Eliphaz: Job is chastened by God
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“Call out if you please, but who will answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
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For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
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I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
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His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.
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The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.(a)
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For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
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Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
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However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—
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the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
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He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.
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He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.
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He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
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He catches the wise in their craftiness,(b) and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.
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They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.
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He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.
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So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
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Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.(c)
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For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
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He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.
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In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
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You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.
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You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.
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For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
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You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.
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You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.
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You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.
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Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”
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