There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God [with reverence] and abstained from and turned away from evil [because he honored God].

He also possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke (pairs) of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very great number of servants, so that this man was the greatest [and wealthiest and most respected] of all the men of the east (northern Arabia).

When the days of their feasting were over, Job would send [for them] and consecrate them, rising early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job did this at all [such] times.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God].”

Have You not put a hedge [of protection] around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands [and conferred prosperity and happiness upon him], and his possessions have increased in the land.

But put forth Your hand now and touch (destroy) all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that Job has is in your power, only do not put your hand on the man himself.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God]. And still he maintains and holds tightly to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to destroy him without cause.”

Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Yes, a man will give all he has for his life.

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; for they had made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.

So they sat down on the ground with Job for seven days and seven nights and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

“May that day be darkness;
Let God above not care about it,
Nor light shine on it.

“Let darkness and gloom claim it for their own;
Let a cloud settle upon it;
Let all that blackens the day terrify it (the day that I was born).

“As for that night, let darkness seize it;
Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
Let it not be counted in the number of the months.

“Behold, let that night be barren [and empty];
Let no joyful voice enter it.

“Let the stars of its early dawn be dark;
Let the morning wait in vain for the light,
Let it not see the eyelids of morning (the day’s dawning),

“Why did the knees receive me?
And why the breasts, that I would nurse?

“For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me,
And that of which I am afraid has come upon me.

‘Is not their tent-cord drawn up within them [so that the tent collapses]?
Do they not die, and yet without [acquiring] wisdom?’

“I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering],
But I cursed his dwelling immediately [for his destruction was certain].

So that He sets on high those who are lowly,
And He lifts to safety those who mourn.

“He frustrates the devices and schemes of the crafty,
So that their hands cannot attain success or achieve anything of [lasting] worth.

“He will rescue you from six troubles;
Even in seven, evil will not touch you.

“You will know also that your tent is secure and at peace,
And you will visit your dwelling and fear no loss [nor find anything amiss].

“You will know also that your descendants will be many,
And your offspring as the grass of the earth.

“Oh, that my grief could actually be weighed
And placed in the balances together with my tragedy [to see if my grief is the grief of a coward]!

“Can something that has no taste to it be eaten without salt?
Or is there any flavor in the white of an egg?

“Oh that my request would come to pass,
And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

“I wish that it would please God to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off.

“Then I would still have consolation,
And I would jump for joy amid unsparing pain,
That I have not denied or hidden the words of the Holy One.

“What strength do I have left, that I should wait [and hope]?
And what is ahead of me, that I should be patient and endure?

“Is my strength and endurance that of stones,
Or is my flesh made of bronze?

“Is it that I have no help within myself,
And that success and wisdom have been driven from me?

“My brothers have acted deceitfully like a brook,
Like the torrents of brooks that vanish,

“Now please look at me,
And see if I lie to your face [for you know that I would not].

“Remember that my life is but breath [a puff of wind, a sigh];
My eye will not see good again.

“Am I the sea, or the sea monster,
That You set a guard over me?

So that I would choose suffocation,
Death rather than my pain.

“What is man that You [should] magnify him [and think him important]?
And that You are concerned about him?

“And that You examine him every morning
And try and test him every moment?

“If I have sinned, what [harm] have I done to You,
O Watcher of mankind?
Why have You set me as a target for You,
So that I am a burden to myself?

“Inquire, please, of past generations,
And consider and apply yourself to the things searched out by their fathers.

“If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.

“The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;
He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice].
If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]?

“They pass by like the [swift] boats made of reeds,
Like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.

“For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him,
That we may go to court and judgment together.

“There is no arbitrator between us,
Who could lay his hand upon us both [would that there were].

“Let Him take His rod away from me,
And let not the dread and fear of Him terrify me.

‘Does it indeed seem right to You to oppress,
To despise and reject the work of Your hands,
And to look with favor on the schemes of the wicked?

That You seek my guilt
And search for my sin?

‘Although You know that I am not guilty or wicked,
Yet there is no one who can rescue me from Your hand.

‘Remember now, that You have made me as clay;
So will You turn me into dust again?

‘Yet these [present evils] You have hidden in Your heart [since my creation]:
I know that this was within You [in Your purpose and thought].

‘Why then did You bring me out of the womb?
Would that I had perished and no eye had seen me!

“Would He not let my few days alone,
Withdraw from me that I may have a little cheer

“For you have said, ‘My teaching (doctrine) [that God knowingly afflicts the righteous] is pure,
And I am innocent in your eyes.’

“But oh, that God would speak,
And open His lips [to speak] against you,

And [that He would] show you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom has two sides.
Know therefore that God forgets a part of your wickedness and guilt.

“For you would forget your trouble;
You would remember it as waters that have passed by.

“Now ask the animals, and let them teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character];
And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you;

“Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life]
That the hand of the Lord has done this,

“But I wish to speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to argue with God.

“Oh, that you would be completely silent,
And that silence would be your wisdom!

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

“Behold now, I have prepared my case;
I know that I will be vindicated.

“How many are my iniquities and sins [that so much sorrow should come to me]?
Make me recognize and understand my transgression and my sin.

While I waste away like a rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that the shoots of it will not cease nor fail, [but there is no such hope for man].

“Oh, that You would hide me in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would set a definite time and then remember me [and in Your lovingkindness imprint me on your heart]!

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

“What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not equally clear to us?

That you should turn your spirit against God
And let such words [as you have spoken] go out of your mouth?

“What is man, that he should be pure and clean,
Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous and just?

How much less [pure and clean is] the one who is repulsive and corrupt,
Man, who drinks unrighteousness and injustice like water!

“I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;

“The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
And numbered are the years stored up for him, the ruthless one.

“He does not believe that he will return out of the darkness [for fear of being murdered],
And he is destined for the sword [of God’s vengeance].

“He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that the day of darkness and destruction is already at hand.

“Oh, that a man would mediate and plead with God [for me]
Just as a man [mediates and pleads] with his neighbor and friend.

“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?

“These [thoughts try to] make the night into the day;
‘The light is near,’ they say in the presence of darkness [but they pervert the truth].

If I call out to the pit (grave), ‘You are my father’;
And to the worm [that feeds on decay], ‘You are my mother and my sister [because I will soon be closest to you],’

“Nothing of his dwells in his tent;
Brimstone (burning sulfur) is scattered over his dwelling [to purify it].

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

“These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me [and harden your hearts against me].

“And if it were true that I have erred,
My error would remain with me [and I would be conscious of it].

Know then that God has wronged me and overthrown me
And has closed His net around me.

“He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has set darkness upon my paths.

“Oh, that the words I now speak were written!
Oh, that they were recorded in a scroll!

“That with an iron stylus and [molten] lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!

“For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives,
And at the last He will take His stand upon the earth.

“If you say, ‘How shall we [continue to] persecute him?’
And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find [since we claim the root of these afflictions is found in him]?’

“Then beware and be afraid of the sword [of divine vengeance] for yourselves,
For wrathful are the punishments of that sword,
So that you may know there is judgment.”

“Do you not know this from the old days,
Since the time that man was placed on the earth,

That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the godless is only for a moment?

“He gives back what he has labored for and attained
And cannot swallow it [down to enjoy it];
As to the riches of his labor,
He cannot even enjoy them.

“Because he knew no quietness or calm within him [because of his greed],
He does not retain anything he desires.

“There is nothing left of what he devoured;
Therefore his prosperity does not endure.

‘Who [and what] is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

“How often [then] is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out,
And that their disaster falls on them?
Does God distribute pain and destruction and sorrow [to them] in His anger?