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