110 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
110 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
Job's Reply to Zophar
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# Chapter 21
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1. Then Job answered:
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2. Pay close attention to my words;
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let this be the consolation you offer.
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3. Bear with me while I speak;
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then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.
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4. As for me, is my complaint against a human being?
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Then why shouldn't I be impatient?
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5. Look at me and shudder;
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put your hand over your mouth.
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6. When I think about it, I am terrified
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and my body trembles in horror.
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7. Why do the wicked continue to live,
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growing old and becoming powerful?
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8. Their children are established while they are still alive,
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and their descendants, before their eyes.
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9. Their homes are secure and free of fear;
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no rod from God strikes them.
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10. Their bulls breed without fail;
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their cows calve and do not miscarry.
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11. They let their little ones run around like lambs;
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their children skip about,
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12. singing to the tambourine and lyre
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and rejoicing at the sound of the flute.
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13. They spend their days in prosperity
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and go down to Sheol in peace.
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14. Yet they say to God, "Leave us alone!
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We don't want to know your ways.
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15. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him,
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and what will we gain by pleading with him?"
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16. But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
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The counsel of the wicked is far from me!
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17. How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
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Does disaster come on them?
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Does he apportion destruction in his anger?
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18. Are they like straw before the wind,
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like chaff a storm sweeps away?
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19. God reserves a person's punishment for his children.
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Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.
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20. Let his own eyes see his demise;
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let him drink from the Almighty's wrath!
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21. For what does he care about his family once he is dead,
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when the number of his months has run out?
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22. Can anyone teach God knowledge,
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since he judges the exalted ones?
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23. One person dies in excellent health,
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completely secure and at ease.
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24. His body is well fed,
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and his bones are full of marrow.
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25. Yet another person dies with a bitter soul,
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having never tasted prosperity.
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26. But they both lie in the dust,
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and worms cover them.
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27. I know your thoughts very well,
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the schemes by which you would wrong me.
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28. For you say, "Where now is the nobleman's house?"
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and "Where are the tents the wicked lived in?"
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29. Have you never consulted those who travel the roads?
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Don't you accept their reports?
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30. Indeed, the evil person is spared from the day of disaster,
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rescued from the day of wrath.
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31. Who would denounce his behavior to his face?
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Who would repay him for what he has done?
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32. He is carried to the grave,
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and someone keeps watch over his tomb.
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33. The dirt on his grave is sweet to him.
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Everyone follows behind him,
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and those who go before him are without number.
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34. So how can you offer me such futile comfort?
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Your answers are deceptive.
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