Have You not put a hedge [of protection] around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands [and conferred prosperity and happiness upon him], and his possessions have increased in the land.

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

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that Job has is in your power, only do not put your hand on the man himself.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

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.”

He said,

“Naked (without possessions) I came [into this world] from my mother’s womb,
And naked I will return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Yes, a man will give all he has for his life.

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

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

“Can something that has no taste to it be eaten without salt?
Or is there any flavor in the white of an egg?

“My body is clothed with worms and a crust of dust;
My skin is hardened [and broken and loathsome], and [breaks out and] runs.

“If your children have sinned against Him,
Then He has handed them over to the power of their transgression and punished them.

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

‘You have granted me life and lovingkindness;
And Your providence (divine care, supervision) has preserved my spirit.

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

“He loosens the bond of kings
And binds their loins with a loincloth.

[Job continued:] “Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.

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

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

For he has covered his face with his fat,
Adding layers of fat to his thighs [giving himself up to pleasures],

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

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

“His wrath has torn me and hunted me down,
He has gnashed at me with his teeth;
My adversary sharpens His gaze and glares [with piercing eyes] at me.

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

“But He has made me a byword and mockery among the people,
And I have become one in whose face people spit.

“My eye has grown dim (unexpressive) because of grief,
And all my [body’s] members are [wasted away] like a shadow.

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

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

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

“He has stripped me of my honor
And removed the crown from my head.

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

“He has also kindled His wrath [like a fire] against me
And He considers and counts me as one of His adversaries.

“He has put my brothers far from me,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

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

“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.

“For he has oppressed and neglected the poor;
He has violently taken away houses which he did not build.

“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?

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

‘Surely our adversaries are cut off and destroyed,
And fire has consumed their abundance.’

“But He knows the way that I take [and He pays attention to it].
When He has tried me, I will come forth as [refined] gold [pure and luminous].

“My feet have carefully followed His steps;
I have kept His ways and not turned aside.

“For He performs what is planned (appointed) for me,
And He is mindful of many such things.

“For God has made my heart faint,
And the Almighty has terrified me,

But I am not silenced by the darkness [of these woes that fell on me],
Nor by the thick darkness which covers my face.

“Behold, even the moon has no brightness [compared to God’s majesty and glory]
And the stars are not pure in His sight,

“How you have counseled the one who has no wisdom!
And how abundantly you have provided sound wisdom and helpful insight!

“Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) is naked before God,
And Abaddon (the place of destruction) has no covering [from His eyes].

“He has inscribed a circular limit (the horizon) on the face of the waters
At the boundary between light and darkness.

“As God lives, who has taken away my right and denied me justice,
And the Almighty, who has caused bitterness and grief for my soul,

“For what is the hope of the godless, even though he has gained [in this world],
When God takes his life?

“The path [deep within] no bird of prey knows,
And the falcon’s eye has not caught sight of it.

“The proud beasts [and their young] have not walked on it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

“For God has loosed His bowstring [attacking me] and [He has] afflicted and humbled me;
They have cast off the bridle [of restraint] before me.

“Terrors are turned upon me;
They chase away my honor and reputation like the wind,
And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

“God has cast me into the mire [a swampland of crisis],
And I have become [worthless] like dust and ashes.

“If I have walked with falsehood,
Or if my foot has chased after deceit,

“If my step has turned away from the way [of God],
Or if my heart has [covetously] followed my eyes,
Or if any spot [of guilt] has stained my hands,

“If my heart has been enticed and I was made a fool by a woman,
Or if I have [covetously] lurked at my neighbor’s door [until his departure],

And my heart became secretly enticed [by them],
And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth [in respect to them],

“I assure you, the men of my tent have said,
‘Who can find one [in need] who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

“The stranger has not lodged in the street,
Because I have opened my door to the traveler.

“For if my land has cried out against me,
And its furrows weep together;

“Now Job has not directed his words against me [therefore I have no reason to be offended],
Nor will I answer him with arguments like yours. [I speak for truth, not for revenge.]

“My belly is like unvented wine;
Like new wineskins it is about to burst.

“The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life [which inspires me].

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

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

“For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
When he takes delight and is pleased with God and obeys Him.’

“For has anyone said to God,
‘I have endured my chastisement;
I will not offend anymore;

“And now, because He has not [quickly] punished in His anger,
Nor has He acknowledged transgression and arrogance well [and seems unaware of the wrong of which a person is guilty],

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

“God seals (brings to a standstill, stops) [by severe weather] the hand of every man,
That all men [whom He has made] may know His work [that is, His sovereign power and their subjection to it].

“Now people cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies [without being blinded],
When the wind has passed and cleared them.

“Out of the north comes golden splendor [and people can hardly look on it];
Around God is awesome splendor and majesty [far too glorious for man’s eyes].

“Who has prepared a channel for the torrents of rain and for the flood,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,

“Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

“Out of whose womb has come the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

“Who has put wisdom in the innermost being [of man, or in the layers of clouds]
Or given understanding to the mind [of man, or to the heavenly display]?

When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together [because of the heat]?

“Who sent out the wild donkey free [from dependence on man]?
And who has loosed the bonds of the wild donkey [to survive in the wild],

“She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor is in vain because she is unconcerned [for the safety of her brood],

For God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.

“Who has first given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine. [Who can have a claim against Me who made the unmastered beast?]

It came about that after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him [and his prayer] so that I may not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has.”