There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God [with reverence] and abstained from and turned away from evil [because he honored God].

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.

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.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God].”

Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

While he was still speaking, another [messenger] also came and said, “The fire of God (lightning) has fallen from the heavens and has burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

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.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God]. And still he maintains and holds tightly to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to destroy him without cause.”

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still cling to your integrity [and your faith and trust in God, without blaming Him]? Curse God and die!”

But he said to her, “You speak as one of the [spiritually] foolish women speaks [ignorant and oblivious to God’s will]. Shall we indeed accept [only] good from God and not [also] accept adversity and disaster?” In [spite of] all this Job did not sin with [words from] his lips.

“May that day be darkness;
Let God above not care about it,
Nor light shine on it.

“For now I would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept then, I would have been at rest [in death],

“Why is the light of day given to a man whose way is hidden,
And whom God has hedged in?

“I am not at ease, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, and yet trouble still comes [upon me].”

“Is not your fear of God your confidence,
And [is not] the integrity and uprightness of your ways your hope?

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

“By the breath of God they perish,
And by the blast of His anger they are consumed.

‘Can [mortal] man be just before God or be more righteous than He?
Can a man be pure before his Maker or be more cleansed than He?

“His children are far from safety [and included in their father’s ruin],
They are oppressed and crushed in the [court of justice in the city’s] gate,
And there is no one to rescue them.

“As for me, I would seek God and inquire of Him,
And I would commit my cause to God;

“But God saves [the innocent] from the sword of the mouth of the devious,
And the poor from the hand of the mighty.

“Behold, how happy and fortunate is the man whom God reproves,
So do not despise or reject the discipline of the Almighty [subjecting you to trial and suffering].

“Behold this; we have investigated it, and it is true.
Hear and heed it, and know for yourself [for your own good].”

Because the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
My spirit drinks their poison;
The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

“Oh that my request would come to pass,
And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

“I wish that it would please God to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off.

When it is warm, they are silent and cease to flow;
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

“Indeed, you have now become like a dried-up stream,
You see a terror [believing me to be a victim of the wrath of God] and are afraid [to be compassionate].

“Remember that my life is but breath [a puff of wind, a sigh];
My eye will not see good again.

“Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness?

“If you would [diligently] seek God
And implore the compassion and favor of the Almighty,

“While it is still green (in flower) and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other plant [when without water].

“So are the paths of all who forget God;
And the hope of the godless will perish,

“If he is snatched from his place [in the garden],
Then his place will forget him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’

“Behold, God will not reject a man of integrity,
Nor will He strengthen or support evildoers.

“Yes, I know it is true.
But how can a mortal man be right before God?

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

“It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know it,
When He overturns them in His anger;

“God will not turn back His anger;
The [proud] helpers of Rahab [the arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.

“It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys [both] the blameless and the wicked.’

“The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;
He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice].
If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]?

“Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They vanish, they see no good.

“If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad appearance, and be cheerful and brighten up,’

“For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him,
That we may go to court and judgment together.

“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me [and declare me guilty]!
Show me why You contend and argue and struggle with me.

‘Does it indeed seem right to You to oppress,
To despise and reject the work of Your hands,
And to look with favor on the schemes of the wicked?

“For you have said, ‘My teaching (doctrine) [that God knowingly afflicts the righteous] is pure,
And I am innocent in your eyes.’

“But oh, that God would speak,
And open His lips [to speak] against you,

And [that He would] show you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom has two sides.
Know therefore that God forgets a part of your wickedness and guilt.

“Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you [by searching] discover the limits of the Almighty [ascend to His heights, extend to His widths, and comprehend His infinite perfection]?

“If God passes by or arrests,
Or calls an assembly [of judgment], who can restrain Him?
[If He is against a man, who can call Him to account for it?]

“But a hollow (empty-headed) man will become intelligent and wise
[Only] when the colt of a wild donkey is born as a man.

“If you direct your heart [on the right path]
And stretch out your hands to Him,

“But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And they will not escape [the justice of God];
And their hope is to breathe their last [and die].”

“But I have intelligence and understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these [of God’s wisdom and might]?

“I am a joke to my friends;
I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him—
A just and blameless man is a joke [and laughed to scorn].

“The tents of the destroyers prosper;
And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure,
Whom God brings into their power.

“Now ask the animals, and let them teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character];
And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you;

“Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life]
That the hand of the Lord has done this,

“But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might;
He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding.

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

“Will you speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?

“Will you show partiality for Him [and be unjust to me so that you may gain favor with Him]?
Will you contend and plead for God?

“Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
And put my life in my hands [incurring the wrath of God]?

“[O God] turn your gaze from him so that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day [on earth] like a hired man.

“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that the shoots of it will not cease nor fail, [but there is no such hope for man].

“Should he rebuke and argue with useless talk?
Or with words in which there is no benefit?

“Indeed, you are doing away with fear,
And you are diminishing meditation before God.

“Do you hear the secret counsel of God,
And do you limit [the possession of] wisdom to yourself?

“Are the consolations of God [as we have interpreted them to you] too trivial for you,
[Or] were we too gentle toward you [in our first speech] to be effective?

That you should turn your spirit against God
And let such words [as you have spoken] go out of your mouth?

“Behold, God puts no trust in His holy ones (angels);
Indeed, the heavens are not pure in His sight—

“He does not believe that he will return out of the darkness [for fear of being murdered],
And he is destined for the sword [of God’s vengeance].

“Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And behaves arrogantly against the Almighty,

And he has lived in desolate [God-forsaken] cities,
In houses which no one should inhabit,
Which were destined to become heaps [of ruins];

“He will not escape from darkness [fleeing disaster];
The flame [of God’s wrath] will wither his branch,
And by the blast of His mouth he will go away.

“But now God has exhausted me.
You [O Lord] have destroyed all my family and my household.

“God hands me over to criminals
And tosses me [headlong] into the hands of the wicked.

“My friends are scoffers [who ridicule];
My eye pours out tears to God.

“Oh, that a man would mediate and plead with God [for me]
Just as a man [mediates and pleads] with his neighbor and friend.

“He who denounces and informs against his friends for a share of the spoil,
The eyes of his children will also languish and fail.

“Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his ways,
And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

“The roots [of the wicked] are dried up below,
And above, his branch is cut off and withers.

“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked and the ungodly,
And such is the place of him who does not know or recognize or honor God.”

Know then that God has wronged me and overthrown me
And has closed His net around me.

“Even young children despise me;
When I get up, they speak against me.

“Have pity on me! Have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has touched me.

“Why do you persecute me as God does?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh (anguish)?

“Even after my [mortal] skin is destroyed [by death],
Yet from my [immortal] flesh I will see God,

“He swallows [his ill-gotten] riches,
But will vomit them up;
God will drive them out of his belly.

“When he fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And will rain it upon him while he is eating.

“The produce and increase of his house will depart [with the victors];
His possessions will be dragged away in the day of God’s wrath.

“This is the wicked man’s portion from God,
And the heritage decreed and appointed to him by God.”

“Their houses are safe from fear;
And the rod of God is not on them.

“Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

“But notice, the prosperity of the wicked is not in their hand (in their power);
The counsel of the wicked [and the mystery of God’s dealings with the ungodly] is far from my comprehension.

“How often [then] is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out,
And that their disaster falls on them?
Does God distribute pain and destruction and sorrow [to them] in His anger?

“You say, ‘God stores away [the punishment of] man’s wickedness for his children.’
Let God repay him so that he may know and experience it.

“For what pleasure does he have in his house and family after he is dead,
When the number of his months [of life] is cut off?