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

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

And Job took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself, and he sat [down] among the ashes (rubbish heaps).

“As for that night, let darkness seize it;
Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
Let it not be counted in the number of the months.

“The hungry devour his harvest
And take it even [when it grows] among the thorns;
The trap opens for [his] wealth.

“His [godless] roots are wrapped around a pile of rocks,
And he gazes at a house of stones.

“Among us are both the gray-haired and the aged,
Older than your father.

To whom alone the land was given,
And no stranger passed among them [corrupting the truth].

“But He has made me a byword and mockery among the people,
And I have become one in whose face people spit.

“But as for all of you, come back again,
Even though I do not find a wise man among you.

“He has no offspring or prosperity among his people,
Nor any survivor where he sojourned.

And place your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks [considering it of little value],

“Within the walls [of the wicked] the poor make [olive] oil;
They tread [the grapes in] the wine presses, but thirst.

“He cuts out channels and passages among the rocks;
And his eye sees every precious thing.

“I chose a way for them and sat as chief,
And dwelt as a king among his soldiers,
As one who comforts mourners.

“They pluck [and eat] saltwort (mallows) among the bushes,
And their food is the root of the broom shrub.

“They are driven from the community;
They shout after them as after a thief.

“Among the bushes they cry out [like wild animals];
Beneath the prickly scrub they gather and huddle together.

“If there is an angel as a mediator for him,
One out of a thousand,
To explain to a man what is right for him [that is, how to be in right standing with God],

“Let us choose for ourselves that which is right;
Let us know among ourselves what is good.

‘For he adds rebellion [in his unsubmissive, defiant attitude toward God] to his [unacknowledged] sin;
He claps his hands among us [in open mockery and contempt of God],
And he multiplies his words [of accusation] against God.’”

“They die in youth,
And their life ends among the cult prostitutes.

“Will traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him up among the merchants?

In all the land there were found no women so fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.