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16 “If I have withheld the poor from their desire,
    or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel alone,
    and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 (no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
    I have guided her from my mother’s womb);
19 if I have seen any perish for want of clothing,
    or that the needy had no covering;
20 if his heart hasn’t blessed me,
    if he hasn’t been warmed with my sheep’s fleece;
21 if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,
    because I saw my help in the gate,
22 then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade,
    and my arm be broken from the bone.
23 For calamity from God is a terror to me.
    Because of his majesty, I can do nothing.

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16 “Have I refused to help the poor,
    or crushed the hopes of widows?
17 Have I been stingy with my food
    and refused to share it with orphans?
18 No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father,
    and all my life I have cared for widows.
19 Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes
    and the needy with nothing to wear,
20 did they not praise me
    for providing wool clothing to keep them warm?

21 “If I raised my hand against an orphan,
    knowing the judges would take my side,
22 then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place!
    Let my arm be torn from its socket!
23 That would be better than facing God’s judgment.
    For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?

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