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The Book of Job

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- Chapter 27 -

Job preserves his integrity

1
Job also added to this, using figures of speech, and he said:
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As God lives, who has taken away my judgment, and the Almighty, who has led my soul to bitterness,
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as long as my breath remains in me and the breath of God remains in my nostrils,(a)
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my lips will not speak iniquity, nor will my tongue devise lies.
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Far be it from me that I should judge you to be right, for, until I expire, I will not withdraw from my innocence.
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I will not forsake my justification, which I have just begun to grasp, for my heart does not find blame for me in my whole life.
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Let the impious be as my enemy, and the sinful, as my adversary.
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For what hope is there for the hypocrite, if he greedily plunders and God does not free his soul?
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Will God pay attention to his cry, when anguish overcomes him?
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Or will he take delight in the Almighty and call upon God at all times?
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I will teach you through the hand of God, what the Almighty holds, and I will not conceal it.
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Behold, you know all this, and so why do you speak vain things without a reason?
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This is the portion of the impious man with God, and the inheritance of the violent, which they will receive from the Almighty.
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If his sons should happen to increase, they will be for the sword, and his grandsons will not be satisfied with bread.
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Whatever will remain of him will be buried in the ruins, and his widows will not weep.
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If he will amass silver as if it were dirt and fabricate garments as if they were clay,
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then yes, he will gather, but the just will be clothed with it and the innocent will divide the silver.
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He has built his house like a moth, and he has made a makeshift shelter like a sentry.
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When he falls asleep, the rich man will leave him with nothing; he will open his eyes and find nothing.
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Destitution will surround him like water; a storm will overwhelm him in the night.
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A burning wind will pick him up and carry him away, and, like a whirlwind, it will rush him from his place.
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And it will hurl over him and will not spare him; fleeing from its power, he will go into exile.
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He will clasp his hands over himself, and he will hiss at himself, while considering his situation.

Footnotes

(a)27:3 The phrase ‘intuens locum eius’ could be more literally translated as ‘considering (beholding) his place.’ But the context makes it clear that he is considering his woeful situation, so the translation is less literal and more meaningful.(Conte)

Job preserves his integrity

1
Job again took up his parable, and said,
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“As God lives, who has taken away my right, the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter
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(for the length of my life is still in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils);
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surely my lips will not speak unrighteousness, neither will my tongue utter deceit.
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Far be it from me that I should justify you. Until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6
I hold fast to my righteousness, and will not let it go. My heart will not reproach me so long as I live.
7
“Let my enemy be as the wicked. Let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
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For what is the hope of the godless, when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
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Will God hear his cry when trouble comes on him?
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Will he delight himself in the Almighty, and call on God at all times?
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I will teach you about the hand of God. I will not conceal that which is with the Almighty.
12
Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; why then have you become altogether vain?
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“This is the portion of a wicked man with God, the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty.
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If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword. His offspring will not be satisfied with bread.
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Those who remain of him will be buried in death. His widows will make no lamentation.
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Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare clothing as the clay;
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he may prepare it, but the just will put it on, and the innocent will divide the silver.
18
He builds his house as the moth, as a booth which the watchman makes.
19
He lies down rich, but he will not do so again. He opens his eyes, and he is not.
20
Terrors overtake him like waters. A storm steals him away in the night.
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The east wind carries him away, and he departs. It sweeps him out of his place.
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For it hurls at him, and does not spare, as he flees away from his hand.
23
Men will clap their hands at him, and will hiss him out of his place.
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