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13:1  “I have seen all this before. I have already heard everything you say. I understand all these things.
13:2  I know as much as you do. I am as smart as you are.
13:3  But I don’t want to argue with you. I want to speak to God All-Powerful. I want to argue with God about my troubles.
13:4  But you men try to cover up your ignorance with lies. You are like worthless doctors who cannot heal anyone.
13:5  I wish you would just be quiet. That would be the wisest thing you could do.
13:6  “Now, listen to my argument. Listen to what I have to say.
13:7  Will you speak lies for God? Do you really believe your lies are what God wants you to say?
13:8  Are you trying to defend God against me? You are not being fair. You are choosing God’s side simply because he is God.
13:9  If God checked you very closely, would he see that you are right? Do you really think you can fool God the same as you fool people?
13:10  You know that God would criticize you if you chose someone’s side simply because they were important.
13:11  God’s majesty frightens you. You are afraid of him.
13:12  The wise sayings you quote are worthless. Your arguments are as weak as clay.
13:13  “Be quiet and let me talk! I accept whatever happens to me.
13:14  I will put myself in danger and take my life in my own hands.
13:15  I will continue to trust God even if he kills me. But I will defend myself to his face.
13:16  And if he lets me live, it will be because I had the confidence to speak. No guilty person would dare meet God face to face.
13:17  Listen carefully to what I say. Let me explain.
13:18  I am ready now to defend myself. I will carefully present my arguments. I know I will be shown to be right.
13:19  If anyone can prove I am wrong, I will shut up and wait to die.
13:20  “God, just give me two things, and then I will not hide from you:
13:21  Stop punishing me, and don’t frighten me with your terrors.
13:22  Then call to me, and I will answer you. Or let me speak, and you answer me.
13:23  How many sins have I committed? What wrongs have I done? Show me where I went wrong or how I sinned.
13:24  God, why do you avoid me and treat me like your enemy?
13:25  Are you trying to scare me? I am only a leaf blowing in the wind. You are attacking a piece of straw!
13:26  You have a list of terrible charges against me. Are you making me suffer for the sins I did when I was young?
13:27  You have put chains on my feet. You watch every step I take. You see every move I make.
13:28  So I am becoming weaker and weaker, like a piece of wood rotting away, like a piece of cloth eaten by moths.