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Job 1

Prologue

 ⁴ His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.

Job's First Test

 ⁸ Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

 ⁹ "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. ¹⁰ "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

 ¹² The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
      Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

 ¹³ One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, ¹⁴ a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, ¹⁵ and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

 ¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

 ¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

 ¹⁸ While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, ¹⁹ when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

 ²⁰ At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said:
       "Naked I came from my mother's womb,
       and naked I will depart. ^[c]
       The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
       may the name of the LORD be praised."

 ²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Job 2

Job's Second Test

 ³ Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."

 ⁴ "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. ⁵ But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."

 ⁶ The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

 ⁷ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. ⁸ Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

 ⁹ His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

 ¹⁰ He replied, "You are talking like a foolish ^[e] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"
      In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Job's Three Friends

Job 3

Job Speaks

 ³ "May the day of my birth perish,
       and the night it was said, 'A boy is born!'

 ⁴ That day—may it turn to darkness;
       may God above not care about it;
       may no light shine upon it.

 ⁵ May darkness and deep shadow ^[f] claim it once more;
       may a cloud settle over it;
       may blackness overwhelm its light.

 ⁶ That night—may thick darkness seize it;
       may it not be included among the days of the year
       nor be entered in any of the months.

 ⁷ May that night be barren;
       may no shout of joy be heard in it.

 ⁸ May those who curse days ^[g] curse that day,
       those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.

 ⁹ May its morning stars become dark;
       may it wait for daylight in vain
       and not see the first rays of dawn,

 ¹⁰ for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
       to hide trouble from my eyes.

 ¹¹ "Why did I not perish at birth,
       and die as I came from the womb?

 ¹² Why were there knees to receive me
       and breasts that I might be nursed?

 ¹³ For now I would be lying down in peace;
       I would be asleep and at rest

 ¹⁴ with kings and counselors of the earth,
       who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,

 ¹⁵ with rulers who had gold,
       who filled their houses with silver.

 ¹⁶ Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child,
       like an infant who never saw the light of day?

 ¹⁷ There the wicked cease from turmoil,
       and there the weary are at rest.

 ¹⁸ Captives also enjoy their ease;
       they no longer hear the slave driver's shout.

 ¹⁹ The small and the great are there,
       and the slave is freed from his master.

 ²⁰ "Why is light given to those in misery,
       and life to the bitter of soul,

 ²¹ to those who long for death that does not come,
       who search for it more than for hidden treasure,

 ²² who are filled with gladness
       and rejoice when they reach the grave?

 ²³ Why is life given to a man
       whose way is hidden,
       whom God has hedged in?

 ²⁴ For sighing comes to me instead of food;
       my groans pour out like water.

 ²⁵ What I feared has come upon me;
       what I dreaded has happened to me.

 ²⁶ I have no peace, no quietness;
       I have no rest, but only turmoil."

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Job 38

The LORD Speaks

 ² "Who is this that darkens my counsel
       with words without knowledge?

 ³ Brace yourself like a man;
       I will question you,
       and you shall answer me.

 ⁴ "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
       Tell me, if you understand.

 ⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
       Who stretched a measuring line across it?

 ⁶ On what were its footings set,
       or who laid its cornerstone-

 ⁷ while the morning stars sang together
       and all the angels ^[a] shouted for joy?

 ⁸ "Who shut up the sea behind doors
       when it burst forth from the womb,

 ⁹ when I made the clouds its garment
       and wrapped it in thick darkness,

 ¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it
       and set its doors and bars in place,

 ¹¹ when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther;
       here is where your proud waves halt'?

 ¹² "Have you ever given orders to the morning,
       or shown the dawn its place,

 ¹³ that it might take the earth by the edges
       and shake the wicked out of it?

 ¹⁴ The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
       its features stand out like those of a garment.

 ¹⁵ The wicked are denied their light,
       and their upraised arm is broken.

 ¹⁶ "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
       or walked in the recesses of the deep?

 ¹⁷ Have the gates of death been shown to you?
       Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death ^[b] ?

 ¹⁸ Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
       Tell me, if you know all this.

 ¹⁹ "What is the way to the abode of light?
       And where does darkness reside?

 ²⁰ Can you take them to their places?
       Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

 ²¹ Surely you know, for you were already born!
       You have lived so many years!

 ²² "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
       or seen the storehouses of the hail,

 ²³ which I reserve for times of trouble,
       for days of war and battle?

 ²⁴ What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
       or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

 ²⁵ Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
       and a path for the thunderstorm,

 ²⁶ to water a land where no man lives,
       a desert with no one in it,

 ²⁷ to satisfy a desolate wasteland
       and make it sprout with grass?

 ²⁸ Does the rain have a father?
       Who fathers the drops of dew?

 ²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?
       Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

 ³⁰ when the waters become hard as stone,
       when the surface of the deep is frozen?

 ³¹ "Can you bind the beautiful ^[c] Pleiades?
       Can you loose the cords of Orion?

 ³² Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons ^[d]
       or lead out the Bear ^[e] with its cubs?

 ³³ Do you know the laws of the heavens?
       Can you set up God's ^[f] dominion over the earth?

 ³⁴ "Can you raise your voice to the clouds
       and cover yourself with a flood of water?

 ³⁵ Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
       Do they report to you, 'Here we are'?

 ³⁶ Who endowed the heart ^[g] with wisdom
       or gave understanding to the mind ^[h] ?

 ³⁷ Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
       Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

 ³⁸ when the dust becomes hard
       and the clods of earth stick together?

 ³⁹ "Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
       and satisfy the hunger of the lions

 ⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens
       or lie in wait in a thicket?

 ⁴¹ Who provides food for the raven
       when its young cry out to God
       and wander about for lack of food?

Job 39

 ¹ "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
       Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?

 ² Do you count the months till they bear?
       Do you know the time they give birth?

 ³ They crouch down and bring forth their young;
       their labor pains are ended.

 ⁴ Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
       they leave and do not return.

 ⁵ "Who let the wild donkey go free?
       Who untied his ropes?

 ⁶ I gave him the wasteland as his home,
       the salt flats as his habitat.

 ⁷ He laughs at the commotion in the town;
       he does not hear a driver's shout.

 ⁸ He ranges the hills for his pasture
       and searches for any green thing.

 ⁹ "Will the wild ox consent to serve you?
       Will he stay by your manger at night?

 ¹⁰ Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?
       Will he till the valleys behind you?

 ¹¹ Will you rely on him for his great strength?
       Will you leave your heavy work to him?

 ¹² Can you trust him to bring in your grain
       and gather it to your threshing floor?

 ¹³ "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
       but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.

 ¹⁴ She lays her eggs on the ground
       and lets them warm in the sand,

 ¹⁵ unmindful that a foot may crush them,
       that some wild animal may trample them.

 ¹⁶ She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;
       she cares not that her labor was in vain,

 ¹⁷ for God did not endow her with wisdom
       or give her a share of good sense.

 ¹⁸ Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
       she laughs at horse and rider.

 ¹⁹ "Do you give the horse his strength
       or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?

 ²⁰ Do you make him leap like a locust,
       striking terror with his proud snorting?

 ²¹ He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength,
       and charges into the fray.

 ²² He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
       he does not shy away from the sword.

 ²³ The quiver rattles against his side,
       along with the flashing spear and lance.

 ²⁴ In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground;
       he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.

 ²⁵ At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!'
       He catches the scent of battle from afar,
       the shout of commanders and the battle cry.

 ²⁶ "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
       and spread his wings toward the south?

 ²⁷ Does the eagle soar at your command
       and build his nest on high?

 ²⁸ He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
       a rocky crag is his stronghold.

 ²⁹ From there he seeks out his food;
       his eyes detect it from afar.

 ³⁰ His young ones feast on blood,
       and where the slain are, there is he."

Job 40

 ¹ The LORD said to Job:

 ² "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
       Let him who accuses God answer him!"

 ³ Then Job answered the LORD :

 ⁴ "I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?
       I put my hand over my mouth.

 ⁵ I spoke once, but I have no answer—
       twice, but I will say no more."

 ⁶ Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:

 ⁷ "Brace yourself like a man;
       I will question you,
       and you shall answer me.

 ⁸ "Would you discredit my justice?
       Would you condemn me to justify yourself?

 ⁹ Do you have an arm like God's,
       and can your voice thunder like his?

 ¹⁰ Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
       and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.

 ¹¹ Unleash the fury of your wrath,
       look at every proud man and bring him low,

 ¹² look at every proud man and humble him,
       crush the wicked where they stand.

 ¹³ Bury them all in the dust together;
       shroud their faces in the grave.

 ¹⁴ Then I myself will admit to you
       that your own right hand can save you.

 ¹⁵ "Look at the behemoth, ^[i]
       which I made along with you
       and which feeds on grass like an ox.

 ¹⁶ What strength he has in his loins,
       what power in the muscles of his belly!

 ¹⁷ His tail ^[j] sways like a cedar;
       the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.

 ¹⁸ His bones are tubes of bronze,
       his limbs like rods of iron.

 ¹⁹ He ranks first among the works of God,
       yet his Maker can approach him with his sword.

 ²⁰ The hills bring him their produce,
       and all the wild animals play nearby.

 ²¹ Under the lotus plants he lies,
       hidden among the reeds in the marsh.

 ²² The lotuses conceal him in their shadow;
       the poplars by the stream surround him.

 ²³ When the river rages, he is not alarmed;
       he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth.

 ²⁴ Can anyone capture him by the eyes, ^[k]
       or trap him and pierce his nose?

Job 41

 ¹ "Can you pull in the leviathan ^[l] with a fishhook
       or tie down his tongue with a rope?

 ² Can you put a cord through his nose
       or pierce his jaw with a hook?

 ³ Will he keep begging you for mercy?
       Will he speak to you with gentle words?

 ⁴ Will he make an agreement with you
       for you to take him as your slave for life?

 ⁵ Can you make a pet of him like a bird
       or put him on a leash for your girls?

 ⁶ Will traders barter for him?
       Will they divide him up among the merchants?

 ⁷ Can you fill his hide with harpoons
       or his head with fishing spears?

 ⁸ If you lay a hand on him,
       you will remember the struggle and never do it again!

 ⁹ Any hope of subduing him is false;
       the mere sight of him is overpowering.

 ¹⁰ No one is fierce enough to rouse him.
       Who then is able to stand against me?

 ¹¹ Who has a claim against me that I must pay?
       Everything under heaven belongs to me.

 ¹² "I will not fail to speak of his limbs,
       his strength and his graceful form.

 ¹³ Who can strip off his outer coat?
       Who would approach him with a bridle?

 ¹⁴ Who dares open the doors of his mouth,
       ringed about with his fearsome teeth?

 ¹⁵ His back has ^[m] rows of shields
       tightly sealed together;

 ¹⁶ each is so close to the next
       that no air can pass between.

 ¹⁷ They are joined fast to one another;
       they cling together and cannot be parted.

 ¹⁸ His snorting throws out flashes of light;
       his eyes are like the rays of dawn.

 ¹⁹ Firebrands stream from his mouth;
       sparks of fire shoot out.

 ²⁰ Smoke pours from his nostrils
       as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.

 ²¹ His breath sets coals ablaze,
       and flames dart from his mouth.

 ²² Strength resides in his neck;
       dismay goes before him.

 ²³ The folds of his flesh are tightly joined;
       they are firm and immovable.

 ²⁴ His chest is hard as rock,
       hard as a lower millstone.

 ²⁵ When he rises up, the mighty are terrified;
       they retreat before his thrashing.

 ²⁶ The sword that reaches him has no effect,
       nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.

 ²⁷ Iron he treats like straw
       and bronze like rotten wood.

 ²⁸ Arrows do not make him flee;
       slingstones are like chaff to him.

 ²⁹ A club seems to him but a piece of straw;
       he laughs at the rattling of the lance.

 ³⁰ His undersides are jagged potsherds,
       leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.

 ³¹ He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron
       and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.

 ³² Behind him he leaves a glistening wake;
       one would think the deep had white hair.

 ³³ Nothing on earth is his equal—
       a creature without fear.

 ³⁴ He looks down on all that are haughty;
       he is king over all that are proud."

Job 42

Job

 ² "I know that you can do all things;
       no plan of yours can be thwarted.

 ³ You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?'
       Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
       things too wonderful for me to know.

 ⁴ "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak;
       I will question you,
       and you shall answer me.'

 ⁵ My ears had heard of you
       but now my eyes have seen you.

 ⁶ Therefore I despise myself
       and repent in dust and ashes."

Epilogue

 ¹⁰ After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. ¹¹ All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver ^[n] and a gold ring.

 ¹² The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. ¹³ And he also had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. ¹⁵ Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

 ¹⁶ After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. ¹⁷ And so he died, old and full of years.