Job 33
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"But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say.
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I am about to open my mouth; my words are on the tip of my tongue.
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My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know.
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The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
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Answer me then, if you can; prepare yourself and confront me.
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I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay.
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No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you.
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"But you have said in my hearing-- I heard the very words--
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`I am pure and without sin; I am clean and free from guilt.
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Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy.
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He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths.'
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"But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than man.
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Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man's words [1] ?
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For God does speak--now one way, now another-- though man may not perceive it.
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In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds,
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he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,
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to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride,
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to preserve his soul from the pit, [2] his life from perishing by the sword. [3]
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Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones,
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so that his very being finds food repulsive and his soul loathes the choicest meal.
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His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden, now stick out.
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His soul draws near to the pit, [4] and his life to the messengers of death. [5]
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"Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him,
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to be gracious to him and say, `Spare him from going down to the pit [6] ; I have found a ransom for him'--
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then his flesh is renewed like a child's; it is restored as in the days of his youth.
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He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state.
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Then he comes to men and says, `I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved.
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He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, [7] and I will live to enjoy the light.'
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"God does all these things to a man-- twice, even three times--
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to turn back his soul from the pit, [8] that the light of life may shine on him.
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"Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak.
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If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want you to be cleared.
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But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom."
  1. [13] Or that he does not answer for any of his actions
  2. [18] Or preserve him from the grave
  3. [18] Or from crossing the River
  4. [22] Or He draws near to the grave
  5. [22] Or to the dead
  6. [24] Or grave
  7. [28] Or redeemed me from going down to the grave
  8. [30] Or turn him back from the grave