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Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
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"Would a wise person answer with empty notions
or fill their belly with the hot east wind?
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Would they argue with useless words,
with speeches that have no value?
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But you even undermine piety
and hinder devotion to God.
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Your sin prompts your mouth;
you adopt the tongue of the crafty.
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Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
your own lips testify against you.
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"Are you the first man ever born?
Were you brought forth before the hills?
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Do you listen in on God's council?
Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
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What do you know that we do not know?
What insights do you have that we do not have?
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The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,
men even older than your father.
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Are God's consolations not enough for you,
words spoken gently to you?
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Why has your heart carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash,
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so that you vent your rage against God
and pour out such words from your mouth?
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"What are mortals, that they could be pure,
or those born of woman, that they could be righteous?
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If God places no trust in his holy ones,
if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,
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how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,
who drink up evil like water!
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"Listen to me and I will explain to you;
let me tell you what I have seen,
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what the wise have declared,
hiding nothing received from their ancestors
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(to whom alone the land was given
when no foreigners moved among them):
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All his days the wicked man suffers torment,
the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.
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Terrifying sounds fill his ears;
when all seems well, marauders attack him.
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He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;
he is marked for the sword.
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He wanders about for food like a vulture;
he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
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Distress and anguish fill him with terror;
troubles overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack,
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because he shakes his fist at God
and vaunts himself against the Almighty,
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defiantly charging against him
with a thick, strong shield.
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"Though his face is covered with fat
and his waist bulges with flesh,
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he will inhabit ruined towns
and houses where no one lives,
houses crumbling to rubble.
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He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,
nor will his possessions spread over the land.
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He will not escape the darkness;
a flame will wither his shoots,
and the breath of God's mouth will carry him away.
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Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless,
for he will get nothing in return.
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Before his time he will wither,
and his branches will not flourish.
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He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,
like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.
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For the company of the godless will be barren,
and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes.
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They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
their womb fashions deceit."