There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. He was without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil.

And of cattle he had seven thousand sheep and goats, and three thousand camels, and a thousand oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great number of servants. And the man was greater than any of the sons of the east.

And at the end of their days of feasting, Job sent and made them clean, getting up early in the morning and offering burned offerings for them all. For, Job said, It may be that my sons have done wrong and said evil of God in their hearts. And Job did this whenever the feasts came round.

And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them.

And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil?

Have you yourself not put a wall round him and his house and all he has on every side, blessing the work of his hands, and increasing his cattle in the land?

And there was a day when his sons and daughters were feasting in the house of their oldest brother,

And the men of Sheba came against them and took them away, putting the young men to the sword, and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

And this one was still talking when another came, and said, The fire of God came down from heaven, burning up the sheep and the goats and the young men completely, and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

When a great wind came rushing from the waste land against the four sides of the house, and it came down on the young men, and they are dead; and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

Then Job got up, and after parting his clothing and cutting off his hair, he went down on his face to the earth, and gave worship, and said,

With nothing I came out of my mother's body, and with nothing I will go back there; the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; let the Lord's name be praised.

And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them.

And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil? and he still keeps his righteousness, though you have been moving me to send destruction on him without cause.

But now, if you only put your hand on his bone and his flesh, he will certainly be cursing you to your face.

And the Satan went out from before the Lord, and sent on Job an evil disease covering his skin from his feet to the top of his head.

And he took a broken bit of a pot, and, seated in the dust, was rubbing himself with the sharp edge of it.

And his wife said to him, Are you still keeping your righteousness? Say a curse against God, and put an end to yourself.

And he said to her, You are talking like one of the foolish women. If we take the good God sends us, are we not to take the evil when it comes? In all this Job kept his lips from sin.

And Job's three friends had word of all this evil which had come on him. And they came every one from his place, Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. So they came together to a meeting-place, in order that they might go and make clear to Job their grief for him, and give him comfort.

And lifting up their eyes when they were still far off, it did not seem that the man they saw was Job because of the change in him. And they gave way to bitter weeping, with signs of grief, and put dust on their heads.

Then, opening his mouth, and cursing the day of his birth,

Let destruction take the day of my birth, and the night on which it was said, A man child has come into the world.

That day--let it be dark; let not God take note of it from on high, and let not the light be shining on it;

Let the dark and the black night take it for themselves; let it be covered with a cloud; let the dark shades of day send fear on it.

That night--let the thick dark take it; let it not have joy among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months.

As for that night, let it have no fruit; let no voice of joy be sounded in it;

Let its morning stars be dark; let it be looking for light, but may it not have any; let it not see the eyes of the dawn.

Because it did not keep the doors of my mother's body shut, so that trouble might be veiled from my eyes.

Why did death not take me when I came out of my mother's body, why did I not, when I came out, give up my last breath?

With kings and the wise ones of the earth, who put up great houses for themselves;

Or with rulers who had gold, and whose houses were full of silver;

There the passions of the evil are over, and those whose strength has come to an end have rest.

There the prisoners are at peace together; the voice of the overseer comes not again to their ears.

Who are glad with great joy, and full of delight when they come to their last resting-place;

In place of my food I have grief, and cries of sorrow come from me like water.

If one says a word, will it be a weariness to you? but who is able to keep from saying what is in his mind?

Is not your fear of God your support, and your upright way of life your hope?

Have you ever seen destruction come to an upright man? or when were the god-fearing ever cut off?

By the breath of God destruction takes them, and by the wind of his wrath they are cut off.

Though the noise of the lion and the sounding of his voice, may be loud, the teeth of the young lions are broken.

The old lion comes to his end for need of food, and the young of the she-lion go wandering in all directions.

A word was given to me secretly, and the low sound of it came to my ears.

In troubled thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep comes on men,

Fear came on me and shaking, and my bones were full of trouble;

And a breath was moving over my face; the hair of my flesh became stiff:

How much more those living in houses of earth, whose bases are in the dust! They are crushed more quickly than an insect;

If their tent-cord is pulled up, do they not come to an end, and without wisdom?

Give now a cry for help; is there anyone who will give you an answer? and to which of the holy ones will you make your prayer?

For wrath is the cause of death to the foolish, and he who has no wisdom comes to his end through passion.

Their produce is taken by him who has no food, and their grain goes to the poor, and he who is in need of water gets it from their spring.

For evil does not come out of the dust, or trouble out of the earth;

Who makes the designs of the wise go wrong, so that they are unable to give effect to their purposes.

He takes the wise in their secret designs, and the purposes of the twisted are cut off suddenly.

In the daytime it becomes dark for them, and in the sunlight they go feeling about as if it was night.

But he keeps safe from their sword those who have no father, and the poor from the power of the strong.

So the poor man has hope, and the mouth of the evil-doer is stopped.

Truly, that man is happy who has training from the hand of God: so do not let your heart be shut to the teaching of the Ruler of all.

When there is need of food he will keep you from death, and in war from the power of the sword.

He will keep you safe from the evil tongue; and you will have no fear of wasting when it comes.

You will make sport of destruction and need, and will have no fear of the beasts of the earth.

For you will be in agreement with the stones of the earth, and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

You will be certain that your seed will be great, and your offspring like the plants of the earth.

See, we have made search with care, and it is so; it has come to our ears; see that you take note of it for yourself.

If only my passion might be measured, and put into the scales against my trouble!

For then its weight would be more than the sand of the seas: because of this my words have been uncontrolled.

For the arrows of the Ruler of all are present with me, and their poison goes deep into my spirit: his army of fears is put in order against me.

Does the ass of the fields give out his voice when he has grass? or does the ox make sounds over his food?

Will a man take food which has no taste without salt? or is there any taste in the soft substance of purslain?

If only I might have an answer to my prayer, and God would give me my desire!

If only he would be pleased to put an end to me; and would let loose his hand, so that I might be cut off!

So I would still have comfort, and I would have joy in the pains of death, for I have not been false to the words of the Holy One.

Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh brass?

He whose heart is shut against his friend has given up the fear of the Ruler of all.

Which are dark because of the ice, and the snow falling into them;

Under the burning sun they are cut off, and come to nothing because of the heat.

The camel-trains go out of their way; they go up into the waste and come to destruction.

The camel-trains of Tema were searching with care, the bands of Sheba were waiting for them:

They were put to shame because of their hope; they came and their hope was gone.

Did I say, Give me something? or, Make a payment for me out of your wealth?

Or, Get me out of the power of my hater? or, Give money so that I may be free from the power of the cruel ones?

My words may seem wrong to you, but the words of him who has no hope are for the wind.

Truly, you are such as would give up the child of a dead man to his creditors, and would make a profit out of your friend.

Let your minds be changed, and do not have an evil opinion of me; yes, be changed, for my righteousness is still in me.

Is there evil in my tongue? is not the cause of my trouble clear to me?

Has not man his ordered time of trouble on the earth? and are not his days like the days of a servant working for payment?

As a servant desiring the shades of evening, and a workman looking for his payment:

So I have for my heritage months of pain to no purpose, and nights of weariness are given to me.

The eye of him who sees me will see me no longer: your eyes will be looking for me, but I will be gone.

He will not come back to his house, and his place will have no more knowledge of him.

So I will not keep my mouth shut; I will let the words come from it in the pain of my spirit, my soul will make a bitter outcry.

Then you send dreams to me, and visions of fear;

If I have done wrong, what have I done to you, O keeper of men? why have you made me a mark for your blows, so that I am a weariness to myself?

How long will you say these things, and how long will the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?

Does God give wrong decisions? or is the Ruler of all not upright in his judging?

If your children have done evil against him, then their punishment is from his hand.

If you will make search for God with care, and put your request before the Ruler of all;

If you are clean and upright; then he will certainly be moved to take up your cause, and will make clear your righteousness by building up your house again.

(For we are but of yesterday, and have no knowledge, because our days on earth are gone like a shade:)

Will they not give you teaching, and say words of wisdom to you?