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

"Why does he give light to one in misery and life to [those] bitter of soul,

who wait for death, but {it does not come}, and search [for] it more than [for] treasures,

[Why does he give light] to a man whose way is hidden, and God has fenced him in [all] around?

Look, he does not trust in his servants and he charges his angels with error.

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?

Their wealth perishes with them, doesn't it? They die, and do so without having wisdom, don't they?"

“For affliction does not come forth from the dust,
Nor does trouble spring forth from the ground.

Who does great and unsearchable things,
Marvelous things without number.

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

Be it still my consolation, yes, let me exult in pain that doesn't spare, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty.

“How painful are words of honesty.
But what does your argument prove?

"Does not {a human being have hard service} on earth? And [are not] his days like the days of a laborer?

As a cloud fades away and vanishes, the one who descends to the afterlife doesn't return.

He does not return again to his house, and his place does not recognize him again.

Thou visitest him early, and every day: and suddenly doest thou try him.

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

Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Do reeds flourish without water?

He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.
He grabs it, but it does not hold up.

Look, God does not reject a person of integrity,
and He will not support evildoers.

[He is the one] who commands the sun, and it does not rise, {and he seals up the stars}.

Who does great things, [beyond understanding,] unfathomable,
Yes, marvelous and wondrous things without number.

Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?

God does not hold back His anger;
Rahab’s assistants cringe in fear beneath Him!

He doesn’t let me catch my breath
but soaks me with bitter experiences.

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

‘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?

Hast thou fleshly eyes then, or doest thou look as a man looketh?

For he knows false men. He sees iniquity also, even though he doesn't consider it.

“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]?

“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,

Does not [the] ear test words and [the] palate taste food for itself?

Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?

Like a flower he comes up, and he withers away; and he flees like a shadow, but he does not last.

Doest thou open thine eyes upon such one, and bringest me in thy judgment?

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

His children may [come to] honor, but he does not know [it]; or they may become lowly, but he does not realize it.

Does a wise man answer with empty counsel
or fill himself with the hot east wind?

Does he argue with useless talk, with words that have no value in them?

Yea, thou doest away with fear, And hinderest devotion before God.

“Why does your heart carry you away [allowing you to be controlled by emotion]?
And why do your eyes flash [in anger or contempt],

"What is mankind, that he can be blameless? Or does being born of a woman mean he'll be in the right?

Look, he does not trust his holy ones, and [the] heavens are not clean in his eyes.

He doesn’t believe he will return from darkness;
he is destined for the sword.

He does not get wealth for himself, and is unable to keep what he has got; the heads of his grain are not bent down to the earth.

He does not come out of the dark; his branches are burned by the flame, and the wind takes away his bud.

“His arrows surround me.
He pierces my kidneys (vital organs) without mercy;
He pours out my gall on the ground.

crying for him to arbitrate between this man and God; as a human being does with his fellow neighbor.

Are there not mockers with me? and does not my eye continue in their provocation?

Yes, the light of the wicked is extinguished;
the flame of his fire does not glow.

Indeed, such is the dwelling of the unjust man,
and this is the place of the one who does not know God.

I call to my servant, but he does not answer; I must {personally} plead with him.

Why do you persecute me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?

[though] he spares it and does not let it go [and] holds it back in the midst of his palate,

“He does not look at the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and curds.

He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it;
he doesn’t enjoy the profits from his trading.

Because his appetite is never satisfied,
he does not let anything he desires escape.

"Nothing is left for him to devour; that is why his prosperity does not last.

Their houses are free from fear, and the rod of God does not come on them.

His bull breeds and does not fail; his cow calves and does not miscarry.

How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
Does disaster come on them?
Does He apportion destruction in His anger?

for what {does he care for} his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off?

Does it delight the Almighty if you are righteous?
Does He profit if you perfect your behavior?

Does he reprove you because of your reverence [or] enter into judgment with you?

“You say, ‘What does God know [about me]?
Can He judge through the thick darkness?

‘Thick clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see,
And He walks on the vault (circle) of the heavens.’

On the left hand, where he does work, but I cannot behold him: he hides himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:

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

“Why does the Almighty not set seasons for judgment?
Why do those who know Him not see His days [for punishment of the wicked]?

From [the] city people groan, and [the] throat of [the] wounded cries for help; yet God does not {regard it as unseemly}.

He is swift on the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth; he does not behold the way of the vineyards.

“Drought and heat consume the snow waters;
So does Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume] those who have sinned.

“He preys on the barren (childless) woman
And does no good for the widow.

“Is there any number to His [vast celestial] armies?
And upon whom does His light not rise?

If even the moon does not shine
and the stars are not pure in His sight,

By him the waters are shut up in his thick clouds, and the cloud does not give way under them.

Truly, there is no deceit in my lips, and my tongue does not say what is false.

“I hold fast my uprightness and my right standing with God and I will not let them go;
My heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

For what hope does the godless man have when he is cut off,
when God takes away his life?

Does God listen to his cry when distress overtakes him?

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

For it hurls at him, and does not spare, as he flees away from his hand.

"[It is] a path a bird of prey does not know and [the] black kite's eye has not seen.

A human being does not know its proper value, and it is not found in [the] land of the living.

“From where then does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?

When I cry unto thee, thou doest not hear me: and though I stand before thee, yet thou regardest me not.

“However, does not one falling in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand?
Or in his disaster [will he not] therefore cry out for help?

“I am seething within and my heart is troubled and cannot rest;
Days of affliction come to meet me.

“Does not tragedy fall [justly] on the unjust
And disaster to those who work wickedness?

“Does not God see my ways
And count all my steps?

“Why do you complain against Him?
That He does not answer [you with] all His doings.

“For God speaks once,
And even twice, yet no one notices it [including you, Job].

[Elihu comments,] “Behold, God does all these things twice, yes, three times, with a man,

Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?

Indeed, he says, 'A man does not profit when he takes delight in God.'

What's more, God truly does not act wickedly, and Shaddai does not pervert justice.

“Who is not partial to princes,
Nor does He regard the rich above the poor,
For they all are the work of His hands.