There once was a man in the land of Uz named Job. The man was blameless as well as upright. He feared God and kept away from evil.

His livestock included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and many servants. Indeed, the man's stature greatly exceeded that of many people who lived in the East.

When their time of feasting had concluded, Job would rise early in the morning to send for them and consecrate them to God. He would offer a burnt offering for each one, because Job thought, "Perhaps my children sinned by cursing God in their hearts." Job did this time and again.

when a strong wind came straight out of the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people, and they died. I alone escaped to tell you!"

and exclaimed: "I left my mother's womb naked, and I will return to God naked. The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken. May the name of the LORD be blessed."

Job neither sinned nor charged God with wrongdoing in all of this.

So Satan left the LORD's presence and struck Job with terrible boils from the sole of his feet to the top of his head.

Job took a broken piece of pottery to scrape himself while sitting among the ashes.

Then his wife told him, "Do you remain firm in your integrity? Curse God and die!"

But he replied to her, "You're talking like foolish women do. Are we to accept what is good from God but not tragedy?" Throughout all of this, Job did not sin by what he said.

and sat with Job on the ground for a full week without saying a word, since they could see the great extent of his anguish.

Let darkness carry that night away; let it not take its place joyfully among the days of the year; let it not be entered into the calendar.

Let the stars of its evening twilight be dark; let it hope for light but let there be none; let it not see the breaking rays of the dawn.

"Because that night refused to shut the doors of my mother's womb; it failed to keep me from seeing this trouble.

"If I had died, I would be lying down by now, undisturbed, asleep, and at rest,

along with kings and counselors of the earth, who used to build for themselves what are now only ruins,

In that place, those who once were prisoners will be at ease together; they won't hear the voice of oppressors.

"As far as I'm concerned, my food comes to me in the form of sighs, and my cries of anguish pour out like water.

"Will you get offended if somebody tries to talk to you? Who can keep from speaking at a time like this?

"Your fear of God has been your confidence, hasn't it? The integrity of your life has been your hope, hasn't it?

It's been my experience that those who plow the soil of iniquity and those who sow the seed of trouble will reap their harvest!

They perish by the breath of God; they are consumed by the storm that is his anger.

"The lioness may roar, and the lion cub may growl; but even the ivory teeth of the full grown lion are broken.

"A message was confided to me; my ear caught a whisper of it.

"Can a mortal person be more righteous than God? Or can the purity of the valiant exceed that of his maker?'

how much less confidence does he have in those who dwell in houses of clay; who were formed from a foundation in dust and can perish like a moth?

Then the hungry will devour his harvest, snatching it even from the midst of thorns, while the thirsty covet their wealth.

For wickedness doesn't crop up from dust, nor does trouble sprout out of the ground;

"Now as for me, I would seek God if I were you; I would commit my case to God.

He sends rain on the surface of the earth, and waters the surface of the open country.

He frustrates the plans of the crafty; so that what they work for never succeeds.

They meet with darkness in broad daylight; at noonday they grope around as if it were night.

So he delivers from the sword of their mouth the poor from the power of the mighty.

"Indeed, how blessed is the person whom God reproves! So never disrespect the discipline of the Almighty,

He will deliver you from death by famine; in war from the power of the sword.

You'll laugh at destruction and famine; and you need not fear the beasts of the earth.

For you'll have a pact with the stones in the field; and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

You'll know that you'll have many children; and that your offspring will be like the grass of the earth.

You'll go to your grave at a ripe old age; like a stack of grain that's harvested at just the right time.

"If only my grief could be weighed; or my calamity piled together on a balance scale!

"The arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit absorbs their poison; God's terrors have been arranged just for me!

"Will the wild donkey bray from hunger if fresh grass is beside him? Will the ox low from distress if it is near its feed?

Am I as strong as a rock? Am I some kind of iron man?

The friend shows gracious love for his friend, even if he has forsaken the fear of the Almighty.

or say "Deliver me from my enemy's control,' or "Redeem me from the domination of ruthless people'?"

Did you intend your words to reprove, even though the speech of a desperate person is just wind?

"Men have harsh servitude on earth, do they not? His days are like those of a hired laborer, are they not?

Truly I've been allotted months of emptiness; nights of trouble have been appointed for me.

My skin is covered with worms and clods of dirt; my skin becomes rough and then breaks out afresh.

The eyes of the one who sees me won't see me anymore; your eyes will look for me but I won't be around!

I hate the thought of living forever! Leave me alone, because my days are pointless."

"What is a human being, that you make so much of him; that you set your affections on him,

So what if I sin? What have I done against you, you observer of humankind? Why have you made me your target? Why burden yourself with me?

"If your children sin against him, he'll make them a prisoner of their sins.

If you seek God, if you ask the Almighty for mercy,

if you are clean and upright, surely then, he'll act on your behalf and restore your rightful place.

"Inquire of the previous generation, won't you please? Consider what their forefathers searched out.

Because we are of yesterday and we know nothing, for our time on earth is only a shadow.

Such are the paths of everyone who forgets God the hope of the godless will be destroyed:

He leans against his house, but it won't stand; he grabs hold of it firmly, but it doesn't last.

Its roots weave around a pile of stones, seeking to entrench itself among the rocks.

If he is uprooted from his place, then it will deny him: "I never saw you.'

"Indeed, this is the benefit of God's way: from the soil other plants will sprout.

Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will no longer exist.

If one were to seek to argue with him, he won't be able to answer him even once in a thousand times.

He alone spreads out the heavens, he walks on the waves of the sea.

"If he were to pass near me, I wouldn't notice; if he moves by, I wouldn't perceive him.

Indeed, if he snatches someone away, who could restrain him? Who can say to him, "What are you doing?'

Even if I'm in the right, I cannot answer him. I can only appeal for mercy.

"Is this a contest of strength? He is obviously stronger! Is this a matter of justice? Who can sue him?

If a calamity causes sudden death, he'll mock at the despair of the innocent.

A land is given into the hands of a wicked person; he covers the faces of its judges. If it is not God, then who is it?"

They pass by like a ship made of reeds, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

If I were to say, "Let me forget my complaint,' change the expression on my face, and look cheerful,

then I still dread all of my suffering; I know you still won't acquit me.

"If I wash myself with water from snow, and cleanse my hands with lye,

There is not yet a mediator between us, who would set his hand on the two of us,

removing his rod from me, and not letting terror of him overwhelm me.

Otherwise, I would speak without being terrified of him, because I'm not like that inside myself."

"I am disgusted with living, so I'm going to talk about my complaint freely. I'll speak out from the bitterness of my soul.

Does it delight you to oppress or despise what you have made, while you smile at the plans of the wicked?

Do you have eyes made of flesh? Can you look at things as humans do?

Can you live only as long as a human being? Or live the years of a mortal man?

If I sin, you watch me and won't acquit me for my iniquity.

""Woe to me if I'm guilty! If I'm innocent, I cannot lift my head, because I am filled with disgrace. Look at my affliction!

But if I do lift up my head, you will hunt me like a lion! You will perform miracles in order to fight against me.

as if I had never existed; carried from the womb to the grave.

before I go, never to return, leaving for the land of deep darkness and shadow.

"Shouldn't a multitude of words be answered, or a person who talks too much be vindicated?

"But what if God were to speak? What if he were to talk with you,

"Can you search through God's complex things? Can you uncover the limits of the Almighty?

"If he bypasses, or imprisons, or convenes a court, who can stop him?

"Now for you, if you will prepare your heart, spread out your hands to him.

If you have any iniquity, throw it far away. Don't let evil live in your residence.

But what the wicked look for will fail; their way of escape will be taken away from them; their only hope is to take their final breath."

The tents of robbers are at rest, and those who provoke God are secure, that is, those who carry their god in their pocket.

"Ask the wild animals, and they'll teach you; the birds of the sky will tell you.

Or ask the green plants of the earth and they'll teach you; let the fish in the sea tell you.

Who among all of these doesn't know that the LORD's hand made them,

and that the life of every living thing rests in his control, along with the breath of every living human being?