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Eliphaz Speaks

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

“If someone tried to speak with you, would you be ·upset [or discouraged]?
    I cannot keep from speaking.
Think about the many people you have taught
    and the weak hands you have made strong.
Your words have ·comforted [L lifted up] those who ·fell [stumbled],
    and you have strengthened those ·who could not stand [L with weak knees].
But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;
    ·trouble hits [L it touches] you, and you are ·terrified [disturbed].
·You should have [Shouldn’t you have…?] confidence because you ·respect [fear; have awe for] God;
    ·you should [should you not…?] have hope because ·you are innocent [L of your innocent ways].

“Remember ·that the innocent will not die [L who being innocent/blameless has perished…?];
    ·honest people will never be [L when were the honest/virtuous…? ] destroyed.
I have ·noticed [seen] that people who plow ·evil [wickedness]
    and plant trouble, harvest it.
God’s breath destroys them,
    and a blast of his anger ·kills [finishes] them.
10 Lions may roar and lion cubs growl,
    but when the teeth of a strong lion are broken,
11 that lion dies ·of hunger [L without prey].
    The cubs of the mother lion are scattered [C the wicked may briefly prosper but will ultimately perish].

12 “A word ·was brought to me in secret [L stole over me],
    and my ears heard a whisper of it [C Eliphaz claims a supernatural revelation that supports his teaching].
13 It was during ·a nightmare [L anxious thoughts of a night vision]
    when people are in deep sleep.
14 I was trembling with fear;
    all my bones were shaking.
15 A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my ·body [L skin] stood on end.
16 The spirit stopped,
    but I could not see what it was.
A shape stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a quiet voice.
17 It said, ‘Can a human be more right than God?
    Can a person be pure before his maker? [C the implied answer is no]
18 God does not trust his ·angels [L servants];
    he blames ·them [L angels] for mistakes.
19 So ·he puts even more blame on [L what about…?] people who live in clay houses [C physical bodies],
    whose foundations are made of dust [Gen. 2:7],
    who can be crushed like a moth.
20 Between ·dawn and sunset [L morning and evening] many people are broken to pieces;
    without being noticed, they die and are gone forever.
21 The ropes of their tents are pulled up,
    and they die without wisdom.’

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