nkjv Job:18-20 SEEK
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Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said :
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How long till you put an end to words ?
Gain understanding ,
and afterward we will speak .
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Why are we counted as beasts ,
And regarded as stupid in your sight ?
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You who tear yourself in anger ,
Shall the earth be forsaken for you ?
Or shall the rock be removed from its place ?
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The light of the wicked indeed goes out ,
And the flame of his fire does not shine .
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The light is dark in his tent ,
And his lamp beside him is put out .
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The steps of his strength are shortened ,
And his own counsel casts him down .
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For he is cast into a net by his own feet ,
And he walks into a snare .
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The net takes him by the heel ,
And a snare lays hold of him .
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A noose is hidden for him on the ground ,
And a trap for him in the road .
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Terrors frighten him on every side ,
And drive him to his feet .
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His strength is starved ,
And destruction is ready at his side .
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It devours patches of his skin ;
The firstborn of death devours his limbs .
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He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent ,
And they parade him before the king of terrors .
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They dwell in his tent who are none of his ;
Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling .
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His roots are dried out below ,
And his branch withers above .
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The memory of him perishes from the earth ,
And he has no name among the renowned .
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He is driven from light into darkness ,
And chased out of the world .
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He has neither son nor posterity among his people ,
Nor any remaining in his dwellings .
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Those in the west are astonished at his day ,
As those in the east are frightened .
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Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked ,
And this is the place of him who does not know God ."
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Then Job answered and said :
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How long will you torment my soul ,
And break me in pieces with words ?
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These ten times you have reproached me ;
You are not ashamed that you have wronged me .
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And if indeed I have erred ,
My error remains with me .
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If indeed you exalt yourselves against me ,
And plead my disgrace against me ,
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Know then that God has wronged me ,
And has surrounded me with His net .
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If I cry out concerning wrong ,
I am not heard .
If I cry aloud ,
there is no justice .
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He has fenced up my way ,
so that I cannot pass ;
And He has set darkness in my paths .
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He has stripped me of my glory ,
And taken the crown from my head .
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He breaks me down on every side ,
And I am gone ;
My hope He has uprooted like a tree .
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He has also kindled His wrath against me ,
And He counts me as one of His enemies .
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His troops come together And build up their road against me ;
They encamp all around my tent .
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He has removed my brothers far from me ,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me .
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My relatives have failed ,
And my close friends have forgotten me .
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Those who dwell in my house ,
and my maidservants ,
Count me as a stranger ;
I am an alien in their sight .
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I call my servant ,
but he gives no answer ;
I beg him with my mouth .
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My breath is offensive to my wife ,
And I am repulsive to the children of my own body .
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Even young children despise me ;
I arise ,
and they speak against me .
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All my close friends abhor me ,
And those whom I love have turned against me .
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My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh ,
And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth .
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Have pity on me ,
have pity on me ,
O you my friends ,
For the hand of God has struck me !
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Why do you persecute me as God does ,
And are not satisfied with my flesh ?
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Oh ,
that my words were written !
Oh ,
that they were inscribed in a book !
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That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead ,
forever !
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For I know that my Redeemer lives ,
And He shall stand at last on the earth ;
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And after my skin is destroyed ,
this I know ,
That in my flesh I shall see God ,
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Whom I shall see for myself ,
And my eyes shall behold ,
and not another .
How my heart yearns within me !
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If you should say , "
How shall we persecute him ?'--
Since the root of the matter is found in me ,
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Be afraid of the sword for yourselves ;
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword ,
That you may know there is a judgment ."
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Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said :
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Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer ,
Because of the turmoil within me .
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I have heard the rebuke that reproaches me ,
And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer .
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Do you not know this of old ,
Since man was placed on earth ,
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That the triumphing of the wicked is short ,
And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment ?
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Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens ,
And his head reaches to the clouds ,
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Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse ;
Those who have seen him will say , "
Where is he ?'
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He will fly away like a dream ,
and not be found ;
Yes ,
he will be chased away like a vision of the night .
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The eye that saw him will see him no more ,
Nor will his place behold him anymore .
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His children will seek the favor of the poor ,
And his hands will restore his wealth .
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His bones are full of his youthful vigor ,
But it will lie down with him in the dust .
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Though evil is sweet in his mouth ,
And he hides it under his tongue ,
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Though he spares it and does not forsake it ,
But still keeps it in his mouth ,
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Yet his food in his stomach turns sour ;
It becomes cobra venom within him .
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He swallows down riches And vomits them up again ;
God casts them out of his belly .
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He will suck the poison of cobras ;
The viper '
s tongue will slay him .
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He will not see the streams ,
The rivers flowing with honey and cream .
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He will restore that for which he labored ,
And will not swallow it down ;
From the proceeds of business He will get no enjoyment .
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For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor ,
He has violently seized a house which he did not build .
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Because he knows no quietness in his heart ,
He will not save anything he desires .
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Nothing is left for him to eat ;
Therefore his well-being will not last .
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In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress ;
Every hand of misery will come against him .
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When he is about to fill his stomach ,
God will cast on him the fury of His wrath ,
And will rain it on him while he is eating .
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He will flee from the iron weapon ;
A bronze bow will pierce him through .
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It is drawn ,
and comes out of the body ;
Yes ,
the glittering point comes out of his gall .
Terrors come upon him ;
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Total darkness is reserved for his treasures .
An unfanned fire will consume him ;
It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent .
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The heavens will reveal his iniquity ,
And the earth will rise up against him .
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The increase of his house will depart ,
And his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath .
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This is the portion from God for a wicked man ,
The heritage appointed to him by God ."
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Then Job answered and said :