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Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
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“If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can keep from speaking?
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Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees.
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“A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it.
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It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas— no wonder my words have been impetuous.
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Then I would still have this consolation— my joy in unrelenting pain— that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.
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How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove?
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Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat my desperate words as wind?
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“How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind.
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Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?
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“How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him?
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“Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated?
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Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?
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Listen carefully to what I say; let my words ring in your ears.
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Would they argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value?
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Are God’s consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you?
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so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?
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“How long will you torment me and crush me with words?
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“Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll,
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“Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you give me.
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Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.
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I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
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“If this is not so, who can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing?”
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Who has helped you utter these words? And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?
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Job’s Final Word to His Friends
And Job continued his discourse:
