Now there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them.

Again there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

“For my groaning comes at the sight of my food,
And my cries [of despair] are poured out like water.

“Then a spirit passed before my face;
The hair on my skin stood on end!

“The spirit stood still, but I could not discern its appearance;
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence, and then I heard a voice, saying:

‘Can [mortal] man be just before God or be more righteous than He?
Can a man be pure before his Maker or be more cleansed than He?

“While it is still green (in flower) and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other plant [when without water].

“He thrives and prospers [like a green plant] before the sun,
And his branches spread out over his garden.

“If he is snatched from his place [in the garden],
Then his place will forget him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’

“Yes, I know it is true.
But how can a mortal man be right before God?

Before I go—and I shall not return—
To the land of darkness and the deep shadow [of death],

“Even though He kills me;
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless, I will argue my ways to His face.

“This also will be my salvation,
For a godless man may not come before Him.

“Indeed, you are doing away with fear,
And you are diminishing meditation before God.

“Were you the first man to be born [the original wise man],
Or were you created before the hills?

“Give me a pledge (guarantee, promise) with Yourself [acknowledge my innocence before my death];
Who is there that will be my guarantor and give security for me?

“But He has made me a byword and mockery among the people,
And I have become one in whose face people spit.

“Those in the west are astonished and appalled at his fate,
And those in the east are seized with horror.

“Their children and descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.

“Are they like straw before the wind,
And like chaff that the storm steals and carries away?

“The [dirt] clods of the valley are sweet to him [and gently cover him],
Moreover, all men will follow after him [to a grave],
While countless ones go before him.

Men who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundations were poured out like a river?

“If you return to the Almighty [and submit and humble yourself before Him], you will be built up [and restored];
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents,

“I would present my cause before Him
And fill my mouth with arguments.

But I am not silenced by the darkness [of these woes that fell on me],
Nor by the thick darkness which covers my face.

“How then can man be justified and righteous with God?
Or how can he who is born of a woman be pure and clean?

“Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) is naked before God,
And Abaddon (the place of destruction) has no covering [from His eyes].

“For it will hurl [thunderbolts of God’s wrath] at him unsparingly and without compassion;
He flees in haste from its power.

“For God has loosed His bowstring [attacking me] and [He has] afflicted and humbled me;
They have cast off the bridle [of restraint] before me.

“Answer me, if you can;
Set yourselves before me, take your stand.

“Behold, I belong to God like you;
I too was formed out of the clay.

“For He sets no appointed time for a man,
That he should appear before Him in judgment.

“He breaks mighty men without inquiry,
And sets others in their place.

“Even though you say that you do not see Him [when missing His righteous judgment on earth],
Yet your case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!

“No one is so fierce [and foolhardy] that he dares to stir up Leviathan;
Who then is he who can stand before Me [or dares to contend with Me, the beast’s creator]?

“In Leviathan’s neck resides strength,
And dismay and terror dance before him.

The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Then all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him over all the [distressing] adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him a piece of money, and each a ring of gold.