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THEN
Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 If
we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold
himself from speaking?
3 Behold,
thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
4 Thy
words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble
knees.
5 But now
it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art
troubled.
6 Is
not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy
ways?
7 Remember,
I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the
righteous cut off?
8 Even as
I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
9 By the
blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
10 The
roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the
young lions, are broken.
11 The
old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered
abroad.
12 Now a
thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.
13 In
thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
14 Fear
came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
15 Then a
spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:
16 It
stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was
before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
17 Shall
mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
18 Behold,
he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:
19 How
much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is
in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
20 They
are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any
regarding it.
21 Doth
not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without
wisdom.
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