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Then Elihu continued, saying:
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Hear my words, you wise men, and listen to me, you knowledgeable ones.
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Doesn't the ear tests words as the palate tastes food?
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Let us judge for ourselves what is right; let us decide together what is good.
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For Job has declared, "I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice.
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Would I lie about my case? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression."
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What man is like Job? He drinks derision like water.
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He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men.
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For he has said, "A man gains nothing when he becomes God's friend."
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Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding. It is impossible for God [to do] wrong, and [for] the Almighty [to act] unjustly.
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For He repays a person [according to] his deeds, and He bring his ways on him.
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Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly and the Almighty does not pervert justice.
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Who gave Him authority over the earth? Who put Him in charge of the entire world?
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If He put His mind to it and withdrew the spirit and breath He [gave],
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every living thing would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.
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If you [have] understanding, hear this; listen to what I have to say.
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Could one who hates justice govern [the world]? Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One,
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who says to a king, "Worthless man!" and to nobles, "Wicked men!"?
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God is not partial to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of His hands.
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They die suddenly in the middle of the night; people shudder, then pass away. Even the mighty are removed without effort.
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For His eyes [watch] over a man's ways, and He observes all his steps.
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There is no darkness, no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide themselves.
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God does not [need to] examine a person further, that one should approach Him in court.
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He shatters the mighty without an investigation and sets others in their place.
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Therefore, He recognizes their deeds and overthrows [them] by night, and they are crushed.
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In full view of the public, He strikes them for their wickedness,
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because they turned aside from following Him and did not understand any of His ways
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but caused the poor to cry out to Him, and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.
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But when God is silent, who can declare [Him] guilty? When He hides [His] face, who can see Him? Yet He [watches] over both individuals and nations,
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so that godless men should not rule or ensnare the people.
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Suppose someone says to God, "I have endured [my punishment]; I will no [longer] act wickedly.
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Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I won't do it again."
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Should God repay [you] on your terms when you have rejected [His]? You must choose, not I! So declare what you know.
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Reasonable men will say to me, along with the wise men who hear me,
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"Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight."
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If only Job were tested to the limit, because [his] answers are [like] those of wicked men.
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For he adds rebellion to his sin; he [scornfully] claps in our presence, while multiplying his words against God.
