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"But now, Job, listen to my words;
pay attention to everything I say.
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I am about to open my mouth;
my words are on the tip of my tongue.
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My words come from an upright heart;
my lips sincerely speak what I know.
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The Spirit of God has made me;
the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
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Answer me then, if you can;
stand up and argue your case before me.
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I am the same as you in God's sight;
I too am a piece of clay.
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No fear of me should alarm you,
nor should my hand be heavy on you.
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"But you have said in my hearing -
I heard the very words -
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'I am pure, I have done no wrong;
I am clean and free from sin.
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Yet God has found fault with me;
he considers me his enemy.
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He fastens my feet in shackles;
he keeps close watch on all my paths.'
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"But I tell you, in this you are not right,
for God is greater than any mortal.
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Why do you complain to him
that he responds to no one's words 1 ?
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For God does speak - now one way, now another -
though no one perceives it.
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In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they slumber in their beds,
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he may speak in their ears
and terrify them with warnings,
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to turn them from wrongdoing
and keep them from pride,
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to preserve them from the pit,
their lives from perishing by the sword. 2
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"Or someone may be chastened on a bed of pain
with constant distress in their bones,
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so that their body finds food repulsive
and their soul loathes the choicest meal.
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Their flesh wastes away to nothing,
and their bones, once hidden, now stick out.
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They draw near to the pit,
and their life to the messengers of death. 3
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Yet if there is an angel at their side,
a messenger, one out of a thousand,
sent to tell them how to be upright,
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and he is gracious to that person and says to God,
'Spare them from going down to the pit;
I have found a ransom for them -
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let their flesh be renewed like a child's;
let them be restored as in the days of their youth' -
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then that person can pray to God and find favor with him,
they will see God's face and shout for joy;
he will restore them to full well-being.
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And they will go to others and say,
'I have sinned, I have perverted what is right,
but I did not get what I deserved.
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God has delivered me from going down to the pit,
and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.'
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"God does all these things to a person -
twice, even three times -
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to turn them back from the pit,
that the light of life may shine on them.
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"Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
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If you have anything to say, answer me;
speak up, for I want to vindicate you.
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But if not, then listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom."