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Then Job answered,
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"aOh that my grief were actually weighed And laid in the balances together with my calamity!
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"For then it would be aheavier than the sand of the seas; Therefore my words have been rash.
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"For the aarrows of the Almighty are within me, Their bpoison my spirit drinks; The cterrors of God are arrayed against me.
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"Does the awild donkey bray over his grass, Or does the ox low over his fodder?
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"Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
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"My soul arefuses to touch them; They are like loathsome food to me.
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"Oh that my request might come to pass, And that God would grant my longing!
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"Would that God were awilling to crush me, That He would loose His hand and cut me off!
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"But it is still my consolation, And I rejoice in unsparing pain, That I ahave not denied the words of the Holy One.
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"What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should aendure?
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"Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze?
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"Is it that my ahelp is not within me, And that bdeliverance is driven from me?
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"For the adespairing man there should be kindness from his friend; So that he does not bforsake the fear of the Almighty.
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"My brothers have acted adeceitfully like a wadi, Like the torrents of wadis which vanish,
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Which are turbid because of ice And into which the snow melts.
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"When athey become waterless, they are silent, When it is hot, they vanish from their place.
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"The paths of their course wind along, They go up into nothing and perish.
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"The caravans of aTema looked, The travelers of bSheba hoped for them.
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"They awere disappointed for they had trusted, They came there and were confounded.
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"Indeed, you have now become such, aYou see a terror and are afraid.
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"Have I said, 'Give me something,' Or, 'Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,'
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Or, 'Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,' Or, 'Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants'?
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"Teach me, and aI will be silent; And show me how I have erred.
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"How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?
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"Do you intend to reprove my words, When the awords of one in despair belong to the wind?
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"You would even acast lots for bthe orphans And cbarter over your friend.
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"Now please look at me, And see if I alie to your face.
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"Desist now, let there be no injustice; Even desist, amy righteousness is yet in it.
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"Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot amy palate discern calamities?