nkjv Job:26-31 SEEK
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But Job answered and said :
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How have you helped him who is without power ?
How have you saved the arm that has no strength ?
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How have you counseled one who has no wisdom ?
And how have you declared sound advice to many ?
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To whom have you uttered words ?
And whose spirit came from you ?
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The dead tremble ,
Those under the waters and those inhabiting them .
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Sheol is naked before Him ,
And Destruction has no covering .
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He stretches out the north over empty space ;
He hangs the earth on nothing .
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He binds up the water in His thick clouds ,
Yet the clouds are not broken under it .
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He covers the face of His throne ,
And spreads His cloud over it .
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He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters ,
At the boundary of light and darkness .
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The pillars of heaven tremble ,
And are astonished at His rebuke .
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He stirs up the sea with His power ,
And by His understanding He breaks up the storm .
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By His Spirit He adorned the heavens ;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent .
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Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways ,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him !
But the thunder of His power who can understand ?"
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Moreover Job continued his discourse ,
and said :
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As God lives ,
who has taken away my justice ,
And the Almighty ,
who has made my soul bitter ,
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As long as my breath is in me ,
And the breath of God in my nostrils ,
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My lips will not speak wickedness ,
Nor my tongue utter deceit .
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Far be it from me That I should say you are right ;
Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me .
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My righteousness I hold fast ,
and will not let it go ;
My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live .
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May my enemy be like the wicked ,
And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous .
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For what is the hope of the hypocrite ,
Though he may gain much ,
If God takes away his life ?
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Will God hear his cry When trouble comes upon him ?
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Will he delight himself in the Almighty ?
Will he always call on God ?
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I will teach you about the hand of God ;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal .
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Surely all of you have seen it ;
Why then do you behave with complete nonsense ?
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This is the portion of a wicked man with God ,
And the heritage of oppressors ,
received from the Almighty :
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If his children are multiplied ,
it is for the sword ;
And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread .
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Those who survive him shall be buried in death ,
And their widows shall not weep ,
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Though he heaps up silver like dust ,
And piles up clothing like clay --
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He may pile it up ,
but the just will wear it ,
And the innocent will divide the silver .
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He builds his house like a moth ,
Like a booth which a watchman makes .
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The rich man will lie down ,
But not be gathered up ;
He opens his eyes ,
And he is no more .
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Terrors overtake him like a flood ;
A tempest steals him away in the night .
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The east wind carries him away ,
and he is gone ;
It sweeps him out of his place .
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It hurls against him and does not spare ;
He flees desperately from its power .
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Men shall clap their hands at him ,
And shall hiss him out of his place .
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Surely there is a mine for silver ,
And a place where gold is refined .
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Iron is taken from the earth ,
And copper is smelted from ore .
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Man puts an end to darkness ,
And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death .
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He breaks open a shaft away from people ;
In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men ;
They swing to and fro .
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As for the earth ,
from it comes bread ,
But underneath it is turned up as by fire ;
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Its stones are the source of sapphires ,
And it contains gold dust .
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That path no bird knows ,
Nor has the falcon '
s eye seen it .
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The proud lions have not trodden it ,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it .
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He puts his hand on the flint ;
He overturns the mountains at the roots .
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He cuts out channels in the rocks ,
And his eye sees every precious thing .
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He dams up the streams from trickling ;
What is hidden he brings forth to light .
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But where can wisdom be found ?
And where is the place of understanding ?
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Man does not know its value ,
Nor is it found in the land of the living .
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The deep says , "
It is not in me ';
And the sea says , "
It is not with me .'
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It cannot be purchased for gold ,
Nor can silver be weighed for its price .
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It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir ,
In precious onyx or sapphire .
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Neither gold nor crystal can equal it ,
Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold .
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No mention shall be made of coral or quartz ,
For the price of wisdom is above rubies .
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The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it ,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold .
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From where then does wisdom come ?
And where is the place of understanding ?
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It is hidden from the eyes of all living ,
And concealed from the birds of the air .
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Destruction and Death say , "
We have heard a report about it with our ears .'
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God understands its way ,
And He knows its place .
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For He looks to the ends of the earth ,
And sees under the whole heavens ,
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To establish a weight for the wind ,
And apportion the waters by measure .
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When He made a law for the rain ,
And a path for the thunderbolt ,
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Then He saw wisdom and declared it ;
He prepared it ,
indeed ,
He searched it out .
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And to man He said , "
Behold ,
the fear of the Lord ,
that is wisdom ,
And to depart from evil is understanding ."'
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Job further continued his discourse ,
and said :
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Oh ,
that I were as in months past ,
As in the days when God watched over me ;
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When His lamp shone upon my head ,
And when by His light I walked through darkness ;
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Just as I was in the days of my prime ,
When the friendly counsel of God was over my tent ;
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When the Almighty was yet with me ,
When my children were around me ;
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When my steps were bathed with cream ,
And the rock poured out rivers of oil for me !
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When I went out to the gate by the city ,
When I took my seat in the open square ,
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The young men saw me and hid ,
And the aged arose and stood ;
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The princes refrained from talking ,
And put their hand on their mouth ;
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The voice of nobles was hushed ,
And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth .
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When the ear heard ,
then it blessed me ,
And when the eye saw ,
then it approved me ;
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Because I delivered the poor who cried out ,
The fatherless and the one who had no helper .
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The blessing of a perishing man came upon me ,
And I caused the widow '
s heart to sing for joy .
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I put on righteousness ,
and it clothed me ;
My justice was like a robe and a turban .
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I was eyes to the blind ,
And I was feet to the lame .
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I was a father to the poor ,
And I searched out the case that I did not know .
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I broke the fangs of the wicked ,
And plucked the victim from his teeth .
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Then I said , "
I shall die in my nest ,
And multiply my days as the sand .
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My root is spread out to the waters ,
And the dew lies all night on my branch .
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My glory is fresh within me ,
And my bow is renewed in my hand .'
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Men listened to me and waited ,
And kept silence for my counsel .
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After my words they did not speak again ,
And my speech settled on them as dew .
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They waited for me as for the rain ,
And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain .
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If I mocked at them ,
they did not believe it ,
And the light of my countenance they did not cast down .
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I chose the way for them ,
and sat as chief ;
So I dwelt as a king in the army ,
As one who comforts mourners .
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But now they mock at me ,
men younger than I ,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock .
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Indeed ,
what profit is the strength of their hands to me ?
Their vigor has perished .
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They are gaunt from want and famine ,
Fleeing late to the wilderness ,
desolate and waste ,
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Who pluck mallow by the bushes ,
And broom tree roots for their food .
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They were driven out from among men ,
They shouted at them as at a thief .
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They had to live in the clefts of the valleys ,
In caves of the earth and the rocks .
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Among the bushes they brayed ,
Under the nettles they nestled .
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They were sons of fools ,
Yes ,
sons of vile men ;
They were scourged from the land .
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And now I am their taunting song ;
Yes ,
I am their byword .
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They abhor me ,
they keep far from me ;
They do not hesitate to spit in my face .
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Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me ,
They have cast off restraint before me .
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At my right hand the rabble arises ;
They push away my feet ,
And they raise against me their ways of destruction .
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They break up my path ,
They promote my calamity ;
They have no helper .
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They come as broad breakers ;
Under the ruinous storm they roll along .
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Terrors are turned upon me ;
They pursue my honor as the wind ,
And my prosperity has passed like a cloud .
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And now my soul is poured out because of my plight ;
The days of affliction take hold of me .
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My bones are pierced in me at night ,
And my gnawing pains take no rest .
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By great force my garment is disfigured ;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat .
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He has cast me into the mire ,
And I have become like dust and ashes .
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I cry out to You ,
but You do not answer me ;
I stand up ,
and You regard me .
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But You have become cruel to me ;
With the strength of Your hand You oppose me .
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You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it ;
You spoil my success .
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For I know that You will bring me to death ,
And to the house appointed for all living .
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Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins ,
If they cry out when He destroys it .
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Have I not wept for him who was in trouble ?
Has not my soul grieved for the poor ?
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But when I looked for good ,
evil came to me ;
And when I waited for light ,
then came darkness .
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My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest ;
Days of affliction confront me .
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I go about mourning ,
but not in the sun ;
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help .
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I am a brother of jackals ,
And a companion of ostriches .
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My skin grows black and falls from me ;
My bones burn with fever .
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My harp is turned to mourning ,
And my flute to the voice of those who weep .
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I have made a covenant with my eyes ;
Why then should I look upon a young woman ?
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For what is the allotment of God from above ,
And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high ?
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Is it not destruction for the wicked ,
And disaster for the workers of iniquity ?
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Does He not see my ways ,
And count all my steps ?
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If I have walked with falsehood ,
Or if my foot has hastened to deceit ,
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Let me be weighed on honest scales ,
That God may know my integrity .
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If my step has turned from the way ,
Or my heart walked after my eyes ,
Or if any spot adheres to my hands ,
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Then let me sow ,
and another eat ;
Yes ,
let my harvest be rooted out .
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If my heart has been enticed by a woman ,
Or if I have lurked at my neighbor '
s door ,
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Then let my wife grind for another ,
And let others bow down over her .
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For that would be wickedness ;
Yes ,
it would be iniquity deserving of judgment .
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For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction ,
And would root out all my increase .
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If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me ,
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What then shall I do when God rises up ?
When He punishes ,
how shall I answer Him ?
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Did not He who made me in the womb make them ?
Did not the same One fashion us in the womb ?
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If I have kept the poor from their desire ,
Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail ,
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Or eaten my morsel by myself ,
So that the fatherless could not eat of it
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But from my youth I reared him as a father ,
And from my mother '
s womb I guided the widow );
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If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing ,
Or any poor man without covering ;
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If his heart has not blessed me ,
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep ;
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If I have raised my hand against the fatherless ,
When I saw I had help in the gate ;
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Then let my arm fall from my shoulder ,
Let my arm be torn from the socket .
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For destruction from God is a terror to me ,
And because of His magnificence I cannot endure .
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If I have made gold my hope ,
Or said to fine gold , "
You are my confidence ';
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If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great ,
And because my hand had gained much ;
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If I have observed the sun when it shines ,
Or the moon moving in brightness ,
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So that my heart has been secretly enticed ,
And my mouth has kissed my hand ;
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This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment ,
For I would have denied God who is above .
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If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me ,
Or lifted myself up when evil found him
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Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for a curse on his soul );
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If the men of my tent have not said , "
Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat ?'
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But no sojourner had to lodge in the street ,
For I have opened my doors to the traveler );
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If I have covered my transgressions as Adam ,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom ,
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Because I feared the great multitude ,
And dreaded the contempt of families ,
So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door --
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Oh ,
that I had one to hear me !
Here is my mark .
Oh ,
that the Almighty would answer me ,
That my Prosecutor had written a book !
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Surely I would carry it on my shoulder ,
And bind it on me like a crown ;
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I would declare to Him the number of my steps ;
Like a prince I would approach Him .
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If my land cries out against me ,
And its furrows weep together ;
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If I have eaten its fruit without money ,
Or caused its owners to lose their lives ;
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Then let thistles grow instead of wheat ,
And weeds instead of barley ."
The words of Job are ended .
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So these three men ceased answering Job ,
because he was righteous in his own eyes .