Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought: Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts. This was Job’s regular practice.

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

Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.

“Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life.

May its morning stars grow dark.
May it wait for daylight but have none;
may it not see the breaking of dawn.

For that night did not shut
the doors of my mother’s womb,
and hide sorrow from my eyes.

Why did the knees receive me,
and why were there breasts for me to nurse?

Now I would certainly be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep.
Then I would be at rest

with the kings and counselors of the earth,
who rebuilt ruined cities for themselves,

Both small and great are there,
and the slave is set free from his master.

who wait for death, but it does not come,
and search for it more than for hidden treasure,

For the thing I feared has overtaken me,
and what I dreaded has happened to me.

I cannot relax or be still;
I have no rest, for trouble comes.

fear and trembling came over me
and made all my bones shake.

A wind passed by me,
and I shuddered with fear.

For anger kills a fool,
and jealousy slays the gullible.

His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,
with no one to rescue them.

The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.
The thirsty pant for his children’s wealth.

For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

But mankind is born for trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

For He crushes but also binds up;
He strikes, but His hands also heal.

You will be safe from slander
and not fear destruction when it comes.

You will laugh at destruction and hunger
and not fear the animals of the earth.

For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

We have investigated this, and it is true!
Hear it and understand it for yourself.

For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas!
That is why my words are rash.

If only my request would be granted
and God would provide what I hope for:

It would still bring me comfort,
and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain
that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

Since I cannot help myself,
the hope for success has been banished from me.

A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends,
even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.

The caravans of Tema look for these streams.
The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.

Have I ever said: “Give me something”
or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth”

No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child
and negotiate a price to sell your friend.

Like a slave he longs for shade;
like a hired man he waits for his pay.

The eye of anyone who looks on me
will no longer see me.
Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

I give up! I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.

Why not forgive my sin
and pardon my transgression?
For soon I will lie down in the grave.
You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.

But if you earnestly seek God
and ask the Almighty for mercy,

For ask the previous generation,
and pay attention to what their fathers discovered,

His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.
He looks for a home among the stones.

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

Even if I were in the right, I could not answer.
I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him,
that we can take each other to court.

Then I would speak and not fear Him.
But that is not the case; I am on my own.

>

Is it good for You to oppress,
to reject the work of Your hands,
and favor the plans of the wicked?

that You look for my wrongdoing
and search for my sin,

He would show you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your sin.

As for you, if you redirect your heart
and lift up your hands to Him in prayer—

then you will hold your head high, free from fault.
You will be firmly established and unafraid.

For you will forget your suffering,
recalling it only as waters that have flowed by.

You will lie down without fear,
and many will seek your favor.

The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.

Would you testify unjustly on God’s behalf
or speak deceitfully for Him?

Yes, this will result in my deliverance,
for no godless person can appear before Him.

For You record bitter accusations against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

You put my feet in the stocks
and stand watch over all my paths,
setting a limit for the soles of my feet.

There is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its shoots will not die.

If only You would hide me in Sheol
and conceal me until Your anger passes.
If only You would appoint a time for me
and then remember me.

You would call, and I would answer You.
You would long for the work of Your hands.

For then You would count my steps
but would not take note of my sin.

He feels only the pain of his own body
and mourns only for himself.

But you even undermine the fear of God
and hinder meditation before Him.

Are God’s consolations not enough for you,
even the words that deal gently with you?

A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;
only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

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

He wanders about for food, saying, “Where is it?”
He knows the day of darkness is at hand.

Trouble and distress terrify him,
overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle.

For he has stretched out his hand against God
and has arrogantly opposed the Almighty.

Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray,
for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless.

For the company of the godless will have no children,
and fire will consume the tents of those who offer bribes.

although my hands are free from violence
and my prayer is pure.

Earth, do not cover my blood;
may my cry for help find no resting place.

I wish that someone might arbitrate
between a man and God
just as a man pleads for his friend.

For only a few years will pass
before I go the way of no return.

>

Make arrangements! Put up security for me.
Who else will be my sponsor?

If a man informs on his friends for a price,
the eyes of his children will fail.

where then is my hope?
Who can see any hope for me?

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

For his own feet lead him into a net,
and he strays into its mesh.

A rope lies hidden for him on the ground,
and a snare waits for him along the path.

His strength is depleted;
disaster lies ready for him to stumble.

I cry out: “Violence!” but get no response;
I call for help, but there is no justice.

I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
even if I beg him with my own mouth.

Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
for God’s hand has struck me.

His children will beg from the poor,
for his own hands must give back his wealth.

For he oppressed and abandoned the poor;
he seized a house he did not build.

Nothing is left for him to consume;
therefore, his prosperity will not last.

Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
A fire unfanned by human hands will consume him;
it will feed on what is left in his tent.

This is the wicked man’s lot from God,
the inheritance God ordained for him.

As for me, is my complaint against a man?
Then why shouldn’t I be impatient?

Their homes are secure and free of fear;
no rod from God strikes them.

But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

God reserves a person’s punishment for his children.
Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.

For what does he care about his family once he is dead,
when the number of his months has run out?

For you say, “Where now is the nobleman’s house?”
and “Where are the tents the wicked lived in?”

Who would denounce his behavior to his face?
Who would repay him for what he has done?

For you took collateral from your brothers without cause,
stripping off their clothes and leaving them naked.

But it was He who filled their houses with good things.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

“Surely our opponents are destroyed,
and fire has consumed what they left behind.”