as confirmed by the evaluation of God himself, demonstrates that the innocent righteous do suffer in the real world, and that God—whose sovereignty Job never questions—allows such suffering and injustice to go on in this world without clearly judging its perpetrators. Yet, the ultimate purpose of the book of Job is not to reject the validity of retribution or even to raise questions regarding the justice of God. The book finally counsels that maintaining a faithful relationship with God is the only
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