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Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
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"Are all these words to go unanswered?
Is this talker to be vindicated?
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Will your idle talk reduce others to silence?
Will no one rebuke you when you mock?
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You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless
and I am pure in your sight.'
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Oh, how I wish that God would speak,
that he would open his lips against you
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and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
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"Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
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They are higher than the heavens above - what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths below - what can you know?
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Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
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"If he comes along and confines you in prison
and convenes a court, who can oppose him?
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Surely he recognizes deceivers;
and when he sees evil, does he not take note?
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But the witless can no more become wise
than a wild donkey's colt can be born human. 1
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"Yet if you devote your heart to him
and stretch out your hands to him,
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if you put away the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
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then, free of fault, you will lift up your face;
you will stand firm and without fear.
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You will surely forget your trouble,
recalling it only as waters gone by.
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Life will be brighter than noonday,
and darkness will become like morning.
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You will be secure, because there is hope;
you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
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You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,
and many will court your favor.
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But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
and escape will elude them;
their hope will become a dying gasp."