There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

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

When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

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

The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”

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

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

Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

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

The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”

So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”

But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

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

When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.

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

“Let the day perish on which I was to be born,
And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

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

“Let darkness and black gloom claim it;
Let a cloud settle on it;
Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

Who rejoice greatly,
And exult when they find the grave?

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

“If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient?
But who can refrain from speaking?

“By the breath of God they perish,
And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.

“Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,

‘He puts no trust even in His servants;
And against His angels He charges error.

‘How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,
Whose foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before the moth!

‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces;
Unobserved, they perish forever.

“His sons are far from safety,
They are even oppressed in the gate,
And there is no deliverer.

“He gives rain on the earth
And sends water on the fields,

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

“He captures the wise by their own shrewdness,
And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

“By day they meet with darkness,
And grope at noon as in the night.

“From six troubles He will deliver you,
Even in seven evil will not touch you.

“In famine He will redeem you from death,
And in war from the power of the sword.

“You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

“For you will be in league with the stones of the field,
And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

“You will come to the grave in full vigor,
Like the stacking of grain in its season.

“Oh that my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my calamity!

“Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

“But it is still my consolation,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

“When they become waterless, they are silent,
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

“Do you intend to reprove my words,
When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?

“Desist now, let there be no injustice;
Even desist, my righteousness is yet in it.

“Is there injustice on my tongue?
Cannot my palate discern calamities?

“Is not man forced to labor on earth,
And are not his days like the days of a hired man?

“When I lie down I say,
‘When shall I arise?’
But the night continues,
And I am continually tossing until dawn.

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And come to an end without hope.

“The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;
Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.

“When a cloud vanishes, it is gone,
So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

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

“Why then 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, but I will not be.”

“For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because our days on earth are as a shadow.

“He trusts in his house, but it does not stand;
He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.

“In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a man be in the right before God?

“If one wished to dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

“Wise in heart and mighty in strength,
Who has defied Him without harm?

“It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,
When He overturns them in His anger;

“If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

“It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’

“They slip by like reed boats,
Like an eagle that swoops on its prey.

“I am accounted wicked,
Why then should I toil in vain?

Yet You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would abhor me.

“Then I would speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.

“I loathe my own life;
I will give full vent to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

‘Is it right for You indeed to oppress,
To reject the labor of Your hands,
And to look favorably on the schemes of the wicked?

‘Yet these things You have concealed in Your heart;
I know that this is within You:

“For you have said, ‘My teaching is pure,
And I am innocent in your eyes.’

“If He passes by or shuts up,
Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?

“An idiot will become intelligent
When the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.

If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
And do not let wickedness dwell in your tents;

“I am a joke to my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and blameless man is a joke.

“He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.

In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?

“He pours contempt on nobles
And loosens the belt of the strong.

“He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people
And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

“They grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

“Will it be well when He examines you?
Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

“Will not His majesty terrify you,
And the dread of Him fall on you?

“Be silent before me so that I may speak;
Then let come on me what may.

“Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
And put my life in my hands?

“Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.

“You put my feet in the stocks
And watch all my paths;
You set a limit for the soles of my feet,

“You also open Your eyes on him
And bring him into judgment with Yourself.

“Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!

“For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not fail.

“Though its roots grow old in the ground
And its stump dies in the dry soil,

“Oh that You would hide me in Sheol,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!

“My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You wrap up my iniquity.

“Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you.

“Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight;

How much less one who is detestable and corrupt,
Man, who drinks iniquity like water!

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

“Sounds of terror are in his ears;
While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.

“He has lived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become ruins.

“Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his reward.

“I too could speak like you,
If I were in your place.
I could compose words against you
And shake my head at you.