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102 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
102 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
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\s5
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\c 29
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\p
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\v 1 Job spoke again and said this:
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\q1
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\v 2 "I wish that I could be as I was previously
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\q2 during the years when God took care of me.
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\q1
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\v 3 During those years, it was as though God's lamp shone on me
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\q2 and gave me light while I walked in the darkness.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 4 At that time I was young and strong,
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\q2 and because God was my friend, he protected where I lived.
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\q1
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\v 5 Almighty God was with me during those years
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\q2 when all my children were around me.
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\q1
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\v 6 My herds provided me with plenty of milk,
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\q2 and streams of oil flowed from the rock where my servants pressed the olives.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 7 Whenever I went to the place where the elders gathered at the city gate,
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\q2 I sat down with them,
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\q1
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\v 8 and when the young men saw me, they stepped aside respectfully,
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\q2 and the old men also stood respectfully.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 9 The leaders of the people used to stop talking,
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\q1
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\v 10 and even the most important men became quiet
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\q2 and stopped talking in order to hear me speak to them.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 11 When they all heard what I told them,
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\q2 they said good things about me.
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\q1 When they saw me, they always praised me
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\q1
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\v 12 because I had helped those who were poor when they cried out for help,
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\q2 and because I aided those who had no fathers, those who had no one else to help them.
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\q1
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\v 13 Those who were suffering and about to die praised me,
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\q2 and I caused widows to sing joyfully, because I helped them.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 14 I always acted justly;
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\q2 my actions were like a robe that I wore and like a turban that was wrapped around my head.
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\q1
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\v 15 It was as though I myself saw for blind people
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\q2 and walked for people who were lame.
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\q1
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\v 16 I was like a father to the poor people,
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\q2 and in the courts I defended those who were strangers to me.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 17 I made wicked people stop oppressing others; it was like someone who breaks the teeth of wild animals
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\q2 and forces them to drop their victims from their teeth.
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\q1
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\v 18 At that time I thought, 'Surely I will live in peace until I am very old,
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\q2 and I will die at home with my family.
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\q1
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\v 19 I am like a tree whose roots reach down into the water
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\q2 and whose branches become wet with dew each night.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 20 People always honor me,
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\q2 and I am always strong like a new bow.'
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\q1
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\v 21 When I spoke, people waited to hear what I would say;
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\q2 they remained silent until I advised them what they should do.
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\q1
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\v 22 After I finished speaking, they did not say anymore;
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\q2 it was as though my words fell on their ears like drops of rain.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 23 They waited for me to speak as they wait for rain;
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\q2 they liked what I said as farmers appreciate the final rain in the spring before the dry season.
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\q1
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\v 24 When they were sad, I smiled at them to encourage them;
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\q2 they became encouraged when they saw my cheerful face.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 25 I was their leader, and I decided what things would be good for them to do;
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\q2 I was among them like a king who is among his troops;
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\q2 I was like someone who comforts others who are mourning."
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