And it happened {one day} {that} the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan also came into their midst.

But I myself know [that] my redeemer [is] alive, and [at the] last he will stand up upon {the earth}.

[There] was a man in the land of Uz whose name [was] Job. That man was blameless and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil.

Then he said, "Naked I came out from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there. Yahweh gives, and Yahweh takes. Let Yahweh's name be blessed."

"Where were you at my laying the foundation of [the] earth? Tell [me], if you possess understanding.

He stretches out [the] north over emptiness; [he] hangs [the] earth {over nothing}.

Then Yahweh answered Job from the storm, and he said,

But, on the other hand, stretch out your hand and touch {all that belongs to him} [and see] {whether} he will {curse} you to your face."

Have you not put a fence around him and his household and around {all that belongs to him} {on every side}? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock has increased in the land.

when [the] morning stars were singing together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

And to the human beings he said, 'Look, the fear of the Lord [is] wisdom, and to depart from evil [is] understanding.'"

And then [there] was one day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their firstborn brother's house.

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

Indeed, mischief does not come from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the earth.

"I made a covenant with my eyes, so how could I look closely upon a virgin?

And a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing, and the female donkeys were feeding {beside them}.

"A human being born of a woman [is] short of days and full of troubles.

Look, [though] he kill me, I will hope in him; however, I will defend my ways {before him}.

"Look, Behemoth, which I have made just as [I made] you; it eats grass like the ox.

Who prepares for the crow its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, [and] they wander around {for lack of food}?

By his breath {the heavens were made clear}; his hand pierced [the] fleeing snake.

Then Job arose and tore his outer garment and shaved his head; {then} he fell upon the ground and he worshiped.

So Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you {considered} my servant Job? Indeed, there is no one like him on the earth--a blameless man and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil."

Then the Sabeans {attacked}, and they took them, and they slew the servants {by the edge of the sword}. But I escaped, [even] I alone, to tell you."

At the time this one was speaking, {another} came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their firstborn brother's house.

While this one was still speaking, {another} came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three divisions, and they made a raid on the camels, and they carried them away, and they struck your servants {by the edge of the sword}, but I escaped, [even] I alone, to tell you."

[He is the one] who does great things {beyond understanding} and marvelous things {beyond number}.

By the ear's hearing I heard [of] you, but now my eye has seen you.

But he knows {the way that I take}; he tests me--I shall come out like gold.

Let that day become darkness; may God not seek it from above, nor may daylight shine on it.

While this one was still speaking, {another} came and said, "The fire of God fell from the heavens, and it blazed up against the sheep and goats and against the servants, and it consumed them. But I escaped, [even] I alone, to tell you."

"I know that you can do all [things], and [any] scheme from you will not be thwarted.

In all this, Job did not sin and did not {charge God with wrongdoing}.

And behold, a great wind came from across the desert, and it struck the four corners of the house {so that} it fell upon the young people, and they died. But I escaped, [even] I alone, to tell you."

But now it has come to you, and you are worn out; it touches you, and you are horrified.

You would call, and I myself would answer you; you would long for the work of your hand.

"{If} he passes by me, {I would not see him}; and [if] he should move on, {I would not recognize him}.

But {an empty-headed person} will get understanding when a wild donkey's colt is born [as] a human being.

The eye of [the one] seeing me will not see me; your eyes [are] upon me, but {I will be gone}.

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

"With him [are] wisdom and powerful deeds, and to him [belong] counsel and understanding.

Why should I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my hand?

Let darkness and deep shadow claim it; let clouds settle on it; let them terrify it [with the] blackness of day.

for we [are of] yesterday, and we do not know, for our days on earth [are] a shadow.

{I refused} to touch [them]; they [are] like {food that will make me ill}.

You clothed me [with] skin and flesh, and you knit me together with bones and sinews.

{How much less} he who is abominable and corrupt, a man drinking wickedness like water.

Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he himself judges high ones?

"If you yourself direct your heart and stretch out your hands to him--

Then Satan answered him and said, "Skin for skin! All that {that} man has he will give for his life.

For then you would count my steps, [but] you would not keep watch over my sin.

An alien has not lodged in the street; I have opened my door to the traveler.

{There is nothing left after he has eaten}; therefore his prosperity will not endure.

If you return to Shaddai, you will be restored; [if] you remove wickedness from your tent,

Will they themselves not teach you [and] {tell you} and {utter} words from their heart?

If he tears down, then it will not be rebuilt; if he shuts a man in, then he cannot be freed.

You have granted me life and loyal love, and your care has preserved my spirit.

that God would decide that he would crush me, [that] he would let loose his hand and {kill me}.

[Is] not your fear [in God] your confidence? [Is not] your hope even the integrity of your ways?

This [one] dies {in full prosperity}, {completely} at ease and secure.

{If} he would snatch away, who could turn him? Who could say to him, 'What are you doing?'

"{O that} my request may come, and [that] God may grant my hope,

[There is] no offspring for him nor a descendant among his people, and there is not a survivor in his abode.

and [if you] put gold ore in [the] dust, and [the] gold of Ophir in [the] rock of wadis,

"I will show you, listen to me; and what I have seen, I will tell--

{although} violence [is] not on my hands, and my prayer [is] pure.

the one who is giving rain on [the] {surface of} [the] earth and is sending water on [the] {surface of} [the] fields,

So my lyre came to be [used] for mourning, and my flute [for the] voice of [those who] weep.

But stretch out your hand and touch his bones and his flesh, [and see] {whether} he will {curse} you to your face."

[He] is doing great and {unsearchable} things, marvelous things {without number}--

"Pity me, pity me, you my friends, for God's hand has touched me.

Moreover, this [is] salvation to me, that [the] godless would not come {before him}.

So Yahweh said to Satan, "{All right}, he [is] in your {power}. Only spare his life."

surely then you will lift up your face without blemish, and you will be firmly established and will not fear.

He does not return again to his house, and his place does not recognize him again.

if iniquity [is] in your hand, put it far away, and you must not let wickedness reside in your tents--

"And if [it is] not [so], then who can prove me a liar and reduce my word to nothing?"

He leads counselors away stripped, and he makes fools of judges.

Why do you pursue me like God? And are not satisfied with my flesh?

Am I [the] sea, or a sea monster, that you set a guard over me?

Let darkness seize that night; let it not rejoice among [the] days of [the] year; let it not enter among [the] number of [the] months.

"Strength and sound wisdom [are] with him; [the] deceived and [the] deceiver [are] his.

"O earth, you should not cover my blood, and let there be no place for my cry for help.

[Just] as I have seen, plowers of mischief and sowers of trouble will reap it.

"{Think} now, who has perished [who is] innocent? Or where [are] the upright destroyed?

when they are crouched in the dens, [when] they lie in the thicket in an ambush?

{Have I concealed} my transgressions as [other] human beings to hide my iniquity in my bosom

to set [the] lowly on high, and [those] mourning are lifted to safety.

For you yourself will forget your misery; you will remember [it] as water [that] has flowed past.

If I had sinned, then you would be watching me, and you would not acquit me of my guilt.

My transgression would be sealed in a bag, and you would cover over my guilt.

In the fullness of his excess {he will be in distress}; all of misery's power will come [upon] him.

Please look, I have prepared [my] case; I know that I myself will be vindicated.

Look, [if] he withholds the water, then they dry up; and [if] he sends them out, then they overwhelm [the] land.

"{And your life will be brighter than noon}; [its] darkness will be like the morning.

But [the] eyes of [the] wicked will fail; and refuge will be lost to them, and their hope [is] {to breathe their last breath}."

[Those of the] west are appalled over {his fate}, and [those of the] east {are seized with horror}.

"He uncovers mysteries out of darkness, and he brings deep shadow to the light.

He leads priests away stripped, and he overthrows {the members of ancient families}.

"Loyal love [should come] for the afflicted [from] his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of Shaddai.

"But a mountain falls; it crumbles away, and a rock moves away from its place.

You renew your witnesses against me, and you increase your vexation against me; {relief forces} [are] against me.

So [are] the paths of all who forget God; and [the] hope of [the] godless will perish,

While it [is] in its flower [and] is not plucked, yet it withers {before} all grass.

whom I cannot answer, even though I am righteous? From my judge I must implore grace.

He loosens [the] fetters of kings, and he binds a loincloth on their loins.

Let those who curse the day curse it, those who are skilled at rousing Leviathan.

And you will have confidence because there is hope; and you will be well protected--{you will sleep in safety}.

God will not turn back his anger; beneath him the helpers of Rahab bow.

whose confidence is cut off and {whose trust} [is] a spider's house.

He pours contempt on noblemen, and he loosens [the] girdle of [the] mighty.

Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light but there be none, and let it not see [the] eyelids of dawn

And you will lie down, and {no one will make you afraid}; {and many will entreat your favor}.

Before I go--and I will not return-- to [the] land of darkness and deep shadow,

Look, let that night become barren; let a joyful song not enter it.

"Even I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in my spirit's anguish; I will complain in my inner self's bitterness.

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

He deprives [the] trustworthy of speech, and he takes away [the] discretion of elders.

His vats are full [with] milk and the marrow of his bones is moist.

" 'Yet you hid these [things] in your heart; I know that this {was your purpose}.

who crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without cause.

He will lean himself against his house, but it will not stand; he will take hold of it, but it will not endure.

[Are] not my days few? Let him leave [me] alone; let him turn from me, and let me rejoice a little.

So why did you bring me forth from the womb? I should have passed away, {and no eye should have seen me}.

They grope [in] the dark {without} light, and he makes them stagger like a drunkard.

He [is] {thriving} {before} the sun, and his plant shoots spread over his garden.

Can papyrus grow tall where [there is] not a marsh? Will reeds flourish without water?

Even though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me; [even though] I [am] blameless, yet it would pronounce me guilty.

He strips [away] the insight of the heads of the earth's people, and he makes them wander in {a pathless wasteland}.

If I summon [him], and he should answer me, I do not believe that he will listen to my voice--

"Listen carefully [to] my words, and [let] my exposition [be] in your ears.

{So} he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and he sat in the midst of the ashes.

Would that Job were tested up to [the] end because [his] answers [are] like [those from] men of mischief,

{How much less} can I myself answer him? [How] can I choose my words with him,

Surely these [are] the dwellings of [the] godless, and this [is] the dwelling place of him [who] knows not God."

If {it is a matter of} strength, look, [he is] mighty. But if {it is a matter of} justice, who can summon me?

"Why did I not die at birth? [Why] did I [not] come forth from [the] womb and expire?

{Indeed}, my help is not in me, and [any] success is driven from me.

[He] is frustrating [the] devices of [the] crafty, and their hands do not achieve success.

The caravans of Tema looked; the traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.

And why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my guilt? For now I shall lie in the dust, and you will seek me, but {I will be no more}."

But it will still be my consolation, and I would recoil in {unrelenting} pain, for I have not denied [the] words of [the] Holy One.

because it did not shut the doors of my [mother's] womb, nor did it hide trouble from my eyes.

If he destroys him from his place, then it deceives him, [saying], 'I have never seen you.'

If I am guilty, woe to me! But if I am righteous, I dare not lift my head; [I am] filled [with] shame, and [just] look [at] my misery!

Sounds of terror [are] in his ears; in prosperity [the] destroyer will come [against] him.

His children may [come to] honor, but he does not know [it]; or they may become lowly, but he does not realize it.

Why did [the] knees receive me and the breasts, that I could suck?

"I [am] blameless; I do not care about myself; I loathe my life.

And he saves from the sword of their mouth, {even} [the] poor from the hand of the strong.

Thus they lifted up their eyes from afar, but they did not recognize him, so they raised their voice, and they wept, and each man tore his outer garment and threw dust on their heads {toward the sky}.

Indeed, then you will delight yourself in Shaddai, and {you will expect that God will be good to you}.

[That] with a pen of iron and [with] lead they might be engraved on a rock forever!

[He] is capturing [the] wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are rushed.

"And my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they do not see good.

In the daytime they meet [with] darkness, and they grope at noon as [in] the night.

Or [why] was I not hidden like a miscarriage, like infants [who] did not see [the] light?

and it argues for a mortal with God, and [as] {a human} for his friend.

What [is] my strength, that I should wait? And what [is] my end, that {I should hold out}?

{Total darkness} is hidden for his treasures; {an unfanned fire} will devour him; [the] remnant {will be consumed} in his tent.

For now I would lie down, and I would be at peace; I would be asleep; then {I would be at rest}

"He is wandering for bread, [saying], 'Where [is it]?' He knows that a day of darkness [is] ready {at hand}.

By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they come to an end.

There [the] wicked cease from troubling, and there [the] {weary} are at rest;

what wise men have told, and they have not hidden [that which is] from their ancestors,

with kings and counselors of [the] earth, who {rebuild} ruins for themselves,

Indeed, [after] {a few years} have come, then I will go [the] way [from which] I will not return.

then you terrify me with dreams, and with visions you terrify me.

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

"{How many} [are] my iniquities and sins? Make known to me my transgression and my sin.

Then Job answered and said,

So there is hope for the powerless, and wickedness shuts its mouth.

So Yahweh {asked} Satan, "From where have you come?" And Satan answered Yahweh and said, "From roaming on the earth and from walking about in it."

"My inner self loathes my life; {I want to give vent to my complaint}; I want to speak out of [the] bitterness of my inner self.

Indeed, [the] wicked is spared from [the] day of disaster; he is delivered from [the] day of wrath.

Wisdom [is] with [the] aged, and understanding [is in] length of days.

"Truly indeed you [are the] people, and wisdom will die with you.

He makes the nations great, then he destroys them; he expands the nations, then he guides them.

withdraw your hand from me, and let not your dread terrify me.

"Let [the] day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, 'A man-child is conceived.'

"Why does he give light to one in misery and life to [those] bitter of soul,

Who denounces his way to his face? And who repays him [for what] he has done?

to [the] land of darkness, like [the] darkness of a deep shadow and {chaos}, so that it shines forth like darkness.'"

"Only you must not do [these] two [things] to me; then I will not hide from your face:

whom {I will see for myself}, and [whom] my eyes will see and not a stranger. {My heart faints within me}.

Who [is] he who will contend with me? For {then} I would be silent, and I would pass away.

He feels only the pain of his own body, and his inner self mourns for him."

Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

He will deliver the guilty, and he will escape because of the cleanness of your hands."

Anguish and distress terrify him; they overpower him like a king ready for the battle.

I loathe [my life]; I would not live forever; depart from me, for my days [are] a breath.

So my inner self will choose strangling-- death more than my {existence}.

"What [is] a human being that you make him great and that {you fix your mind on him},

Then call, and I myself will answer; or let me speak, then reply to me.

for he himself wounds, but he binds up; he strikes, but his hands heal.

Then Job answered and said,

{It is higher than the heaven}; what can you do? [It is] deeper than Sheol; what can you know?

"If you say, 'How will we persecute him?' And 'The root of the trouble is found' in me,

Or [is] my strength [like] the strength of stones? Or [is] my flesh bronze?

{to whom alone} the land was given, and no stranger passed through their midst.

and [that] he would tell you [the] secrets of wisdom, for {insight has many sides}. And know that God {on your behalf} has forgotten {some of} your guilt.

I am a laughingstock to my friends: '[He] calls on God, and he answers him.' A righteous, blameless man [is] a laughingstock.

At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and you shall not fear the wild animals of the earth.

"Call now, is there [anyone] answering you? And to which of [the] holy ones will you turn?

For vexation will slay the fool, and jealousy will kill [the] simple.

"Indeed, you write bitter things against me, and you make me reap the iniquities of my childhood.

And he himself wastes away like something rotten, like a garment that [the] moth has eaten.

From [the] scourge of [the] tongue you shall be hidden, and you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

When he is brought to [the] grave, then someone stands guard over [the] tomb.

{When his stomach fills up}, [God] will send {his burning anger} upon him, and he will let [it] rain down upon him as his food.

So now look, my witness [is] in the heavens, and he [who] vouches for me [is] in the heights.

{he will dwell} [in] desolate cities, in houses that they should not inhabit, which are destined for rubble.

"He will shake off his unripe fruit like the vine, and he will cast off his blossom like the olive tree;

Should your loose talk put people to silence? {And when you mock, shall no one put you to shame}?

Who among all of these does not know that Yahweh's hand has done this?

"Should an abundance of words go unanswered, or {a man full of talk} be vindicated?

I will say to God, 'You should not condemn me; let me know why you contend [against] me.

I would give him an account of my steps; I would approach him like a noble.

[If] I have sinned, what have I done to you, watcher of humanity? Why have you made me as a target for yourself, so that I have become a burden to myself?

I am not at ease, and I am not at peace, and I do not have rest, thus turmoil has come."

Thus Job {spoke up} and said,

[The] small and [the] great [are] there, and [the] slave [is] free from his masters.

he {stubbornly} runs against him {with his thick-bossed shield}.

Will you terrify a blown leaf? And will you pursue dry stubble?

or with high officials {who have gold}, who fill up their houses [with] silver.

[The] roar of [the] lion and [the] voice of a lion in its prime, and [the] teeth of [the] young lions are broken.

[the] prisoners are at ease together; they do not hear [the] oppressor's voice.

For you say, 'My teaching [is] pure, and I am clean in your sight.'

For he knows {those who are worthless}; {when he sees} iniquity, {he will not consider it}.

For your covenant [will be] with the stones of the field, and the wild animals of the field will be at peace with you.

[Why does he give light] to a man whose way is hidden, and God has fenced him in [all] around?

Does not [the] ear test words and [the] palate taste food for itself?

I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been brought from [the] womb to the grave.

And you put my feet in the block, and you watch all my paths; you carve [a mark] on the soles of my feet.

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed; like a streambed of wadis they flow away,

If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together,

So how will you comfort me [with] emptiness, when fraud is left [in] your answers?"

Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?

Look, this [is] the joy of his way, and from dust others will spring up.

And you shall know that your tent [is] safe, and you will inspect your fold, and you shall not be missing [anything].

Did you not pour me out like milk and {curdle me} like cheese?

"If he passes through and imprisons someone {and summons the assembly}, then who can hinder him?

Please remember that you made me like clay, but you turn me into dust [again]?

[The] tents of [the] destroyers are at peace, and [there is] security for those who provoke God, [for those] whom God brings into his hand.

But, {O that} God might speak, and [that] he would open his lips to you,

He will not become rich, and his wealth will not endure, and their possessions will not stretch across the earth.

{How long} will you not turn away from me? [Or] not leave me alone until I swallow my spit?

"Because he has covered his face with his fat and has gathered fat upon [his] loins,

Yet he will fill your mouth [with] laughter and your lips [with] a shout of joy.

{I also have insight} like you; I am not more inferior than you. And {who does not know things like these}?

[They] conceive trouble and bring forth mischief, and their womb prepares deceit."

The products of his house will be carried away [like] gushing waters on the day of his wrath.

who wait for death, but {it does not come}, and search [for] it more than [for] treasures,

Yet another dies with a bitter inner self and has not tasted prosperity.

He will not allow me to {catch} my breath; rather, he will fill me with bitterness.

because I dreaded [the] great multitude, and [the] contempt of clans terrified me, so that I kept quiet, I did not go out of [the] doorway?

{Those at ease have contempt} for [the] thought of {disaster}, [but it is] ready for those unstable of foot.

who rejoice {exceedingly}, [and] they are glad when they find [the] grave?

[Those] who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked {will be no more}."

Its measure [is] longer than [the] earth and broader than [the] sea.

Is it good for you that you oppress, that you despise the labor of your hands, and you smile over the schemes of [the] wicked?

In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from [the] {power of} [the] sword.

Amid troubling thoughts from night visions, at [the] falling of deep sleep on men,

"Look, God will not reject [the] blameless, and he will not uphold the hand of evildoers.

because of your knowledge that I am not guilty, and there is no escaping from your hand?

"Truly I know that [it is] so, but how can a human being be just before God?

You shall come in maturity to [the] grave, as the raising up of a stack of sheaves in its season.

Can tasteless [food] be eaten without salt, or is there taste in the white of a marshmallow plant?

{Do you have eyes of flesh}? Or {do you see as human beings see}?

For my sighing comes {before} my bread, and my groanings gush forth like water

whose harvest [the] hungry eats, and he takes it {from behind} [the] thorns; and [the] thirsty pants after their wealth.

for the arrows of Shaddai [are] in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

[Are] your days as the days of human beings, or your years as the days of man,

that you seek out my iniquity, and you search for my sin

[The] lion is perishing without prey, and [the] lion's whelps are scattered.

"All of the wicked [one's] days he is writhing, even [through] the number of years that are laid up for the tyrant.

"Indeed, please inquire of former generations, and consider {what their ancestors have found},

Though your beginning was small, your end will be very great.

And you shall know that your offspring [are] many, and your descendants like the vegetation of the earth.

Then Job answered and said,

Then Job answered and said,

Remember that my life [is] a breath; my eye will not return to see good.

I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.

His roots twine over a stone heap; he sees a house of stone.

Teach me, and I myself will be silent; and make me understand how I have gone astray.

dread met me, and trembling, and it made many of my bones shake.

If you yourself would seek God, then you would plead to Shaddai for grace.

"My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end {without hope}.

which are growing dark because of ice upon them, it will pile up snow.

"Look, we have searched this out--it [is] true; hear it and know [it] {yourself}."

[He is the one] who shakes [the] earth from its place, and its pillars tremble.

The earth is given into [the] hand of [the] wicked; he covers the face of its judge-- if [it is] not [he], then who [is] it?

His children are far from deliverance, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer--

So {I had to inherit} months of worthlessness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me.

[He is the one] who commands the sun, and it does not rise, {and he seals up the stars}.

[He is] wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has resisted him and succeeded?

"{How long} will you say these [things], and the words of your mouth [be] a mighty wind?

"For now you have become {such}; you see terrors, and you fear.

Does God pervert justice, {or} Shaddai pervert righteousness?

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

Water wears away stones; its torrents wash away [the] soil of [the] earth; so you destroy the hope of human beings.

'Job speaks without knowledge, and his words [are] without insight.

Is it because I have said, 'Give to me,' or, 'Offer a bribe for me from your wealth'?

so that you visit him {every morning}, you test him {every moment}?

When I lie down, I say, 'When shall I rise?' But [the] night is long, and I have my fill of tossing until dawn.

You overpower him forever, and he passes away; [you] change {his countenance}, {then} you send him away.

"[He is the one] who moves mountains, and they do not know [how], who overturns them in his anger.

Does [the] wild ass bray over grass, or [the] ox bellow over its fodder?

In time they dry up, they disappear; when it [is] hot, they vanish from their place.

then Shaddai will be your gold ore and {your precious silver}.

Like a slave he longs for [the] shadow, and like a laborer he waits for his wages.

If your children sinned against him, then he sent them into the {power} of their transgression.

"If only my vexation could be well weighed, and my calamity could be lifted up together [with it] in [the] balances,

My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God,

My body is clothed [with] maggots and clods of dust; my skin hardens, then it gives way [again].

for then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; therefore my words have been rash,

'Can a human being be more righteous than God, or can a man be more pure than his Maker?

If you [are] pure and upright, indeed, now he will rouse himself for you, and he will restore your righteous abode.

for he adds transgression to his sin; he claps hands among us, and he multiplies his words against God.'"

It [is all] one; therefore I say, 'He destroys [both the] blameless and [the] wicked.'

The paths of their way wind [around]; they go up into the wasteland, and they perish.

"He will flee from an iron weapon, [but] an arrow of bronze will pierce him.

"And a word came stealing to me, and my ear received [the] whisper from it.

And you will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways.

When the whip kills suddenly, he mocks at [the] despair of [the] innocent.

They go by like papyrus skiffs, like an eagle swoops down on [its] prey.

Look, he does not trust in his servants and he charges his angels with error.

Even over [the] orphan you would cast the lot, and you would bargain over your friend.

[How often] are they like straw {before} the wind, and like chaff that [the] storm carries away?

How painful are {upright words}! But what does {your reproof} reprove?

They are disappointed, because they trusted; they came {here} and they are confounded.

or, 'Save me from the foe's hand,' or, 'Ransom me from the tyrants' hand'?

Do you intend to reprove [my] words and [consider the] words of a desperate [man] as wind?

Then Job answered Yahweh and said,

You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows.

Is there injustice on my tongue? Or can my palate not discern calamity?

"{Therefore} be prepared, turn to me, and I surely will not lie to your face.

If he wants to contend with him, he cannot answer him one [time] in a thousand.

So he said to her, "You speak like one of the foolish women speaks. Indeed, should we receive the good from God, but not receive the evil?" In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

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

I become afraid of all my sufferings; I know that you do not consider me innocent.

They spend the night naked, {without} clothing, and [they] have no garment in the cold.

"Truly, it [is] a spirit in a human being, and the breath of Shaddai teaches them.

Then his livestock came to be seven thousand sheep and goats and three thousand camels and five hundred pairs of oxen and five hundred female donkeys, and he had very many slaves, and that man was greater than all the people of the east.

{And then} after Yahweh spoke these words to Job, Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "{My wrath has been kindled} against you and against [the] two of your friends, for you have not spoken to me what is right as my servant Job [has].

Please turn, let no injustice happen; indeed, turn, {my righteousness is still intact}.

[If] I shall be [declared] guilty, why then should I labor in vain?

Though {I say}, 'I will forget my complaint; I will change my expression, and I will rejoice,'

"Can you find [out] the essence of God, or can you find [out] {the ultimate limits} of Shaddai?

"Who can bring a clean [thing] from an unclean [thing]? No one!

{And then} one day the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan also came into their midst to present himself before Yahweh.

So Yahweh said to Satan, "Look, {all that belongs to him} is in your {power}. Only do not stretch out your hand {against} him." So Satan went out from Yahweh's {presence}.

{Then when} the days of the feast had run their course, {Job would send}, and he would sanctify them. Thus he would arise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings [according to] the number of all of them, because Job thought, "Perhaps my children have sinned and {cursed} God in their heart." This is what Job used to do {all the time}.

How much more dwellers in clay houses, whose foundation [is] in the dust? They are crushed like a moth.

So Yahweh said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, "From roaming on the earth and from walking about in it."

If a man dies, will he live [again]? All the days of my compulsory service I will wait, until the coming of my relief.

"Look, I know your thoughts and [the] schemes you devise against me.

{He cannot trust that he will return} from darkness, and he himself is destined for [the] sword.

And a spirit glided before my face; the hair of my flesh bristled.

Then Yahweh returned Job's fortune when he prayed to him on behalf of his friends. Thus Yahweh increased {all that Job had twice as much as before}.

because the dread that I {feel} has come upon me, and what I feared befalls me.

{Between morning and evening} they are destroyed; without [anyone] regarding [it] they perish forever.

"Look, happy [is the] human being whom God reproves; and you must not despise the discipline of Shaddai,

"Indeed, there is hope for a tree: if it is cut down, then it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not cease;

Then his wife said to him, "Are you still persisting in your blamelessness? {Curse} God and die."

So Yahweh {asked} Satan, "Have you {considered} my servant Job? Indeed, there is no one like him on the earth--a blameless man and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil. And still he persists in his blamelessness {even though} you incited me against him to destroy him for nothing."

"But ask [the] animals, and they will teach you, and the birds of the heaven, and they will tell you;

[Is] not their tent cord pulled up within them? They die, but not in wisdom.'

Your words have raised up [the one who] stumbles, and you have strengthened knees giving way.

So all his brothers and all his sisters and all [those who] had known him {before} came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house and showed sympathy to him and comforted him for all the disaster that Yahweh had brought upon him. Then each one gave to him one piece of money, and each one [gave to him] one ornamental ring of gold.

And after my skin has been thus destroyed, but from my flesh I will see God,

They lie down together in [the] dust, and maggots cover them.

When they are humiliated, {you say}, '[It is] pride,' for he saves {the humble}.

"Can you bind [the] chains of [the] Pleiades, or can you loosen [the] cords of Orion?

"Can you hunt prey for [the] lion? And can you satisfy [the] hunger of strong lions

So Satan went out from {Yahweh's presence}, and he inflicted Job with loathsome skin sores from the sole of his foot up to the crown of his head.

If his days [are] determined, the number of his months [is] with you; you have appointed his boundaries, and he cannot cross [them].

[From] the commandment of his lips, indeed I have not departed; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily food.

It stood still, but I could not recognize its appearance; a form [was] {before} my eyes; [there was] a hush, and I heard a voice:

Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?

Then Yahweh answered Job and said,

{O that} {I had} someone hearing me! Here is my signature; let Shaddai answer me! {As for} [the] written communication [that] {my adversary} has written,

[The] heavens will reveal his guilt, and [the] earth will rise up against him.

"But he [is] {alone}, and who can dissuade him? And {whatever he desires}, {indeed}, he does [it].

"Indeed, there is a mine for silver and a place {for gold to be refined}.

Therefore I despise [myself] and repent in dust and ashes."

But a human being is born to trouble, and {they soar aloft} [like] {sparks}.

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

And his sons used to go and hold a feast {at each other's house} on his day, and they would send, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

Did not he [who] made me in the womb make them? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

[He is the one] who alone stretches out [the] heavens and [who] tramples on [the] waves of [the] sea.

"But now [those] younger than I, as far as days, laugh at me, whose fathers I rejected for setting with the dogs of my sheep and goats.

Have you entered into [the] storehouses of [the] snow, or have you seen [the] storehouses of [the] hail,

Thus Job's three friends heard of this calamity that had come upon him. So each set out from his [own] place: Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. And they met together to come to console him and to comfort him.

"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Or {can you tie down its mouth with a cord}?

be afraid for yourselves {because of the sword}, for wrath [brings] punishment by [the] sword, so that you may know that [there is] judgment."

"But from where will wisdom be found? And {where in the world} [is the] place of understanding?

{so} a man lies down, and he does not arise. {Until the heavens are no more}, they will not awaken, and they will not be roused out of their sleep.

"Why do [the] wicked live, grow old, even grow mighty [in] power?

"[If] someone would test a word with you, would you be offended? But who can refrain from speaking?

But [the] righteous holds on to his way, and {he who has clean hands} increases in strength.

Like a flower he comes up, and he withers away; and he flees like a shadow, but he does not last.

"Does not {a human being have hard service} on earth? And [are not] his days like the days of a laborer?

For you say, 'Where is the nobleman's house, and where [are] {the tents in which the wicked dwell}?'

"Who [is] this darkening counsel by words without knowledge?

"Please reconcile yourself with him, and be at peace; {in this way}, good will come to you.

"Or [who] shut [the] sea in with doors at its bursting, [when] it went out of [the] womb,

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

Then Job answered and said,

There is no arbiter between us [that] he might lay his hand on both of us.

In whose hand [is] the life of all living things and {the breath of every human being}?

if I looked at [the] sun when it shone or [at the] moon moving [in] splendor,

"What [is] a human being, that he can be clean, or that [one] born of a woman can be righteous?

"But you {whitewash with lies}; all of you [are] {worthless healers}.

"If there is a messenger beside him, a mediator, one of a thousand, to declare to a human being his uprightness

Then Job answered and said,

For {as long as} my breath [is] in me, and the spirit of God [is] in my nose,

{From} six troubles he will deliver you, and in seven evil shall not touch you.

Who has come to confront me, that I should repay [him]? Under all the heavens, {it belongs to me}.

Sheol [is] naked before him, and there is no covering for Abaddon.

Indeed, God speaks in one [way], even in two, [yet] [someone] does not perceive it.

"Is [the] wild ox willing to serve you, or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?

"But a man dies, and he dwindles away; thus a human being passes away, and where is he?

"Look, I am insignificant. What shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.

Then Job answered and said,

Your hands fashioned me and made me {altogether}, then you destroyed me.

"Can a man be of use to God? Yes, can [the] wise be of use to him?

A cloud vanishes, and it goes away, so [he who] goes down to Sheol will not come up.

On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone,

"{O that} you would conceal me in Sheol, [that] you would hide me {until your wrath is past}, [that] you would appoint a set time for me and remember me.

when my paths were washed in sour milk, and [the] rock poured out streams of oil for me.

let thorns grow in place of wheat and noxious weeds in place of barley." The words of Job are ended.

And they say to God, 'Turn away from us, for we do not desire to know your ways.

[He is the one] who made [the] Bear [and] Orion, [the] Pleiades and [the] constellations of [the] south.

"{O that} my words could be written down! {O that they could be inscribed in a scroll}!

{Afterward} Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.

So Yahweh blessed Job's latter days more than his beginning. {Thus he had} fourteen thousand sheep and goats and six thousand camels and a thousand pair of oxen and a thousand female donkeys.

If he should set his heart to it, and he should gather his spirit and his breath to himself,

{He has described a circle} on [the] face of [the] water {between light and darkness}.

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

"The spirits of the dead tremble below [the] waters and their inhabitants.

with him can you spread out [the] skies, hard as a molten mirror?

'Who [is] this darkening counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I uttered, but I did not understand; {things too wonderful for me}, but I did not know.

"But I myself will seek God, and to God I would commit my cause.

Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

Do you not ask [those] traveling [the] roads, and do you not take notice of their accounts?

If I hope [for] Sheol [as] my house, [if] I spread my couch in the darkness,

He draws [it] forth, and it comes out from [his] body, and [the] glittering point comes from his gall-bladder; terrors come upon him.

"Look, my eye has seen everything; my ear has heard and has understood it.

"At my going out [the] gate to [the] city, I secured my seat in the square.

{How much less} for a human being [who is] a maggot, and {a human} [who is] a worm?"

"If I have rejected my male or female slave's case when their complaint [was] against me,

"Have you {ever in your life} commanded [the] morning? Have you made the dawn know its place,

Then these three men ceased from answering Job because he [was] righteous in his [own] eyes.

because I saved [the] needy who cried for help, and [I saved] [the] orphan for whom [there was] no helper.

It consumes parts of his skin; the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.

"My spirit is pulled down; my days are extinguished; [the] graveyard [is] for me.

"For [he is] not a mortal like me [that] I can answer him, [that] {we can come to trial together}.

"Look, God [is] exalted, and we do not know [him]; the number of his years is unsearchable.

Look, he does not trust his holy ones, and [the] heavens are not clean in his eyes.

{So then}, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will pray for you, for {I will certainly accept his prayer}, so that it will not be done with you [according to your] folly, for you have not spoken to me what is right as my servant Job [has]."

{O that} I knew and [that] I might find him; [O that] I might come to his dwelling.

By his power he stilled the sea, and by his understanding he struck down Rahab.

"[The] wings of [the] female ostrich flap-- [are they] [the] pinions of [the] stork or [the] falcon?

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

that [the] rejoicing of [the] wicked [is] {short}, and the joy of [the] godless {lasts only a moment}?

"Indeed, how can a human being be righteous before God? And how will he who is born of a woman be pure?

His wrath has torn, and he has been hostile toward me; he gnashed at me with his teeth. My foe sharpens his eyes against me.

"Therefore, listen to me, {people who have sense}: far be it from God {that he should commit wickedness} and that Shaddai {should do wrong}.

They remove border [stones]; they seize flocks, and they pasture [them].

But no one says, 'Where [is] God my Maker, [who] gives songs in the night,

"In a dream, a vision of [the] night, when a deep sleep falls on men slumbering on [their] bed,

Then Job again took up his discourse and said,

Or do you have an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?

Look, these [are] the outer fringes of his ways, and {how faint is the word} [that] we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?"

[The] clods of [the] valley are sweet to him; everyone will follow after him, and {before} him {they are innumerable}.

"When I go forward, {he is not there}, or backward, I cannot see him.

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and {said},

"Have you entered into [the] sea's sources? Or have you walked around in [the] recesses of the deep?

Indeed, he draws up [the] drops of water; he distills [the] rain into its mist,

I would {surely} carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me [like] a crown.

"{How long} {will you hunt for words}? Consider, and afterward we shall speak.

and I said, 'You shall come up to here, but you shall not go further, and here it will set [a boundary] {for your proud surging waves}'?

They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol.

Let him not trust in emptiness--he will be deceiving himself-- for worthlessness will be his recompense.

Furthermore, the light of [the] wicked is put out, and the flame of his fire will not shine.

"{O that I were} as [in] the months before, as [in] the days [when] God watched over me,

"Indeed, his eyes [are] upon [the] ways of man, and he sees all his steps.

"[The] pillars of heaven tremble, and they are astounded at his rebuke.

So Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite, from the clan of Ram, {became angry}. {He became angry} at Job because he justified himself rather than God,

Thus Elihu {spoke up} and said,

"Why are not times kept by Shaddai, and [why] do not [those who] know him see his days?

"Will you speak falsely for God? And will you speak deceitfully for him?

Will they go down [to] the bars of Sheol? Or shall we descend together into the dust?"

This [is] a wicked human being's portion from God and the inheritance of his decree from God."

"Do you know [the] time when [the] goats of [the] rocks give birth? Do you observe [the] doe deer's giving birth?

Can you lead forth the southern constellations at their appointed time, or can you lead [the] Bear with its children?

They {sing} to [the] tambourine and lyre, and they rejoice to [the] sound of [the] long flute.

"He will not escape from darkness; a flame will dry up his new shoot, and by the wind of his mouth he shall be removed.

Thick clouds [are] a covering for him, so that he does not see; and he walks about on [the] dome of heaven.'

"Though wickedness tastes sweet in his mouth, [and] he hides it under his tongue,

I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice [was] like a robe and a headband.

"About this also my heart trembles, and it leaps from its place.

"Where then [is] the way [where] [the] light dwells? And where then [is] its place,

"Hear this, Job; stand [still] and consider carefully God's wondrous works.

He is torn from his tent {in which he trusted}, and it brought him to the king of terrors.

"[Is] not God [in the] height of [the] heavens? But see how lofty are {the highest stars}.

"Shall a faultfinder contend with Shaddai? Anyone who argues with God must answer it."

Will you keep [to the] way of old that [the] people of mischief have trod,

{When he gave} weight to the wind and he apportioned [the] waters by measure,

They send out their little ones like the flock, and their children dance around.

"Domination and dread [are] with him who makes peace in his high heavens.

I myself also could talk as you, if {you were in my place}; I could join against you with words, and I could shake at you with my head.

Do you know about the hovering of the clouds, {the marvelous works of the one with perfect knowledge}?

"If I have made gold my trust, or I have called fine gold my security,

Drought and heat snatch away [the] snow waters, [like] Sheol [snatches away] those [who have] sinned.

Who [is] Shaddai that we should serve him, or what would we benefit when we plead with him?'

"{What is worse}, you yourself are doing away with fear, and you are lessening meditation {before} God.

"If I have withheld [the] desire of [the] poor from [them], or I have caused [the] widow's eyes to fail,

I am a companion for [the] jackals and a companion for {ostriches}.

"Do you give power to the horse? Do you clothe its neck [with] a mane?

"Indeed, you have required a pledge from your family for nothing, and you have stripped off [the] clothes of [the] naked.

From [the] north comes gold-- awesome majesty [is] around God.

for [the] ear tests words, and [the] palate tastes {food}.

Have you listened in God's confidential discussion? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

Then Yahweh answered Job from the storm, and he said,

{Prepare yourself for a difficult task like a man}, and I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

"Those are among [the ones] rebelling [against the] light; they do not recognize his ways, and they do not stay in his paths.

who {shows no partiality to officials} and [who] {does not take note of the noble more than of the insignificant}, for all of them [are] the work of his hands?

for [the] company of [the] godless [is] barren, and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes.

for what [is the] hope of [the] godless when he cuts [them] off, when God takes away his life?

"I have heard many [things] like these; all of you [are] {miserable comforters}.

His flesh is renewed with [his] youth; he returns to [the] days of his youthful strength.

[Is] not your wickedness great, and there is no end to your iniquities?

[He] ties up [the] water in its clouds, and [the] cloud is not torn open beneath it.

"{How long} will you torment me and crush me with words?

"Should [the] wise answer [with] windy knowledge, and should he fill his stomach [with the] east wind?

"I was at ease, then he broke me in two, and he seized [me] by my neck; then he shattered me and set me up as a target for him.

Iron is taken from dust, and he pours out copper [from] ore.

for he himself looks to [the] end of the earth; he sees under all the heaven.

It will be paid in full {before his time}, and his branch will not flourish.

You have sent widows away empty-handed, and [the] arms of orphans were crushed.

"How often is [the] lamp of [the] wicked put out, and their disaster comes upon them? He distributes pains in his anger.

{Please let me not show partiality to anyone}, and let me not show flattery to human beings,

He will suck [the] poison of horned vipers; [the] viper's tongue will kill him.

{Surely} mockery [is] with me, and my eye {rests} on their provocation.

Look away from him, and let him desist until he enjoys his days like a laborer.

May he remove his rod from me, and let his dread not terrify me;

My skin turns black on me, and my bones burn with heat.

All {my intimate friends} abhor me, and these [whom] I have loved have turned against me.

[Will it be] well, if he examines you? Or can you deceive him like deceiving a human being?

"I have sewed sackcloth on my skin, and I have inserted {my pride} in the dust.

Both [the] gray-haired and [the] old [are] among us-- {those older than your father}.

if I have eaten its yield without payment, or I have caused [the] breath of its owners to die,

Pour out the overflowing of your anger, and look at all [the] proud, and humble them.

But I would speak to Shaddai, and I desire to argue with God.

"Indeed, would you annul my justice? Would you condemn me, so that you might be righteous?

{What you know}, I myself also know-- I [am] not more inferior than you.

Then Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite {spoke up} and said, "{I am young}, but you are old; therefore I feared and became afraid of explaining my knowledge to you.

then you plunge me into the [slime] pit, and my clothes abhor me.

"God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; he does great things, and we cannot comprehend.

Because he stretched out his hand against God, and he was arrogant to Shaddai;

{O that} you would keep completely silent, and [that] it would become wisdom for you.

Do you know heaven's statutes, or can you establish their rule on the earth?

He has broken me down all around, and I am gone. And he has uprooted my hope like a tree,

"{As God lives}, he has removed my justice, and Shaddai has made my inner self bitter.

"They snatch [the] orphan from [the] breast, and they take a pledge against [the] needy.

"And he is reproved with pain on his bed, even [with] the strife of his bones continually,

"He has removed my kinsfolk from me, and my acquaintances have only turned aside from me.

[As] water disappears from a lake, and a river withers away and dries up,

Far be it from me that {I would say that you are right}; until I pass away, I will not put away from me my blamelessness.

Black corals and crystal will not be mentioned, and wisdom's price [is] more than red corals.

Who has put wisdom in the ibis, or who has given understanding to the rooster?