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- Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
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- Can a man be profitable unto God?
Surely he that is wise is profitable unto himself.
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- Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?
Or is it gain [to him], that thou makest thy ways perfect?
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- Is it for thy fear [of him] that he reproveth thee, That he entereth with thee into judgment?
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- Is not thy wickedness great?
Neither is there any end to thine iniquities.
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- For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought, And stripped the naked of their clothing.
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- Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
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- But as for the mighty man, he had the earth;
And the honorable man, he dwelt in it.
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- Thou hast sent widows away empty, And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
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- Therefore snares are round about thee, And sudden fear troubleth thee,
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- Or darkness, so that thou canst not see, And abundance of waters cover thee.
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- Is not God in the height of heaven?
And behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
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- And thou sayest, What doth God know?
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
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- Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he seeth not;
And he walketh on the vault of heaven.
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- Wilt thou keep the old way Which wicked men have trodden?
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- Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundation was poured out as a stream,
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- Who said unto God, Depart from us;
And, What can the Almighty do for us?
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- Yet he filled their houses with good things: But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
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- The righteous see it, and are glad;
And the innocent laugh them to scorn,
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- [Saying], Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off, And the remnant of them the fire hath consumed.
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- Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: Thereby good shall come unto thee.
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- Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, And lay up his words in thy heart.
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- If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, If thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.
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- And lay thou [thy] treasure in the dust, And [the gold of] Ophir among the stones of the brooks;
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- And the Almighty will be thy treasure, And precious silver unto thee.
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- For then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty, And shalt lift up thy face unto God.
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- Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee;
And thou shalt pay thy vows.
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- Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee;
And light shall shine upon thy ways.
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- When they cast [thee] down, thou shalt say, [There is] lifting up;
And the humble person he will save.
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- He will deliver [even] him that is not innocent: Yea, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.
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