One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

But I know my living Redeemer,
and He will stand on the dust at last.

There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of perfect integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.

saying:

Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will leave this life.
The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.
Praise the name of Yahweh.

Where were you when I established the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.

He stretches the northern skies over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind. He said:

But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

Haven’t You placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

while the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

He had seven sons and three daughters.

He said to mankind,
“The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom.
And to turn from evil is understanding.”

One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

I have made a covenant with my eyes.
How then could I look at a young woman?

a messenger came to Job and reported: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby,

Man born of woman
is short of days and full of trouble.

Even if He kills me, I will hope in Him.
I will still defend my ways before Him.

Look at Behemoth,
which I made along with you.
He eats grass like an ox.

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

>

By His breath the heavens gained their beauty;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house.

That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

He does great and unsearchable things,
wonders without number.

I had heard rumors about You,
but now my eyes have seen You.

Yet He knows the way I have taken;
when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold.

If only that day had turned to darkness!
May God above not care about it,
or light shine on it.

He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “A lightning storm struck from heaven. It burned up the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

I know that You can do anything
and no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.

Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

You would call, and I would answer You.
You would long for the work of Your hands.

If He passes by me, I wouldn’t see Him;
if He goes right by, I wouldn’t recognize Him.

But a stupid man will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a man!

The eye of anyone who looks on me
will no longer see me.
Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

My skin and my flesh cling to my bones;
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

Wisdom and strength belong to God;
counsel and understanding are His.

Why do I put myself at risk
and take my life in my own hands?

May darkness and gloom reclaim it,
and a cloud settle over it.
May an eclipse of the sun terrify it.

since we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are but a shadow.

I refuse to touch them;
they are like contaminated food.

You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and wove me together with bones and tendons.

how much less one who is revolting and corrupt,
who drinks injustice like water?

Can anyone teach God knowledge,
since He judges the exalted ones?

As for you, if you redirect your heart
and lift up your hands to Him in prayer—

“Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life.

For then You would count my steps
but would not take note of my sin.

No stranger had to spend the night on the street,
for I opened my door to the traveler.

Nothing is left for him to consume;
therefore, his prosperity will not last.

If you return to the Almighty, you will be renewed.
If you banish injustice from your tent

Will they not teach you and tell you
and speak from their understanding?

Whatever He tears down cannot be rebuilt;
whoever He imprisons cannot be released.

You gave me life and faithful love,
and Your care has guarded my life.

that He would decide to crush me,
to unleash His power and cut me off!

Isn’t your piety your confidence,
and the integrity of your life your hope?

One person dies in excellent health,
completely secure and at ease.

If He snatches something, who can stop Him?
Who can ask Him, “What are You doing?”

If only my request would be granted
and God would provide what I hope for:

He has no children or descendants among his people,
no survivor where he used to live.

and consign your gold to the dust,
the gold of Ophir to the stones in the wadis,

Listen to me and I will inform you.
I will describe what I have seen,

although my hands are free from violence
and my prayer is pure.

He gives rain to the earth
and sends water to the fields.

My lyre is used for mourning
and my flute for the sound of weeping.

>

But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

He does great and unsearchable things,
wonders without number.

Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
for God’s hand has struck me.

Yes, this will result in my deliverance,
for no godless person can appear before Him.

“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.”

then you will hold your head high, free from fault.
You will be firmly established and unafraid.

He will never return to his house;
his hometown will no longer remember him.

if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—

If this is not true, then who can prove me a liar
and show that my speech is worthless?

He leads counselors away barefoot
and makes judges go mad.

Why do you persecute me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?

Am I the sea or a sea monster,
that You keep me under guard?

If only darkness had taken that night away!
May it not appear among the days of the year
or be listed in the calendar.

True wisdom and power belong to Him.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.

Earth, do not cover my blood;
may my cry for help find no resting place.

In my experience, those who plow injustice
and those who sow trouble reap the same.

Consider: who has perished when he was innocent?
Where have the honest been destroyed?

when they crouch in their dens
and lie in wait within their lairs?

Have I covered my transgressions as others do
by hiding my guilt in my heart,

He sets the lowly on high,
and mourners are lifted to safety.

For you will forget your suffering,
recalling it only as waters that have flowed by.

if I sin, You would notice,
and would not acquit me of my wrongdoing.

My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag,
and You would cover over my iniquity.

At the height of his success distress will come to him;
the full weight of misery will crush him.

Now then, I have prepared my case;
I know that I am right.

When He withholds the waters, everything dries up,
and when He releases them, they destroy the land.

Your life will be brighter than noonday;
its darkness will be like the morning.

But the sight of the wicked will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath.

Those in the west are appalled at his fate,
while those in the east tremble in horror.

He reveals mysteries from the darkness
and brings the deepest darkness into the light.

He leads priests away barefoot
and overthrows established leaders.

A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends,
even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.

But as a mountain collapses and crumbles
and a rock is dislodged from its place,

You produce new witnesses against me
and multiply Your anger toward me.
Hardships assault me, wave after wave.

Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless will perish.

While still uncut shoots,
they would dry up quicker than any other plant.

Even if I were in the right, I could not answer.
I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

He releases the bonds put on by kings
and fastens a belt around their waists.

Let those who curse certain days
cast a spell on it,
those who are skilled in rousing Leviathan.

You will be confident, because there is hope.
You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.

God does not hold back His anger;
Rahab’s assistants cringe in fear beneath Him!

His source of confidence is fragile;
what he trusts in is a spider’s web.

He pours out contempt on nobles
and disarms the strong.

May its morning stars grow dark.
May it wait for daylight but have none;
may it not see the breaking of dawn.

You will lie down without fear,
and many will seek your favor.

before I go to a land of darkness and gloom,
never to return.

Yes, may that night be barren;
may no joyful shout be heard in it.

Therefore I will not restrain my mouth.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

When I say: My bed will comfort me,
and my couch will ease my complaint,

He deprives trusted advisers of speech
and takes away the elders’ good judgment.

His body is well fed,
and his bones are full of marrow.

“Yet You concealed these thoughts in Your heart;
I know that this was Your hidden plan:

He batters me with a whirlwind
and multiplies my wounds without cause.

He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.
He grabs it, but it does not hold up.

Are my days not few? Stop it!
Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little

“Why did You bring me out of the womb?
I should have died and never been seen.

They grope around in darkness without light;
He makes them stagger like drunken men.

>

He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine;
his shoots spread out over his garden.

Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Do reeds flourish without water?

Even if I were in the right, my own mouth would condemn me;
if I were blameless, my mouth would declare me guilty.

He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

If I summoned Him and He answered me,
I do not believe He would pay attention to what I said.

Pay close attention to my words;
let my declaration ring in your ears.

Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.

If only Job were tested to the limit,
because his answers are like those of wicked men.

How then can I answer Him
or choose my arguments against Him?

Indeed, such is the dwelling of the unjust man,
and this is the place of the one who does not know God.

If it is a matter of strength, look, He is the Mighty One!
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

Why was I not stillborn;
why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?

Since I cannot help myself,
the hope for success has been banished from me.

He frustrates the schemes of the crafty
so that they achieve no success.

The caravans of Tema look for these streams.
The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.

Why not forgive my sin
and pardon my transgression?
For soon I will lie down in the grave.
You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.

It would still bring me comfort,
and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain
that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

For that night did not shut
the doors of my mother’s womb,
and hide sorrow from my eyes.

If he is uprooted from his place,
it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.”

If I am wicked, woe to me!
And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head.
I am filled with shame
and aware of my affliction.

Dreadful sounds fill his ears;
when he is at peace, a robber attacks him.

If his sons receive honor, he does not know it;
if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it.

Why did the knees receive me,
and why were there breasts for me to nurse?

Though I am blameless,
I no longer care about myself;
I renounce my life.

He saves the needy from their sharp words
and from the clutches of the powerful.

When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head.

Then you will delight in the Almighty
and lift up your face to God.

or were inscribed in stone forever
by an iron stylus and lead!

He traps the wise in their craftiness
so that the plans of the deceptive
are quickly brought to an end.

My days fly by faster than a runner;
they flee without seeing any good.

They encounter darkness by day,
and they grope at noon
as if it were night.

Or why was I not hidden like a miscarried child,
like infants who never see daylight?

I wish that someone might arbitrate
between a man and God
just as a man pleads for his friend.

What strength do I have that I should continue to hope?
What is my future, that I should be patient?

Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
A fire unfanned by human hands will consume him;
it will feed on what is left in his tent.

Now I would certainly be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep.
Then I would be at rest

He wanders about for food, saying, “Where is it?”
He knows the day of darkness is at hand.

They perish at a single blast from God
and come to an end by the breath of His nostrils.

There the wicked cease to make trouble,
and there the weary find rest.

what was declared by wise men
and was not suppressed by their ancestors,

with the kings and counselors of the earth,
who rebuilt ruined cities for themselves,

For only a few years will pass
before I go the way of no return.

>

then You frighten me with dreams,
and terrify me with visions,

Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.

How many iniquities and sins have I committed?
Reveal to me my transgression and sin.

Then Job answered:

So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.

The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered Him, “and walking around on it.”

I am disgusted with my life.
I will express my complaint
and speak in the bitterness of my soul.

Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster,
rescued from the day of wrath.

Wisdom is found with the elderly,
and understanding comes with long life.

No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!

He makes nations great, then destroys them;
He enlarges nations, then leads them away.

remove Your hand from me,
and do not let Your terror frighten me.

May the day I was born perish,
and the night when they said,
“A boy is conceived.”

Why is light given to one burdened with grief,
and life to those whose existence is bitter,

Who would denounce his behavior to his face?
Who would repay him for what he has done?

It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness,
gloomy and chaotic,
where even the light is like the darkness.”

Only grant these two things to me, God,
so that I will not have to hide from Your presence:

I will see Him myself;
my eyes will look at Him, and not as a stranger.
My heart longs within me.

Can anyone indict me?
If so, I will be silent and die.

He feels only the pain of his own body
and mourns only for himself.

Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

He will even rescue the guilty one,
who will be rescued by the purity of your hands.

Trouble and distress terrify him,
overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle.

I give up! I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.

so that I prefer strangling—
death rather than life in this body.

What is man, that You think so highly of him
and pay so much attention to him?

Then call, and I will answer,
or I will speak, and You can respond to me.

For He crushes but also binds up;
He strikes, but His hands also heal.

Then Job answered:

They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

If you say, “How will we pursue him,
since the root of the problem lies with him?”

Is my strength that of stone,
or my flesh made of bronze?

the land was given to them alone
when no foreigner passed among them.

He would show you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your sin.

I am a laughingstock to my friends,
by calling on God, who answers me.
The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

You will laugh at destruction and hunger
and not fear the animals of the earth.

Call out if you please. Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones will you turn to?

For anger kills a fool,
and jealousy slays the gullible.

For You record bitter accusations against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

Man wears out like something rotten,
like a moth-eaten garment.

>

You will be safe from slander
and not fear destruction when it comes.

He is carried to the grave,
and someone keeps watch over his tomb.

When he fills his stomach,
God will send His burning anger against him,
raining it down on him while he is eating.

Even now my witness is in heaven,
and my advocate is in the heights!

he will dwell in ruined cities,
in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble.

He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes
and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.

Should your babbling put others to silence,
so that you can keep on ridiculing
with no one to humiliate you?

Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?

Should this stream of words go unanswered
and such a talker be acquitted?

I will say to God:
“Do not declare me guilty!
Let me know why You prosecute me.

I would give Him an account of all my steps;
I would approach Him like a prince.

If I have sinned, what have I done to You,
Watcher of mankind?
Why have You made me Your target,
so that I have become a burden to You?

I cannot relax or be still;
I have no rest, for trouble comes.

He said:

Both small and great are there,
and the slave is set free from his master.

He rushes headlong at Him
with his thick, studded shields.

Will You frighten a wind-driven leaf?
Will You chase after dry straw?

or with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.

The lion may roar and the fierce lion growl,
but the fangs of young lions are broken.

The captives are completely at ease;
they do not hear the voice of their oppressor.

You have said, “My teaching is sound,
and I am pure in Your sight.”

Surely He knows which people are worthless.
If He sees iniquity, will He not take note of it?

For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

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

Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?

I wish I had never existed
but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

You put my feet in the stocks
and stand watch over all my paths,
setting a limit for the soles of my feet.

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,
as seasonal streams that overflow

If my land cries out against me
and its furrows join in weeping,

So how can you offer me such futile comfort?
Your answers are deceptive.

Why do You hide Your face
and consider me Your enemy?

Surely this is the joy of his way of life;
yet others will sprout from the dust.

You will know that your tent is secure,
and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home.

Did You not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?

If He passes by and throws someone in prison
or convenes a court, who can stop Him?

Please remember that You formed me like clay.
Will You now return me to dust?

The tents of robbers are safe,
and those who provoke God are secure;
God’s power provides this.

But if only God would speak
and declare His case against you,

He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.
His possessions will not increase in the land.

Will You ever look away from me,
or leave me alone long enough to swallow?

Though his face is covered with fat
and his waistline bulges with it,

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with a shout of joy.

But I also have a mind;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?

They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
their womb prepares deception.

The possessions in his house will be removed,
flowing away on the day of God’s anger.

who wait for death, but it does not come,
and search for it more than for hidden treasure,

Yet another person dies with a bitter soul,
having never tasted prosperity.

He doesn’t let me catch my breath
but soaks me with bitter experiences.

because I greatly feared the crowds,
and the contempt of the clans terrified me,
so I grew silent and would not go outside?

The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.

who are filled with much joy
and are glad when they reach the grave?

Your enemies will be clothed with shame;
the tent of the wicked will exist no longer.

Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.

Is it good for You to oppress,
to reject the work of Your hands,
and favor the plans of the wicked?

In famine He will redeem you from death,
and in battle, from the power of the sword.

Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night,
when deep sleep descends on men,

Look, God does not reject a person of integrity,
and He will not support evildoers.

even though You know that I am not wicked
and that there is no one who can deliver from Your hand?

Yes, I know what you’ve said is true,
but how can a person be justified before God?

You will approach the grave in full vigor,
as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season.

Is bland food eaten without salt?
Is there flavor in an egg white?

Do You have eyes of flesh,
or do You see as a human sees?

I sigh when food is put before me,
and my groans pour out like water.

The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.
The thirsty pant for his children’s wealth.

Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me;
my spirit drinks their poison.
God’s terrors are arrayed against me.

Are Your days like those of a human,
or Your years like those of a man,

that You look for my wrongdoing
and search for my sin,

The strong lion dies if it catches no prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;
only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

For ask the previous generation,
and pay attention to what their fathers discovered,

Then, even if your beginnings were modest,
your final days will be full of prosperity.

You will also know that your offspring will be many
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

Then Job answered:

Then Job answered:

Remember that my life is but a breath.
My eye will never again see anything good.

I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.

His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.
He looks for a home among the stones.

Teach me, and I will be silent.
Help me understand what I did wrong.

fear and trembling came over me
and made all my bones shake.

But if you earnestly seek God
and ask the Almighty for mercy,

My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.

and become darkened because of ice,
and the snow melts into them.

We have investigated this, and it is true!
Hear it and understand it for yourself.

He shakes the earth from its place
so that its pillars tremble.

The earth is handed over to the wicked;
He blindfolds its judges.
If it isn’t He, then who is it?

His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,
with no one to rescue them.

So I have been made to inherit months of futility,
and troubled nights have been assigned to me.

He commands the sun not to shine
and seals off the stars.

God is wise and all-powerful.
Who has opposed Him and come out unharmed?

How long will you go on saying these things?
Your words are a blast of wind.

So this is what you have now become to me.
When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.

Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

as water wears away stones
and torrents wash away the soil from the land,
so You destroy a man’s hope.

“Job speaks without knowledge;
his words are without insight.”

Have I ever said: “Give me something”
or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth”

You inspect him every morning,
and put him to the test every moment.

When I lie down I think:
When will I get up?
But the evening drags on endlessly,
and I toss and turn until dawn.

You completely overpower him, and he passes on;
You change his appearance and send him away.

He removes mountains without their knowledge,
overturning them in His anger.

Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass
or an ox low over its fodder?

The wadis evaporate in warm weather;
they disappear from their channels in hot weather.

the Almighty will be your gold
and your finest silver.

Like a slave he longs for shade;
like a hired man he waits for his pay.

Since your children sinned against Him,
He gave them over to their rebellion.

If only my grief could be weighed
and my devastation placed with it in the scales.

My friends scoff at me
as I weep before God.

My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt.
My skin forms scabs and then oozes.

For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas!
That is why my words are rash.

“Can a person be more righteous than God,
or a man more pure than his Maker?”

if you are pure and upright,
then He will move even now on your behalf
and restore the home where your righteousness dwells.

For he adds rebellion to his sin;
he scornfully claps in our presence,
while multiplying his words against God.

It is all the same. Therefore I say,
“He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.”

Caravans turn away from their routes,
go up into the desert, and perish.

If he flees from an iron weapon,
an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him.

A word was brought to me in secret;
my ears caught a whisper of it.

When you make a decision, it will be carried out,
and light will shine on your ways.

When disaster brings sudden death,
He mocks the despair of the innocent.

They sweep by like boats made of papyrus,
like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

If God puts no trust in His servants
and He charges His angels with foolishness,

No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child
and negotiate a price to sell your friend.

Are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff a storm sweeps away?

How painful honest words can be!
But what does your rebuke prove?

They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water.
When they arrive there, they are frustrated.

or “Deliver me from the enemy’s power”
or “Redeem me from the grasp of the ruthless”?

Do you think that you can disprove my words
or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind?

Then Job replied to the Lord:

You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.

Is there injustice on my tongue
or can my palate not taste disaster?

>

But now, please look at me;
would I lie to your face?

If one wanted to take Him to court,
he could not answer God once in a thousand times.

“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.

If I wash myself with snow,
and cleanse my hands with lye,

I would still live in terror of all my pains.
I know You will not acquit me.

Without clothing, they spend the night naked,
having no covering against the cold.

But it is a spirit in man
and the breath of the Almighty
that give him understanding.

His estate included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.

After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has.

Reconsider; don’t be unjust.
Reconsider; my righteousness is still the issue.

Since I will be found guilty,
why should I labor in vain?

If I said, “I will forget my complaint,
change my expression, and smile,”

Can you fathom the depths of God
or discover the limits of the Almighty?

Who can produce something pure from what is impure?
No one!

One day the sons of God came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord.

“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, you must not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought: Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts. This was Job’s regular practice.

how much more those who dwell in clay houses,
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth!

The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered Him, “and walking around on it.”

When a man dies, will he come back to life?
If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle
until my relief comes.

I know your thoughts very well,
the schemes you would wrong me with.

He doesn’t believe he will return from darkness;
he is destined for the sword.

A wind passed by me,
and I shuddered with fear.

After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his prosperity and doubled his previous possessions.

For the thing I feared has overtaken me,
and what I dreaded has happened to me.

They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;
they perish forever while no one notices.

See how happy the man is God corrects;
so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.

There is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its shoots will not die.

His wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him, to destroy him without just cause.”

But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

Are their tent cords not pulled up?
They die without wisdom.

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Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling
and braced the knees that were buckling.

All his brothers, sisters, and former acquaintances came to his house and dined with him in his house. They sympathized with him and comforted him concerning all the adversity the Lord had brought on him. Each one gave him a qesitah and a gold earring.

Even after my skin has been destroyed,
yet I will see God in my flesh.

But they both lie in the dust,
and worms cover them.

When others are humiliated and you say, “Lift them up,”
God will save the humble.

Can you fasten the chains of the Pleiades
or loosen the belt of Orion?

Can you hunt prey for a lioness
or satisfy the appetite of young lions

So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.

Since man’s days are determined
and the number of his months depends on You,
and since You have set limits he cannot pass,

I have not departed from the commands of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth
more than my daily food.

A figure stood there,
but I could not recognize its appearance;
a form loomed before my eyes.
I heard a quiet voice:

Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

The Lord answered Job:

If only I had someone to hear my case!
Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me.
Let my Opponent compose His indictment.

The heavens will expose his iniquity,
and the earth will rise up against him.

But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him?
He does what He desires.

Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.

Therefore I take back my words
and repent in dust and ashes.

But mankind is born for trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

Indeed, you have instructed many
and have strengthened weak hands.

His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

Did not the One who made me in the womb also make them?
Did not the same God form us both in the womb?

He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads on the waves of the sea.

But now they mock me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.