1
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2
Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable
unto himself?
3
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain
to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?
4
Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into
judgment?
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Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?
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For thou hast taken a pledge from 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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But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt
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 fear troubleth 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 height of the stars,
how high they are!
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And thou sayest, How 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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Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
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Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a
flood:
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Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for
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 see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
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Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire
consumeth.
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Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come
unto thee.
22
Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in
thine heart.
23
If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put
away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
24
Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones
of the brooks.
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Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of
silver.
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For then 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 shall hear thee, and thou
shalt pay thy vows.
28
Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and
the light shall shine upon thy ways.
29
When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he
shall save the humble person.
30
He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the
pureness of thine hands.