Now the day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord -- and Satan also arrived among them.

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that as the last he will stand upon the earth.

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And that man was pure and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed!"

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you possess understanding!

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth on nothing.

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:

But extend your hand and strike everything he has, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!"

Have you not made a hedge around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land.

when the morning stars sang in chorus, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

And he said to mankind, 'The fear of the Lord -- that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"

Now the day came 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 evil does not come up from the dust, nor does trouble spring up from the ground,

"I made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin?

and a messenger came to Job, saying, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing beside them,

"Man, born of woman, lives but a few days, and they are full of trouble.

Even if he slays me, I will hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face!

"Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you; it eats grass like the ox.

Who prepares prey for the raven, when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?

By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

Then Job got up and tore his robe. He shaved his head, and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground.

So the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil."

and the Sabeans swooped down and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! And I -- only I alone -- escaped to tell you!"

While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,

While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! And I -- only I alone -- escaped to tell you!"

he does great and unsearchable things, and wonderful things without number.

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye has seen you.

But he knows the pathway that I take; if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.

That day -- let it be darkness; let not God on high regard it, nor let light shine on it!

While this one was still speaking, another messenger arrived and said, "The fire of God has fallen from heaven and has burned up the sheep and the servants -- it has consumed them! And I -- only I alone -- escaped to tell you!"

"I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted;

In all this Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with moral impropriety.

and suddenly a great wind swept across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they died! And I -- only I alone -- escaped to tell you!"

But now the same thing comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are terrified.

You will call and I -- I will answer you; you will long for the creature you have made.

If he passes by me, I cannot see him, if he goes by, I cannot perceive him.

But an empty man will become wise, when a wild donkey's colt is born a human being.

The eye of him who sees me now will see me no more; your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

My bones stick to my skin and my flesh; I have escaped alive with only the skin of my teeth.

"With God are wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.

Why do I put myself in peril, and take my life in my hands?

Let darkness and the deepest shadow claim it; let a cloud settle on it; let whatever blackens the day terrify it!

For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge, since our days on earth are but a shadow.

I have refused to touch such things; they are like loathsome food to me.

You clothed me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews.

how much less man, who is abominable and corrupt, who drinks in evil like water!

Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges those that are on high?

"As for you, if you prove faithful, and if you stretch out your hands toward him,

But Satan answered the Lord, "Skin for skin! Indeed, a man will give up all that he has to save his life!

"Surely now you count my steps; then you would not mark my sin.

But no stranger had to spend the night outside, for I opened my doors to the traveler --

"Nothing is left for him to devour; that is why his prosperity does not last.

If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,

Will they not instruct you and speak to you, and bring forth words from their understanding?

If he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt; if he imprisons a person, there is no escape.

You gave me life and favor, and your intervention watched over my spirit.

And that God would be willing to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and kill me.

Is not your piety your confidence, and your blameless ways your hope?

"One man dies in his full vigor, completely secure and prosperous,

If he snatches away, who can turn him back? Who dares to say to him, 'What are you doing?'

"Oh that my request would be realized, and that God would grant me what I long for!

He has neither children nor descendants among his people, no survivor in those places he once stayed.

and throw your gold in the dust -- your gold of Ophir among the rocks in the ravines --

"I will explain to you; listen to me, and what I have seen, I will declare,

although there is no violence in my hands and my prayer is pure.

he gives rain on the earth, and sends water on the fields;

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

But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!"

He does great and unsearchable things, marvelous things without number;

Have pity on me, my friends, have pity on me, for the hand of God has struck me.

Moreover, this will become my deliverance, for no godless person would come before him.

So the Lord said to Satan, "All right, he is in your power; only preserve his life."

For then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be securely established and will not fear.

He returns no more to his house, nor does his place of residence know him any more.

if iniquity is in your hand -- put it far away, and do not let evil reside in your tents.

"If this is not so, who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?"

He leads counselors away stripped and makes judges into fools.

Why do you pursue me like God does? Will you never be satiated with my flesh?

Am I the sea, or the creature of the deep, that you must put me under guard?

That night -- let darkness seize it; let it not be included among the days of the year; let it not enter among the number of the months!

With him are strength and prudence; both the one who goes astray and the one who misleads are his.

"O earth, do not cover my blood, nor let there be a secret place for my cry.

Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.

Call to mind now: Who, being innocent, ever perished? And where were upright people ever destroyed?

when they crouch in their dens, when they wait in ambush in the thicket?

if I have covered my transgressions as men do, by hiding iniquity in my heart,

he sets the lowly on high, that those who mourn are raised to safety.

For you will forget your trouble; you will remember it like water that has flowed away.

If I sinned, then you would watch me and you would not acquit me of my iniquity.

My offenses would be sealed up in a bag; you would cover over my sin.

In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress overtakes him. the full force of misery will come upon him.

See now, I have prepared my case; I know that I am right.

If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; if he releases them, they destroy the land.

And life will be brighter than the noonday; though there be darkness, it will be like the morning.

But the eyes of the wicked fail, and escape eludes them; their one hope is to breathe their last."

People of the west are appalled at his fate; people of the east are seized with horror, saying,

He reveals the deep things of darkness, and brings deep shadows into the light.

He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the potentates.

"To the one in despair, kindness should come from his friend even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

But as a mountain falls away and crumbles, and as a rock will be removed from its place,

You bring new witnesses against me, and increase your anger against me; relief troops come against me.

Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless perishes,

While they are still beginning to flower and not ripe for cutting, they can wither away faster than any grass!

Although I am innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my judge for mercy.

He loosens the bonds of kings and binds a loincloth around their waist.

Let those who curse the day curse it -- those who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.

And you will be secure, because there is hope; you will be protected and will take your rest in safety.

God does not restrain his anger; under him the helpers of Rahab lie crushed.

whose trust is in something futile, whose security is a spider's web.

He pours contempt on noblemen and disarms the powerful.

Let its morning stars be darkened; let it wait for daylight but find none, nor let it see the first rays of dawn,

You will lie down with no one to make you afraid, and many will seek your favor.

before I depart, never to return, to the land of darkness and the deepest shadow,

Indeed, let that night be barren; let no shout of joy penetrate it!

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

If I say, "My bed will comfort me, my couch will ease my complaint,"

He deprives the trusted advisers of speech and takes away the discernment of elders.

his body well nourished, and the marrow of his bones moist.

"But these things you have concealed in your heart; I know that this is with you:

he who crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds for no reason.

He leans against his house but it does not hold up, he takes hold of it but it does not stand.

Are not my days few? Cease, then, and leave me alone, that I may find a little comfort,

"Why then did you bring me out from the womb? I should have died and no eye would have seen me!

They grope about in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.

He is a well-watered plant in the sun, its shoots spread over its garden.

Can the papyrus plant grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water?

Although I am innocent, my mouth would condemn me; although I am blameless, it would declare me perverse.

He deprives the leaders of the earth of their understanding; he makes them wander in a trackless desert waste.

If I summoned him, and he answered me, I would not believe that he would be listening to my voice --

Listen carefully to my words; let your ears be attentive to my explanation.

Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape himself with while he was sitting among the ashes.

But Job will be tested to the end, because his answers are like those of wicked men.

"How much less, then, can I answer him and choose my words to argue with him!

Surely such is the residence of an evil man; and this is the place of one who has not known God.'"

If it is a matter of strength, most certainly he is the strong one! And if it is a matter of justice, he will say, 'Who will summon me?'

"Why did I not die at birth, and why did I not expire as I came out of the womb?

Is not my power to help myself nothing, and has not every resource been driven from me?

He frustrates the plans of the crafty so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had planned!

The caravans of Tema looked intently for these streams; the traveling merchants of Sheba hoped for them.

And why do you not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, and you will seek me diligently, but I will be gone."

Then I would yet have my comfort, then I would rejoice, in spite of pitiless pain, for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb on me, nor did it hide trouble from my eyes!

If he is uprooted from his place, then that place will disown him, saying, 'I have never seen you!'

If I am guilty, woe to me, and if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head; I am full of shame, and satiated with my affliction.

Terrifying sounds fill his ears; in a time of peace marauders attack him.

If his sons are honored, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he does not see it.

Why did the knees welcome me, and why were there two breasts that I might nurse at them?

I am blameless. I do not know myself. I despise my life.

So he saves from the sword that comes from their mouth, even the poor from the hand of the powerful.

But when they gazed intently from a distance but did not recognize him, they began to weep loudly. Each of them tore his robes, and they threw dust into the air over their heads.

Surely then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and will lift up your face toward God.

that with an iron chisel and with lead they were engraved in a rock forever!

He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning is brought to a quick end.

"My days are swifter than a runner, they speed by without seeing happiness.

They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope about in the noontime as if it were night.

Or why was I not buried like a stillborn infant, like infants who have never seen the light?

and he contends with God on behalf of man as a man pleads for his friend.

What is my strength, that I should wait? and what is my end, that I should prolong my life?

Total darkness waits to receive his treasures; a fire which has not been kindled will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.

For now I would be lying down and would be quiet, I would be asleep and then at peace

he wanders about -- food for vultures; he knows that the day of darkness is at hand.

By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.

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

what wise men declare, hiding nothing, from the tradition of their ancestors,

with kings and counselors of the earth who built for themselves places now desolate,

For the years that lie ahead are few, and then I will go on the way of no return.

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

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

How many are my iniquities and sins? Show me my transgression and my sin.

Then Job answered:

Thus the poor have hope, and iniquity shuts its mouth.

And the Lord said to Satan, "Where do you come from?" Satan answered the Lord, "From roving about on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it."

"I am weary of my life; I will complain without restraint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

that the evil man is spared from the day of his misfortune, that he is delivered from the day of God's wrath?

Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?

"Without a doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.

He makes nations great, and destroys them; he extends the boundaries of nations and disperses them.

Remove your hand far from me and stop making me afraid with your terror.

"Let the day on which I was born perish, and the night that said, 'A man has been conceived!'

"Why does God give light to one who is in misery, and life to those whose soul is bitter,

No one denounces his conduct to his face; no one repays him for what he has done.

to the land of utter darkness, like the deepest darkness, and the deepest shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness."

Only in two things spare me, O God, and then I will not hide from your face:

whom I will see for myself, and whom my own eyes will behold, and not another. My heart grows faint within me.

Who will contend with me? If anyone can, I will be silent and die.

Only his flesh has pain for himself, and he mourns for himself."

Then Zophar the Naamathite spoke up and said:

he will deliver even someone who is not innocent, who will escape through the cleanness of your hands."

Distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him like a king ready to launch an attack,

I loathe it; I do not want to live forever; leave me alone, for my days are a vapor!

so that I would prefer strangling, and death more than life.

"What is mankind that you make so much of them, and that you pay attention to them?

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

For he wounds, but he also bandages; he strikes, but his hands also heal.

Then Job answered:

It is higher than the heavens -- what can you do? It is deeper than Sheol -- what can you know?

If you say, 'How we will pursue him, since the root of the trouble is found in him!'

Is my strength like that of stones? or is my flesh made of bronze?

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

and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom -- for true wisdom has two sides -- so that you would know that God has forgiven some of your sins.

I am a laughingstock to my friends, I, who called on God and whom he answered -- a righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock!

You will laugh at destruction and famine and need not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

"Call now! Is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

For wrath kills the foolish person, and anger slays the silly one.

For you write down bitter things against me and cause me to inherit the sins of my youth.

So I waste away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths.

You will be protected from malicious gossip, and will not be afraid of the destruction when it comes.

And when he is carried to the tombs, and watch is kept over the funeral mound,

"While he is filling his belly, God sends his burning anger against him, and rains down his blows upon him.

Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high.

he lived in ruined towns and in houses where no one lives, where they are ready to crumble into heaps.

Like a vine he will let his sour grapes fall, and like an olive tree he will shed his blossoms.

Will your idle talk reduce people to silence, and will no one rebuke you when you mock?

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

"Should not this abundance of words be answered, or should this talkative man be vindicated?

I will say to God, 'Do not condemn me; tell me why you are contending with me.'

I would give him an accounting of my steps; like a prince I would approach him.

If I have sinned -- what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you set me as your target? Have I become a burden to you?

I have no ease, I have no quietness; I cannot rest; turmoil has come upon me."

Job spoke up and said:

Small and great are there, and the slave is free from his master.

defiantly charging against him with a thick, strong shield!

Do you wish to torment a windblown leaf and chase after dry chaff?

or with princes who possessed gold, who filled their palaces with silver.

There is the roaring of the lion and the growling of the young lion, but the teeth of the young lions are broken.

There the prisoners relax together; they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.

For you have said, 'My teaching is flawless, and I am pure in your sight.'

For he knows deceitful men; when he sees evil, will he not consider it?

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

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

Does not the ear test words, as the tongue tastes food?

I should have been as though I had never existed; I should have been carried right from the womb to the grave!

And you put my feet in the stocks and you watch all my movements; you put marks on the soles of my feet.

Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:

My brothers have been as treacherous as a seasonal stream, and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams that flow away.

"If my land cried out against me and all its furrows wept together,

So how can you console me with your futile words? Nothing is left of your answers but deception!"

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

Indeed, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth others spring up.

And you will know that your home will be secure, and when you inspect your domains, you will not be missing anything.

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

If he comes by and confines you and convenes a court, then who can prevent him?

Remember that you have made me as with the clay; will you return me to dust?

But the tents of robbers are peaceful, and those who provoke God are confident -- who carry their god in their hands.

But if only God would speak, if only he would open his lips against you,

He will not grow rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land.

Will you never look away from me, will you not let me alone long enough to swallow my spittle?

Because he covered his face with fat, and made his hips bulge with fat,

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with gladness.

I also have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?

They conceive trouble and bring forth evil; their belly prepares deception."

A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God's wrath.

to those who wait for death that does not come, and search for it more than for hidden treasures,

And another man dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted anything good.

He does not allow me to recover my breath, for he fills me with bitterness.

because I was terrified of the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I remained silent and would not go outdoors --

For calamity, there is derision (according to the ideas of the fortunate) -- a fate for those whose feet slip!

who rejoice even to jubilation, and are exultant 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 to oppress, to despise the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?

In time of famine he will redeem you from death, and in time of war from the power of the sword.

In the troubling thoughts of the dreams in the night when a deep sleep falls on men,

"Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, nor does he grasp the hand of the evildoers.

although you know that I am not guilty, and that there is no one who can deliver out of your hand?

"Truly, I know that this is so. But how can a human be just before God?

You will come to your grave in a full age, As stacks of grain are harvested in their season.

Can food that is tasteless be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

"Do you have eyes of flesh, or do you see as a human being sees?

For my sighing comes in place of my food, and my groanings flow forth like water.

The hungry eat up his harvest, and take it even from behind the thorns, and the thirsty swallow up their fortune.

For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; my spirit drinks their poison; God's sudden terrors are arrayed against me.

Are your days like the days of a mortal, or your years like the years of a mortal,

that you must search out my iniquity, and inquire about my sin,

The mighty lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

All his days the wicked man suffers torment, throughout the number of the years that are stored up for the tyrant.

"For inquire now of the former generation, and pay attention to the findings of their ancestors;

Your beginning will seem so small, since your future will flourish.

You will also know that your children will be numerous, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

Then Job answered:

Then Job responded:

Remember that my life is but a breath, that my eyes will never again see happiness.

I myself have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his place of residence.

It wraps its roots around a heap of stones and it looks for a place among stones.

"Teach me and I, for my part, will be silent; explain to me how I have been mistaken.

a trembling gripped me -- and a terror! -- and made all my bones shake.

But if you will look to God, and make your supplication to the Almighty,

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

They are dark because of ice; snow is piled up over them.

Look, we have investigated this, so it is true. Hear it, and apply it for your own good."

he who shakes the earth out of its place so that its pillars tremble;

If a land has been given into the hand of a wicked man, he covers the faces of its judges; if it is not he, then who is it?

His children are far from safety, and they are crushed at the place where judgment is rendered, nor is there anyone to deliver them.

thus I have been made to inherit months of futility, and nights of sorrow have been appointed to me.

he who commands the sun and it does not shine and seals up the stars;

He is wise in heart and mighty in strength -- who has resisted him and remained safe?

"How long will you speak these things, seeing that the words of your mouth are like a great wind?

For now you have become like these streams that are no help; you see a terror, and are afraid.

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

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

as water wears away stones, and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy man's hope.

that Job speaks without knowledge and his words are without understanding.

"Have I ever said, 'Give me something, and from your fortune make gifts in my favor'?

And that you visit them every morning, and try them every moment?

If I lie down, I say, 'When will I arise?', and the night stretches on and I toss and turn restlessly until the day dawns.

You overpower him once for all, and he departs; you change his appearance and send him away.

He who removes mountains suddenly, who overturns them in his anger;

"Does the wild donkey bray when it is near grass? Or does the ox low near its fodder?

When they are scorched, they dry up, when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

then the Almighty himself will be your gold, and the choicest silver for you.

Like a servant longing for the evening shadow, and like a hired man looking for his wages,

If your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.

"Oh, if only my grief could be weighed, and my misfortune laid on the scales too!

My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;

My body is clothed with worms and dirty scabs; my skin is broken and festering.

But because it is heavier than the sand of the sea, that is why my words have been wild.

"Is a mortal man righteous before God? Or a man pure before his Creator?

if you become pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself for you, and will restore your righteous abode.

For he adds transgression to his sin; in our midst he claps his hands, and multiplies his words against God."

"It is all one! That is why I say, 'He destroys the blameless and the guilty.'

Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the wasteland and perish.

If he flees from an iron weapon, then an arrow from a bronze bow pierces him.

"Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear caught a whisper of it.

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

If a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks at the despair of the innocent.

They glide by like reed boats, like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.

If God puts no trust in his servants and attributes folly to his angels,

Yes, you would gamble for the fatherless, and auction off your friend.

How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff swept away by a whirlwind?

How painful are honest words! But what does your reproof prove?

They were distressed, because each one had been so confident; they arrived there, but were disappointed.

Or 'Deliver me from the enemy's power, and from the hand of tyrants ransom me'?

Do you intend to criticize mere words, and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?

Then Job answered the Lord:

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

Is there any falsehood on my lips? Can my mouth not discern evil things?

"Now then, be good enough to look at me; and I will not lie to your face!

If someone wishes to contend with him, he cannot answer him one time in a thousand.

But he replied, "You're talking like one of the godless women would do! Should we receive what is good from God, and not also receive what is evil?" In all this Job did not sin by what he said.

If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands clean with lye,

I dread all my sufferings, for I know that you do not hold me blameless.

They spend the night naked because they lack clothing; they have no covering against the cold.

But it is a spirit in people, the breath of the Almighty, that makes them understand.

His possessions included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys; in addition he had a very great household. Thus he was the greatest of all the people in the east.

After the Lord had spoken these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My anger is stirred up against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.

Relent, let there be no falsehood; reconsider, for my righteousness is intact!

If I am guilty, why then weary myself in vain?

If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression and be cheerful,'

"Can you discover the essence of God? Can you find out the perfection of the Almighty?

Who can make a clean thing come from an unclean? No one!

Again the day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also arrived among them to present himself before the Lord.

So the Lord said to Satan, "All right then, everything he has is in your power. Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!" So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

When the days of their feasting were finished, Job would send for them and sanctify them; he would get up early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job thought, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's customary practice.

how much more to those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth?

The Lord said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" And Satan answered the Lord, "From roving about on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it."

If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait until my release comes.

"Yes, I know what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me.

He does not expect to escape from darkness; he is marked for the sword;

Then a breath of air passes by my face; it makes the hair of my flesh stand up.

So the Lord restored what Job had lost after he prayed for his friends, and the Lord doubled all that had belonged to Job.

For the very thing I dreaded has happened to me, and what I feared has come upon me.

They are destroyed between morning and evening; they perish forever without anyone regarding it.

"Therefore, blessed is the man whom God corrects, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

"But there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.

Then his wife said to him, "Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God, and die!"

Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly to his integrity, so that you stirred me up to destroy him without reason."

"But now, ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.

Is not their excess wealth taken away from them? They die, yet without attaining wisdom.

Your words have supported those who stumbled, and you have strengthened the knees that gave way.

So they came to him, all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they dined with him in his house. They comforted him and consoled him for all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

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

Together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover over them both.

When people are brought low and you say 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast;

Can you tie the bands of the Pleiades, or release the cords of Orion?

"Do you hunt prey for the lioness, and satisfy the appetite of the lions,

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted Job with a malignant ulcer from the sole of his feet to the top of his head.

Since man's days are determined, the number of his months is under your control; you have set his limit and he cannot pass it.

I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion.

It stands still, but I cannot recognize its appearance; an image is before my eyes, and I hear a murmuring voice:

Then Satan answered the Lord, "Is it for nothing that Job fears God?

Then the Lord answered Job:

"If only I had someone to hear me! Here is my signature -- let the Almighty answer me! If only I had an indictment that my accuser had written.

The heavens reveal his iniquity; the earth rises up against him.

But he is unchangeable, and who can change him? Whatever he has desired, he does.

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

Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes!

but people are born to trouble, as surely as the sparks fly upward.

Look, you have instructed many; you have strengthened feeble hands.

Now his sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one in turn, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us in the womb?

he alone spreads out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea;

"But now they mock me, those who are younger than I, whose fathers I disdained too much to put with my sheep dogs.

Have you entered the storehouse of the snow, or seen the armory of the hail,

When Job's three friends heard about all this calamity that had happened to him, each of them came from his own country -- Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to come to show sympathy for him and to console him.

"Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook, and tie down its tongue with a rope?

Fear the sword yourselves, for wrath brings the punishment by the sword, so that you may know that there is judgment."

"But wisdom -- where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding?

so man lies down and does not rise; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor arise from their sleep.

"Why do the wicked go on living, grow old, even increase in power?

"If someone should attempt a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can refrain from speaking?

But the righteous man holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

He grows up like a flower and then withers away; he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.

"Does not humanity have hard service on earth? Are not their days also like the days of a hired man?

For you say, 'Where now is the nobleman's house, and where are the tents in which the wicked lived?'

"Who is this who darkens counsel with words without knowledge?

"Reconcile yourself with God, and be at peace with him; in this way your prosperity will be good.

"Who shut up the sea with doors when it burst forth, coming out of the womb,

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

Then Job answered:

Nor is there an arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both,

in whose hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all the human race.

if I looked at the sun when it was shining, and the moon advancing as a precious thing,

What is man that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

But you, however, are inventors of lies; all of you are worthless physicians!

If there is an angel beside him, one mediator out of a thousand, to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness;

Then Job answered:

for while my spirit is still in me, and the breath from God is in my nostrils,

He will deliver you from six calamities; yes, in seven no evil will touch you.

(Who has confronted me that I should repay? Everything under heaven belongs to me!)

The underworld is naked before God; the place of destruction lies uncovered.

"For God speaks, the first time in one way, the second time in another, though a person does not perceive it.

Is the wild ox willing to be your servant? Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?

But man dies and is powerless; he expires -- and where is he?

"Indeed, I am completely unworthy -- how could I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth to silence myself.

Then Job replied:

"Your hands have shaped me and made me, but now you destroy me completely.

"Is it to God that a strong man is of benefit? Is it to him that even a wise man is profitable?

As a cloud is dispersed and then disappears, so the one who goes down to the grave does not come up again.

On what were its bases set, or who laid its cornerstone --

"O that you would hide me in Sheol, and conceal me till your anger has passed! O that you would set me a time and then remember me!

when my steps were bathed with butter and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil!

then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat, and in place of barley, weeds!" The words of Job are ended.

So they say to God, 'Turn away from us! We do not want to know your ways.

he makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky;

"O that my words were written down, O that they were written on a scroll,

After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born.

So the Lord blessed the second part of Job's life more than the first. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

If God were to set his heart on it, and gather in his spirit and his breath,

He marks out the horizon on the surface of the waters as a boundary between light and darkness.

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

"The dead tremble -- those beneath the waters and all that live in them.

will you, with him, spread out the clouds, solid as a mirror of molten metal?

you asked, 'Who is this who darkens counsel without knowledge?' But I have declared without understanding things too wonderful for me to know.

"But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would set forth my case.

Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:

Have you never questioned those who travel the roads? Do you not recognize their accounts --

If I hope for the grave to be my home, if I spread out my bed in darkness,

When he pulls it out and it comes out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver, terrors come over him.

"Indeed, my eyes have seen all this, my ears have heard and understood it.

When I went out to the city gate and secured my seat in the public square,

how much less a mortal man, who is but a maggot -- a son of man, who is only a worm!"

"If I have disregarded the right of my male servants or my female servants when they disputed with me,

Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, or made the dawn know its place,

So these three men refused to answer Job further, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

for I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the orphan who had no one to assist him;

It eats away parts of his skin; the most terrible death devours his limbs.

My spirit is broken, my days have faded out, the grave awaits me.

For he is not a human being like I am, that I might answer him, that we might come together in judgment.

"Yes, God is great -- beyond our knowledge! The number of his years is unsearchable.

If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,

So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede for you, and I will respect him, so that I do not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has."

O that I knew where I might find him, that I could come to his place of residence!

By his power he stills the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab the great sea monster to pieces.

"The wings of the ostrich flap with joy, but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:

that the elation of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

How then can a human being be righteous before God? How can one born of a woman be pure?

His anger has torn me and persecuted me; he has gnashed at me with his teeth; my adversary locks his eyes on me.

"Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wickedness, from the Almighty to do evil.

Men move boundary stones; they seize the flock and pasture them.

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

In a dream, a night vision, when deep sleep falls on people as they sleep in their beds.

Then Job continued his speech:

Do you have an arm as powerful as God's, and can you thunder with a voice like his?

Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! How faint is the whisper we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?"

The clods of the torrent valley are sweet to him; behind him everybody follows in procession, and before him goes a countless throng.

"If I go to the east, he is not there, and to the west, yet I do not perceive him.

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:

Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea, or walked about in the recesses of the deep?

He draws up drops of water; they distill the rain into its mist,

Surely I would wear it proudly on my shoulder, I would bind it on me like a crown;

"How long until you make an end of words? You must consider, and then we can talk.

when I said, 'To here you may come and no farther, here your proud waves will be confined'?

They live out their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.

Let him not trust in what is worthless, deceiving himself; for worthlessness will be his reward.

"Yes, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; his flame of fire does not shine.

"O that I could be as I was in the months now gone, in the days when God watched over me,

For his eyes are on the ways of an individual, he observes all a person's steps.

The pillars of the heavens tremble and are amazed at his rebuke.

Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry. He was angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God.

Elihu answered:

"Why are times not appointed by the Almighty? Why do those who know him not see his days?

Will you speak wickedly on God's behalf? Will you speak deceitfully for him?

Will it go down to the barred gates of death? Will we descend together into the dust?"

Such is the lot God allots the wicked, and the heritage of his appointment from God."

"Are you acquainted with the way the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?

Can you lead out the constellations in their seasons, or guide the Bear with its cubs?

They sing to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp, and make merry to the sound of the flute.

He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots and he will depart by the breath of God's mouth.

Thick clouds are a veil for him, so he does not see us, as he goes back and forth in the vault of heaven.'

"If evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,

I put on righteousness and it clothed me, my just dealing was like a robe and a turban;

At this also my heart pounds and leaps from its place.

"In what direction does light reside, and darkness, where is its place,

"Pay attention to this, Job! Stand still and consider the wonders God works.

He is dragged from the security of his tent, and marched off to the king of terrors.

"Is not God on high in heaven? And see the lofty stars, how high they are!

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

Will you keep to the old path that evil men have walked --

When he made the force of the wind and measured the waters with a gauge.

They allow their children to run like a flock; their little ones dance about.

"Dominion and awesome might belong to God; he establishes peace in his heights.

I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could pile up words against you and I could shake my head at you.

Do you know about the balancing of the clouds, that wondrous activity of him who is perfect in knowledge?

"If I have put my confidence in gold or said to pure gold, 'You are my security!'

The drought as well as the heat carry away the melted snow; so the grave takes away those who have sinned.

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain if we were to pray to him?'

But you even break off piety, and hinder meditation before God.

If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.

"Do you give the horse its strength? Do you clothe its neck with a mane?

"For you took pledges from your brothers for no reason, and you stripped the clothing from the naked.

From the north he comes in golden splendor; around God is awesome majesty.

For the ear assesses words as the mouth tastes food.

Do you listen in on God's secret council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

Get ready for a difficult task like a man; I will question you and you will inform me!

There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways and they do not stay on its paths.

who shows no partiality to princes, and does not take note of the rich more than the poor, because 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 hope does the godless have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?

"I have heard many things like these before. What miserable comforters are you all!

then his flesh is restored like a youth's; he returns to the days of his youthful vigor.

Is not your wickedness great and is there no end to your iniquity?

He locks the waters in his clouds, and the clouds do not burst with the weight of them.

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

"Does a wise man answer with blustery knowledge, or fill his belly with the east wind?

I was in peace, and he has shattered me. He has seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target;

Iron is taken from the ground, and rock is poured out as copper.

For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens.

Before his time he will be paid in full, and his branches will not flourish.

you sent widows away empty-handed, and the arms of the orphans you crushed.

"How often is the lamp of the wicked extinguished? How often does their misfortune come upon them? How often does God apportion pain to them in his anger?

I will not show partiality to anyone, nor will I confer a title on any man.

He sucks the poison of serpents; the fangs of a viper kill him.

Surely mockery is with me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

Look away from him and let him desist, until he fulfills his time like a hired man.

who would take his rod away from me so that his terror would not make me afraid.

My skin has turned dark on me; my body is hot with fever.

All my closest friends detest me; and those whom I love have turned against me.

Would it turn out well if he would examine you? Or as one deceives a man would you deceive him?

I have sewed sackcloth on my skin, and buried my horn in the dust;

The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men far older than your father.

if I have eaten its produce without paying, or caused the death of its owners,

Scatter abroad the abundance of your anger. Look at every proud man and bring him low;

But I wish to speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.

Would you indeed annul my justice? Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?

What you know, I know also; I am not inferior to you!

So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up: "I am young, but you are elderly; that is why I was fearful, and afraid to explain to you what I know.

then you plunge me into a slimy pit and my own clothes abhor me.

God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.

for he stretches out his hand against God, and vaunts himself against the Almighty,

If only you would keep completely silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

Do you know the laws of the heavens, or can you set up their rule over the earth?

He tears me down on every side until I perish; he uproots my hope like one uproots a tree.

"As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter --

The fatherless child is snatched from the breast, the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge.

Or a person is chastened by pain on his bed, and with the continual strife of his bones,

"He has put my relatives far from me; my acquaintances only turn away from me.

As water disappears from the sea, or a river drains away and dries up,

I will never declare that you three are in the right; until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!

Of coral and jasper no mention will be made; the price of wisdom is more than pearls.

Who has put wisdom in the heart, or has imparted understanding to the mind?