Eliphaz
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Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
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"Can a man be of benefit to God?
Can even a wise man benefit him?
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What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?
What would he gain if your ways were blameless?
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"Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
and brings charges against you?
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Is not your wickedness great?
Are not your sins endless?
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You demanded seurity from your brothers for no reason;
you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked.
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You gave no water to the weary
and you withheld food from the hungry,
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though you were a powerful man, owning land -
an honored man, living on it.
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And you sent widows away empty-handed
and broke the strength of the fatherless.
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That is why snares are all around you,
why sudden peril terrifies you,
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why it is so dark you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.
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"Is not God in the heights of heaven?
And see how lofty are the highest stars!
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Yet you say, 'What does God know?
D'oes he judge through such darkness?
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Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us
as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.
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Will you keep to the old path that evil men have trod?
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They were carried off before their time,
their foundations washed away by a flood.
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They said to God, 'Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?'
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Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,
so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.
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'The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;
the innocent mock them, saying.
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'Surely our foes are destroyed,
and fire devours their wealth.'
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"Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.
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Accept instructioin from his mouth
and lay up his words in yor heart.
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If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
If you remove wickedness far from our tent
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and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
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then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.
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Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.
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You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
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What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
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When men are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!'
then he will save the downcast.
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He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."
