Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

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

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

He said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

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

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

“But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
It touches you, and you are dismayed.

“So the helpless has hope,
And unrighteousness must shut its mouth.

“Wise in heart and mighty in strength,
Who has defied Him without harm?

‘You have granted me life and lovingkindness;
And Your care has preserved my spirit.

And show you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God forgets a part of your iniquity.

“Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,

“Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.

Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty.

“For he has covered his face with his fat
And made his thighs heavy with flesh.

“He has lived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become ruins.

“If I speak, my pain is not lessened,
And if I hold back, what has left me?

“But now He has exhausted me;
You have laid waste all my company.

“You have shriveled me up,
It has become a witness;
And my leanness rises up against me,
It testifies to my face.

“His anger has torn me and hunted me down,
He has gnashed at me with His teeth;
My adversary glares at me.

“I was at ease, but He shattered me,
And He has grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His target.

“But He has made me a byword of the people,
And I am one at whom men spit.

“My eye has also grown dim because of grief,
And all my members are as a shadow.

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

“Memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name abroad.

“He has no offspring or posterity among his people,
Nor any survivor where he sojourned.

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

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

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

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

“He has also kindled His anger against me
And considered me as His enemy.

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

“Pity me, pity me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has struck me.

“He returns what he has attained
And cannot swallow it;
As to the riches of his trading,
He cannot even enjoy them.

“For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor;
He has seized a house which he has not built.

“Who will confront him with his actions,
And who will repay him for what he has done?

“You have sent widows away empty,
And the strength of the orphans has been crushed.

Saying, ‘Truly our adversaries are cut off,
And their abundance the fire has consumed.’

“But He knows the way I take;
When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

“My foot has held fast to His path;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.

“It is God who has made my heart faint,
And the Almighty who has dismayed me,

“But He drags off the valiant by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

“If even the moon has no brightness
And the stars are not pure in His sight,

“Naked is Sheol before Him,
And Abaddon has no covering.

“He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters
At the boundary of light and darkness.

“By His breath the heavens are cleared;
His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.

“As God lives, who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,

“He has built his house like the spider’s web,
Or as a hut which the watchman has made.

“The path no bird of prey knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.

“The proud beasts have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

“Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me,
They have cast off the bridle before me.

“Terrors are turned against me;
They pursue my honor as the wind,
And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

“He has cast me into the mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.

“If I have walked with falsehood,
And my foot has hastened after deceit,

“If my step has turned from the way,
Or my heart followed my eyes,
Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,

“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,

Or have eaten my morsel alone,
And the orphan has not shared it

If his loins have not thanked me,
And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

“Have the men of my tent not said,
‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

“The alien has not lodged outside,
For I have opened my doors to the traveler.

“Oh that I had one to hear me!
Behold, here is my signature;
Let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my adversary has written,

“For he has not arranged his words against me,
Nor will I reply to him with your arguments.

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

‘He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,
And my life shall see the light.’

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

“For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
When he is pleased with God.’

“Who gave Him authority over the earth?
And who has laid on Him the whole world?

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

“And now, because He has not visited in His anger,
Nor has He acknowledged transgression well,

“He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;
But with kings on the throne
He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.

“Who has appointed Him His way,
And who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?

“Now men do not see the light which is bright in the skies;
But the wind has passed and cleared them.

“Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,

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

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

“Who has put wisdom in the innermost being
Or given understanding to the mind?

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

“Who has given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.

It came about 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, because 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 so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”