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- ¶ THEN Job answered and said,
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- Oh that my grief were weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances against it!
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- For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;
therefore my words are restrained.
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- For the arrows of the Almighty are in my flesh, and their poison drinks up my spirit;
the terrors of God have frightened me.
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- Does the wild ass bray over grass?
Or does the ox low over the fodder?
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- Or can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt?
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
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- My soul is weary of its troubles, I lament like a drunken man in my affliction.
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- ¶ Oh that I might have my request;
and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
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- So that God would hearken to cleanse me, and to spread out his hand and make me whole;
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- And to be again my comfort, so that I may be restored to my strength without measure;
for I have not lied against the words of the Holy One.
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- What is my strength, that I should endure?
And what is my end, that I should be patient?
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- Is my strength the strength of stones?
Or is my flesh of brass?
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- Behold, his help is not in me, and his salvation is far off from me.
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- ¶ He who withholds peace from his friend, forsakes the worship of the Almighty.
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- My brethren have dealt deceitfully like dry brooks, like torrents which pass away.
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- Those who were afraid of ice, much snow has fallen upon them.
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- When the sun shines over them, they melt;
when it is hot, they melt and disappear from their place.
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- The paths of their ways are winding;
they go astray from their course and perish.
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- For they have looked toward the roads of the south, and have waited for the paths of Sheba.
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- They are ashamed in what they had hoped;
they came there, and were confounded.
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- You also have become such to me;
because before you saw terror, you were afraid.
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- ¶ Did I say, Bring me a present?
Or from your wealth offer a bribe for my sake?
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- Or rescue me from my oppressor’s hands;
or deliver me from the hand of the mighty?
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- Teach me, and I will be silent;
and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
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- Why do you reject the words of truth?
Who of you are able to rebuke and chastise?
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- Behold you are seeking to find words with which to reprove, and against my soul you are conjuring up words.
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- Behold, you overwhelm the fatherless, and you grieve your friend.
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- Now therefore listen and take heed, and I will speak in your presence, and will not lie.
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- Repent, I pray you, and do not become like ungodly men;
repent therefore and be justified.
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- Is there iniquity in my tongue?
Or does not my mouth speak truth?
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