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- Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
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- Can a man be profitable unto God?
Or can he that is wise be profitable unto Him?
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- Is it any advantage to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?
Or is it gain to Him, that thou makest thy ways blameless?
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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?
And are not thine iniquities without end?
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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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- And as a mighty man, who hath the earth, and as a man of rank, who dwelleth 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 dread affrighted thee,
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- Or darkness, 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 topmost of the stars, how high they are!
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- And thou sayest: "What doth God know?
Can He judge through the dark cloud?
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- Thick clouds are a covering to Him, that He seeth not;
and He walketh in the circuit 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 could the Almighty do unto them?
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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 saw it, and were glad, and the innocent laugh them to scorn:
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- "Surely their substance is cut off, and their abundance the fire hath consumed."
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- Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace;
thereby shall thine increase be good.
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- Receive, I pray thee, instruction 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 thy treasure in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;
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- And the Almighty be thy treasure, and precious silver unto thee;
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- Then surely shalt thou have thy delight 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";
for the humble person He saveth.
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- He delivereth him that is innocent, yea, thou shalt be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.
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