Job:23-24
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Then Job answered :
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Today also my complaint is bitter ,
his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning .
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Oh ,
that I knew where I might find him ,
that I might come even to his seat !
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I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments .
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I would learn what he would answer me ,
and understand what he would say to me .
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Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power ?
No ;
he would give heed to me .
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There an upright man could reason with him ,
and I should be acquitted for ever by my judge .
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Behold ,
I go forward ,
but he is not there ;
and backward ,
but I cannot perceive him ;
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on the left hand I seek him ,
but I cannot behold him ;
I turn to the right hand ,
but I cannot see him .
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But he knows the way that I take ;
when he has tried me ,
I shall come forth as gold .
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My foot has held fast to his steps ;
I have kept his way and have not turned aside .
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I have not departed from the commandment of his lips ;
I have treasured in my bosom the words of his mouth .
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But he is unchangeable and who can turn him ?
What he desires ,
that he does .
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For he will complete what he appoints for me ;
and many such things are in his mind .
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Therefore I am terrified at his presence ;
when I consider ,
I am in dread of him .
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God has made my heart faint ;
the Almighty has terrified me ;
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for I am hemmed in by darkness ,
and thick darkness covers my face .
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Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty ,
and why do those who know him never see his days ?
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Men remove landmarks ;
they seize flocks and pasture them .
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They drive away the ass of the fatherless ;
they take the widow '
s ox for a pledge .
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They thrust the poor off the road ;
the poor of the earth all hide themselves .
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Behold ,
like wild asses in the desert they go forth to their toil ,
seeking prey in the wilderness as food for their children .
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They gather their fodder in the field and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man .
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They lie all night naked ,
without clothing ,
and have no covering in the cold .
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They are wet with the rain of the mountains ,
and cling to the rock for want of shelter .
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There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast ,
and take in pledge the infant of the poor .)
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They go about naked ,
without clothing ;
hungry ,
they carry the sheaves ;
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among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil ;
they tread the wine presses ,
but suffer thirst .
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From out of the city the dying groan ,
and the soul of the wounded cries for help ;
yet God pays no attention to their prayer .
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There are those who rebel against the light ,
who are not acquainted with its ways ,
and do not stay in its paths .
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The murderer rises in the dark ,
that he may kill the poor and needy ;
and in the night he is as a thief .
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The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight ,
saying , `
No eye will see me ';
and he disguises his face .
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In the dark they dig through houses ;
by day they shut themselves up ;
they do not know the light .
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For deep darkness is morning to all of them ;
for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness .
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You say , "
They are swiftly carried away upon the face of the waters ;
their portion is cursed in the land ;
no treader turns toward their vineyards .
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Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters ;
so does Sheol those who have sinned .
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The squares of the town forget them ;
their name is no longer remembered ;
so wickedness is broken like a tree .'
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They feed on the barren childless woman ,
and do no good to the widow .
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Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power ;
they rise up when they despair of life .
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He gives them security ,
and they are supported ;
and his eyes are upon their ways .
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They are exalted a little while ,
and then are gone ;
they wither and fade like the mallow ;
they are cut off like the heads of grain .
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If it is not so ,
who will prove me a liar ,
and show that there is nothing in what I say ?"
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Then Bildad the Shuhite answered :
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