| GOD'S WORD Translation (GW) |
New International Version (NIV) |
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1 Then Eliphaz from Teman replied [to Job],
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1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
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2 "If someone tries to talk to you, will you become impatient? But who can keep from talking?
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2 "If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can keep from speaking?
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3 Certainly, you have instructed many people: When hands were weak, you made them strong.
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3 Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands.
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4 When someone stumbled, you lifted him up with your words. When knees were weak, you gave them strength.
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4 Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees.
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5 But trouble comes to you, and you're impatient. It touches you, and you panic.
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5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are dismayed.
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6 Doesn't your fear of God give you confidence and your lifetime of integrity give you hope?
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6 Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope?
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7 "Now think about this: Which innocent person [ever] died [an untimely death]? Find me a decent person who has been destroyed.
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7 "Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed?
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8 Whenever I saw those who plowed wickedness and planted misery, they gathered its harvest.
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8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.
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9 God destroys them with his breath and kills them with a blast of his anger.
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9 At the breath of God they are destroyed; at the blast of his anger they perish.
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10 Though the roar of the lion and the growl of the ferocious lion [is loud], the young lions have had their teeth knocked out.
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10 The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of the great lions are broken.
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11 The old lions die without any prey [to eat], and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
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11 The lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
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12 "I was told something secretly and heard something whispered in my ear.
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12 "A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it.
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13 With disturbing thoughts from visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on people,
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13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
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14 fear and trembling came over me, and all my bones shook.
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14 fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake.
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15 A spirit passed in front of me. It made my hair stand on end.
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15 A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end.
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16 Something stood there. I couldn't tell what it was. A vague image was in front of my eyes. I heard a soft voice:
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16 It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice:
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17 'Can [any] mortal be righteous to God? Can [any] human being be pure to his maker?'
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17 'Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
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18 "You see, God doesn't trust his own servants, and he accuses his angels of making mistakes.
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18 If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error,
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19 How much more will he accuse those who live in clay houses that have their foundation in the dust. Those houses can be crushed quicker than a moth!
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19 how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth!
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20 From morning to evening, they are shattered. They will disappear forever without anyone paying attention.
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20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever.
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21 Haven't the ropes of their tent been loosened? Won't they die without wisdom?
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21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?'
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| GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission. (God's Word Translation -Online Bible) |
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) |
