Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
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Can a man be profitable unto God? Or can he that is wise be profitable unto Him?
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Is it any advantage to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? Or is it gain to Him, that thou makest thy ways blameless?
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Is it for thy fear of Him that He reproveth thee, That He entereth with thee into judgment?
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Is not thy wickedness great? And are not thine iniquities without end?
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For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought, And stripped the naked of their clothing.
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Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
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And as a mighty man, who hath the earth, And as a man of rank, who dwelleth in it,
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Thou hast sent widows away empty, And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
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Therefore snares are round about thee, And sudden dread affrighted thee,
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Or darkness, that thou canst not see, And abundance of waters cover thee.
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Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the topmost of the stars, how high they are!
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And thou sayest: ‘What doth God know? Can He judge through the dark cloud?
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Thick clouds are a covering to Him, that He seeth not; And He walketh in the circuit of heaven.’
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Wilt thou keep the old way Which wicked men have trodden?
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Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundation was poured out as a stream;
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Who said unto God: ‘Depart from us’; And what could the Almighty do unto them?
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Yet He filled their houses with good things— But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
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The righteous saw it, and were glad, And the innocent laugh them to scorn:
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’Surely their substance is cut off, And their abundance the fire hath consumed.’
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Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby shall thine increase be good.
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Receive, I pray thee, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in thy heart.
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If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up— If thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents,
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And lay thy treasure in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;
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And the Almighty be thy treasure, And precious silver unto thee;
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Then surely shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, And shalt lift up thy face unto God.
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Thou shalt make thy prayer unto Him, and He will hear thee, And thou shalt pay thy vows;
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Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee, And light shall shine upon thy ways.
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When they cast thee down, thou shalt say: ‘There is lifting up’; For the humble person He saveth.
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He delivereth him that is innocent, Yea, thou shalt be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.
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