16Then Job spoke again.H347H6030H5592"I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters you are!H8085H7227H5999H51623Won't you ever stop blowing hot air? What makes you keep on talking?H7307H1697H7093H4834H60304I could say the same things if you were in my place. I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.H1696H3863H5315H3426H5315H2266H4405H5128H7218H11195But if it were me, I would encourage you. I would try to take away your grief.H553H1119H6310H5205H8193H28206Instead, I suffer if I defend myself, and I suffer no less if I refuse to speak.H1696H3511H2820H2308H19807"O God, you have ground me down and devastated my family.H3811H8074H57128As if to prove I have sinned, you've reduced me to skin and bones. My gaunt flesh testifies against me.H7059H5707H3585H6965H6030H64409God hates me and angrily tears me apart. He snaps his teeth at me and pierces me with his eyes.H2963H639H7852H2786H8127H6862H3913H586910People jeer and laugh at me. They slap my cheek in contempt. A mob gathers against me.H6473H6310H5221H3895H2781H4390H316211God has handed me over to sinners. He has tossed me into the hands of the wicked.H410H5462H5760H3399H3027H756312"I was living quietly until he shattered me. He took me by the neck and broke me in pieces. Then he set me up as his target,H7961H6565H270H6203H6327H6965H430713and now his archers surround me. His arrows pierce me without mercy. The ground is wet with my blood.H7228H5437H6398H3629H6398H2550H8210H4845H77614Again and again he smashes against me, charging at me like a warrior.H6555H6556H6440H6556H7323H136815I wear burlap to show my grief. My pride lies in the dust.H8609H8242H1539H5953H7161H608316My eyes are red with weeping; dark shadows circle my eyes.H6440H2560H1065H6079H675717Yet I have done no wrong, and my prayer is pure.H2555H3709H8605H213418"O earth, do not conceal my blood. Let it cry out on my behalf.H776H3680H1818H2201H472519Even now my witness is in heaven. My advocate is there on high.H5707H8064H7717H479120My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God.H7453H3887H5869H1811H43321I need someone to mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends.H3198H1397H433H120H1121H745322For soon I must go down that road from which I will never return.H4557H8141H857H1980H734H7725
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