When the days of their feasting were over, Job would send [for them] and consecrate them, rising early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job did this at all [such] times.

When they looked from a distance and did not recognize him [because of his disfigurement], they raised their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe [in grief] and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky [in sorrow].

“Remember now, who, being innocent, ever perished?
Or where [and in what circumstances] were those upright and in right standing with God destroyed?

“Oh, that my grief could actually be weighed
And placed in the balances together with my tragedy [to see if my grief is the grief of a coward]!

“Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass?
Or does the ox low over his fodder?

“Did I ever say, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Pay a bribe for me from your wealth,’

“You would cast lots (gamble) over the fatherless
And bargain away your friend.

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And are spent without hope.

“Am I the sea, or the sea monster,
That You set a guard over me?

“He thrives and prospers [like a green plant] before the sun,
And his branches spread out over his garden.

“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
Who has [ever] defied or challenged Him and remained unharmed?

“But you smear me with lies [you defame my character most untruthfully];
You are all worthless physicians and have no remedy to offer.

“But his body [lamenting its decay] grieves in pain over it,
And his soul mourns over [the loss of] himself.”

“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin [as a sign of mourning]
And have defiled my horn (symbol of strength) in the dust.

“Nothing of his dwells in his tent;
Brimstone (burning sulfur) is scattered over his dwelling [to purify it].

“Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me answer,
Because of the uneasiness that is within me.

“Together they lie down in the dust,
And the worms cover them.

“When he is carried to his grave,
A guard will keep watch over his tomb.

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

“It is He who spreads out the north over emptiness
And hangs the earth on nothing.

“He covers the face of the full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.

“He breaks open (mine) shafts far away from where people live,
[In places] forgotten by the [human] foot;
They dangle [in the mines] and hang away from men.

“The proud beasts [and their young] have not walked on it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

“It cannot be valued in [terms of] the gold of Ophir,
In the precious onyx or beryl, or the sapphire.

“Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
As in the days when God watched over me,

As I was in the prime of my days,
When the friendship and counsel of God were over my tent,

‘My glory and honor are fresh in me [being constantly renewed],
And my bow gains [ever] new strength in my hand.’

“Who put God in charge over the earth?
And who has laid on Him the whole world?

“I will bring my knowledge from afar,
And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

“All men have seen God’s work;
Man looks at it from a distance.

“Ice is made by the breath of God,
And the expanse of the waters is frozen.

“Where is the way that the light is distributed,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

“As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he smells the battle from far away,
And senses the thunder of the captains and the war cry.

“From there he spies out the prey;
His eyes see it from far away.

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

“Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth
As from a boiling pot and [as from] burning rushes.

“He looks on everything that is high [without terror];
He is monarch over all the sons of pride. [And now, Job, who are you who does not dare to disturb the beast, yet who dares resist Me, the beast’s creator? Everything under the heavens is Mine; therefore, who can have a claim against God?]”

Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him [and his prayer] so that I may not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has.”

Then all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him over all the [distressing] adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him a piece of money, and each a ring of gold.