The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming around on the earth and from walking around on it.”

and the Sabeans attacked and swooped down on them and took away the animals. They also killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

Then Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head [in mourning for the children], and he fell to the ground and worshiped [God].

The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming around on the earth and from walking around on it.”

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

So they sat down on the ground with Job for seven days and seven nights and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

“Let the stars of its early dawn be dark;
Let the morning wait in vain for the light,
Let it not see the eyelids of morning (the day’s dawning),

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

“When I lie down I say,
‘When shall I arise [and the night be gone]?’
But the night continues,
And I am continually tossing until the dawning of day.

“As a cloud vanishes and is gone,
So he who goes down to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) does not come up.

“If I have sinned, what [harm] have I done to You,
O Watcher of mankind?
Why have You set me as a target for You,
So that I am a burden to myself?

“Why then do You not pardon my transgression
And take away my sin and guilt?
For now I will lie down in the dust;
And You will seek me [diligently], but I will not be.”

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

“They pass by like the [swift] boats made of reeds,
Like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.

“You would lie down with no one to frighten you,
And many would entreat and seek your favor.

“Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.

“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].

So man lies down and does not rise [again].
Until the heavens are no longer,
The dead will not awake nor be raised from their sleep.

“Will my hope go down with me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)?
Shall we go down together in the dust?”

“These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me [and harden your hearts against me].

“He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;
He has uprooted my hope like a tree.

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

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

“He gives back what he has labored for and attained
And cannot swallow it [down to enjoy it];
As to the riches of his labor,
He cannot even enjoy them.

“They fully enjoy their days in prosperity,
And so go down to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) in a [peaceful] moment.

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

“But who will confront him with his actions and rebuke him face to face,
And who will repay him for what he has done?

“From the [populous and crowded] city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out for help;
Yet God [seemingly] does not pay attention to the wrong [done to them].

“He lies down rich, but never will again;
He opens his eyes, and it is gone.

“[As for] the earth, out of it comes food,
But underneath [its surface, down deep] it is turned over as fire.

“I smiled at them when they did not believe,
And they did not diminish the light of my face.

Let my wife grind [meal, like a bond slave] for another [man],
And let others kneel down over her.

“Beware if you say,
‘We have found wisdom;
God thrusts Job down [justly], not man [for God alone is dealing with him].’

Then the angel is gracious to him, and says,
‘Spare him from going down to the pit [of destruction];
I have found a ransom [a consideration, or reason for redemption, an atonement]!’

‘God has redeemed my life from going to the pit [of destruction],
And my life shall see the light.’”

“He strikes them like the wicked
In a public place,

Teach me what I do not see [in regard to how I have sinned];
If I have done wrong (injustice, unrighteousness),
I will not do it again’?

“If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him?
And if your transgressions are multiplied, what have you done to Him?

“Who has appointed God His way,
And who can say [to Him], ‘You have done wrong’?

Which the clouds pour down,
They drop abundantly upon mankind.”

“Since your days began, have you ever commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,

Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him,
And [if you are so able] tread down the wicked where they stand.

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down his tongue with a cord?

“Behold, his [assailant’s] hope and expectation [of defeating Leviathan] is false;
Will not one be overwhelmed even at the sight of him?

“His sneezes flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the [reddish] eyelids of the dawn.