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New International Version (NIV) |
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1 Having waited for Zophar, Job now resumed his defense:
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1 And Job continued his discourse:
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2 "God-Alive! He's denied me justice! God Almighty! He's ruined my life!
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2 "As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul,
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3 But for as long as I draw breath, and for as long as God breathes life into me,
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3 as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils,
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4 I refuse to say one word that isn't true. I refuse to confess to any charge that's false.
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4 my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit.
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5 There is no way I'll ever agree to your accusations. I'll not deny my integrity even if it costs me my life.
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5 I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity.
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6 I'm holding fast to my integrity and not loosening my grip - and, believe me, I'll never regret it.
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6 I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.
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7 "Let my enemy be exposed as wicked! Let my adversary be proven guilty!
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7 "May my enemies be like the wicked, my adversaries like the unjust!
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8 What hope do people without God have when life is cut short? when God puts an end to life?
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8 For what hope has the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
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9 Do you think God will listen to their cry for help when disaster hits?
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9 Does God listen to his cry when distress comes upon him?
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10 What interest have they ever shown in the Almighty? Have they ever been known to pray before?
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10 Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?
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11 "I've given you a clear account of God in action, suppressed nothing regarding God Almighty.
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11 "I will teach you about the power of God; the ways of the Almighty I will not conceal.
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12 The evidence is right before you. You can all see it for yourselves, so why do you keep talking nonsense?
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12 You have all seen this yourselves. Why then this meaningless talk?
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13 "I'll quote your own words back to you: "'This is how God treats the wicked, this is what evil people can expect from God Almighty:
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13 "Here is the fate God allots to the wicked, the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:
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14 Their children - all of them - will die violent deaths; they'll never have enough bread to put on the table.
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14 However many his children, their fate is the sword; his offspring will never have enough to eat.
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15 They'll be wiped out by the plague, and none of the widows will shed a tear when they're gone.
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15 The plague will bury those who survive him, and their widows will not weep for them.
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16 Even if they make a lot of money and are resplendent in the latest fashions,
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16 Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay,
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17 It's the good who will end up wearing the clothes and the decent who will divide up the money.
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17 what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver.
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18 They build elaborate houses that won't survive a single winter.
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18 The house he builds is like a moth's cocoon, like a hut made by a watchman.
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19 They go to bed wealthy and wake up poor.
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19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all is gone.
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20 Terrors pour in on them like flash floods - a tornado snatches them away in the middle of the night,
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20 Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest snatches him away in the night.
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21 A cyclone sweeps them up - gone! Not a trace of them left, not even a footprint.
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21 The east wind carries him off, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place.
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22 Catastrophes relentlessly pursue them; they run this way and that, but there's no place to hide -
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22 It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power.
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23 Pummeled by the weather, blown to kingdom come by the storm.'
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23 It claps its hands in derision and hisses him out of his place.
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| Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved. (The Message Bible Online) |
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |
