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1 "But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say. 2 I am about to open my mouth; my words are on the tip of my tongue.
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3 My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know.
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4 The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
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5 Answer me then, if you can; prepare yourself and confront me.
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6 I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay.
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7 No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you.
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8 "But you have said in my hearing-- I heard the very words--
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9 'I am pure and without sin; I am clean and free from guilt.
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10 Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy.
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11 He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths.'
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12 "But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than man.
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13 Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man's words ?
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14 For God does speak--now one way, now another-- though man may not perceive it.
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15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds,
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16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,
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17 to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride,
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18 to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.
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19 Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones,
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20 so that his very being finds food repulsive and his soul loathes the choicest meal.
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21 His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden, now stick out.
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22 His soul draws near to the pit, and his life to the messengers of death.
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23 "Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him,
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24 to be gracious to him and say, 'Spare him from going down to the pit ; I have found a ransom for him'--
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25 then his flesh is renewed like a child's; it is restored as in the days of his youth.
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26 He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state.
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27 Then he comes to men and says, 'I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved.
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28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.'
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29 "God does all these things to a man-- twice, even three times--
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30 to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on him.
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31 "Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. 32 If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want you to be cleared.
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33 But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom."
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