But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.”

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.

However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.”

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.

“Let the stars of its twilight be darkened;
Let it wait for light but have none,
And let it not see the breaking dawn;

Who long for death, but there is none,
And dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

“I am not at ease, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

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

“But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
It touches you, and you are dismayed.

“It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance;
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence, then I heard a voice:

“But as for me, I would seek God,
And I would place my cause before God;

“But He saves from the sword of their mouth,
And the poor from the hand of the mighty.

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

“How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?

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

“Remember that my life is but breath;
My eye will not again see good.

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

“If I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
My couch will ease my complaint,’

“I waste away; I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

“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.”

“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?

“He will not allow me to get my breath,
But saturates me with bitterness.

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.

“But would that God might speak,
And open His lips against you,

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

“But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And there will be no escape for them;
And their hope is to breathe their last.”

“But I have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And who does not know such things as these?

“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.

“But I would speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to argue with God.

“But you smear with lies;
You are all worthless physicians.

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

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

At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.

“But man dies and lies prostrate.
Man expires, and where is he?

“But the falling mountain crumbles away,
And the rock moves from its place;

“His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it.

“But his body pains him,
And he mourns only for himself.”

“But now He has exhausted me;
You have laid waste all my company.

“I was at ease, but He shattered me,
And He has grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His target.

“But He has made me a byword of the people,
And I am one at whom men spit.

“But come again all of you now,
For I do not find a wise man among you.

“If I look for Sheol as my home,
I make my bed in the darkness;

If I call to the pit, ‘You are my father’;
To the worm, ‘my mother and my sister’;

“Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.

“He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has put darkness on my paths.

“I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore him with my mouth.

“His bones are full of his youthful vigor,
But it lies down with him in the dust.

Though he desires it and will not let it go,
But holds it in his mouth,

“He swallows riches,
But will vomit them up;
God will expel them from his belly.

“He may flee from the iron weapon,
But the bronze bow will pierce him.

“Look at me, and be astonished,
And put your hand over your mouth.

“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,
Or does their calamity fall on them?
Does God apportion destruction in His anger?

“But the earth belongs to the mighty man,
And the honorable man dwells in it.

“Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

“Behold, I go forward but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

“But He knows the way I take;
When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

“But He is unique and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.

But I am not silenced by the darkness,
Nor deep gloom which covers me.

“Within the walls they produce oil;
They tread wine presses but thirst.

“But He drags off the valiant by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

“Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

“Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

He may prepare it, but the just will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.

“He lies down rich, but never again;
He opens his eyes, and it is no longer.

“But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?

“The princes stopped talking
And put their hands on their mouths;

“I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.

“But now those younger than I mock me,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.

“I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.

(But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And from infancy I guided her),

“If I have put my confidence in gold,
And called fine gold my trust,

But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God.

“But it is a spirit in man,
And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.

“I even paid close attention to you;
Indeed, there was no one who refuted Job,
Not one of you who answered his words.

He keeps back his soul from the pit,
And his life from passing over into Sheol.

“Man is also chastened with pain on his bed,
And with unceasing complaint in his bones;

“Then his soul draws near to the pit,
And his life to those who bring death.

Then let him be gracious to him, and say,
‘Deliver him from going down to the pit,
I have found a ransom’;

‘He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,
And my life shall see the light.’

To bring back his soul from the pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of life.

“For Job has said, ‘I am righteous,
But God has taken away my right;

“But if you have understanding, hear this;
Listen to the sound of my words.

“But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
Who gives songs in the night,

“There they cry out, but He does not answer
Because of the pride of evil men.

“Behold, God is mighty but does not despise any;
He is mighty in strength of understanding.

“He does not keep the wicked alive,
But gives justice to the afflicted.

“He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;
But with kings on the throne
He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.

“But if they do not hear, they shall perish by the sword
And they will die without knowledge.

“But the godless in heart lay up anger;
They do not cry for help when He binds them.

“But you were full of judgment on the wicked;
Judgment and justice take hold of you.

“Now men do not see the light which is bright in the skies;
But the wind has passed and cleared them.

And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?

“Who has put wisdom in the innermost being
Or given understanding to the mind?

“Can you put a rope in his nose
Or pierce his jaw with a hook?

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

“He makes the depths boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a jar of ointment.

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;