back from evil,
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for God sent this suffering
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to keep you from a life of evil.
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22 “Look, God is all-powerful.
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Who is a teacher like him?
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23 No one can tell him what to do,
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or say to him, ‘You have done wrong.’
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24 Instead, glorify his mighty works,
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singing songs of praise.
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25 Everyone has seen these things,
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though only from a distance.
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26 “Look, God is greater than we can understand.
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His years cannot be counted.
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27 He draws up the water vapor
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and then distills it into rain.
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28 The rain pours down from the clouds,
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and everyone benefits.
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29 Who can understand the spreading of the clouds
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and the thunder that rolls forth from heaven?
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30 See how he spreads the lightning around him
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and how it lights up the depths of the sea.
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31 By these mighty acts he nourishes the people,
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giving them food in abundance.
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32 He fills his hands with lightning bolts
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and hurls each at its target.
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33 The thunder announces his presence;
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the storm announces his indignant anger. |