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Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
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"Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge aAnd fill himself with the east wind?
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"Should he argue with useless talk, Or with words which are not profitable?
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"Indeed, you do away with reverence And hinder meditation before God.
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"For ayour guilt teaches your mouth, And you choose the language of bthe crafty.
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"Your aown mouth condemns you, and not I; And your own lips testify against you.
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"Were you the first man to be born, Or awere you brought forth before the hills?
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"Do you hear the asecret counsel of God, And limit wisdom to yourself?
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"aWhat do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not?
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"Both the agray-haired and the aged are among us, Older than your father.
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"Are athe consolations of God too small for you, Even the bword spoken gently with you?
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"Why does your aheart carry you away? And why do your eyes flash,
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That you should turn your spirit against God And allow such words to go out of your mouth?
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"What is man, that ahe should be pure, Or bhe who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
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"Behold, He puts no trust in His aholy ones, And the bheavens are not pure in His sight;
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How much less one who is adetestable and corrupt, Man, who bdrinks iniquity like water!
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"I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare;
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What wise men have told, And have not concealed from atheir fathers,
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To whom alone the land was given, And no alien passed among them.
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"The wicked man writhes ain pain all his days, And numbered are the years bstored up for the ruthless.
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"Sounds of aterror are in his ears; bWhile at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
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"He does not believe that he will areturn from darkness, And he is destined for bthe sword.
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"He wanders about for food, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that a day of adarkness is at hand.
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"Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
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Because he has stretched out his hand against God And conducts himself aarrogantly against the Almighty.
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"He rushes headlong at Him With his massive shield.
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"For he has acovered his face with his fat And made his thighs heavy with flesh.
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"He has alived in desolate cities, In houses no one would inhabit, Which are destined to become ruins.
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"He awill not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his grain will not bend down to the ground.
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"He will anot escape from darkness; The bflame will wither his shoots, And by cthe breath of His mouth he will go away.
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"Let him not atrust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For emptiness will be his reward.
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"It will be accomplished abefore his time, And his palm bbranch will not be green.
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"He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine, And will acast off his flower like the olive tree.
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"For the company of athe godless is barren, And fire consumes bthe tents of the corrupt.
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"They aconceive mischief and bring forth iniquity, And their mind prepares deception."