His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

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.

The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered Him, “and walking around on it.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

Haven’t You placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “A lightning storm struck from heaven. It burned up the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

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!”

The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered Him, “and walking around on it.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him, to destroy him without just cause.”

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

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

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

Indeed, you have instructed many
and have strengthened weak hands.

Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling
and braced the knees that were buckling.

But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

Consider: who has perished when he was innocent?
Where have the honest been destroyed?

I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.

So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.

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.

Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me;
my spirit drinks their poison.
God’s terrors are arrayed against me.

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.

What strength do I have that I should continue to hope?
What is my future, that I should be patient?

So this is what you have now become to me.
When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.

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

So I have been made to inherit months of futility,
and troubled nights have been assigned to me.

If I have sinned, what have I done to You,
Watcher of mankind?
Why have You made me Your target,
so that I have become a burden to You?

Do You have eyes of flesh,
or do You see as a human sees?

“Why did You bring me out of the womb?
I should have died and never been seen.

You have said, “My teaching is sound,
and I am pure in Your sight.”

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

But I also have a mind;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?

Look, my eyes have seen all this;
my ears have heard and understood it.

Now then, I have prepared my case;
I know that I am right.

Only grant these two things to me, God,
so that I will not have to hide from Your presence:

How many iniquities and sins have I committed?
Reveal to me my transgression and sin.

Since man’s days are determined
and the number of his months depends on You,
and since You have set limits he cannot pass,

Do you listen in on the council of God,
or have a monopoly on wisdom?

Listen to me and I will inform you.
I will describe what I have seen,

I have heard many things like these.
You are all miserable comforters.

Even if I speak, my suffering is not relieved,
and if I hold back, what have I lost?

Surely He has now exhausted me.
You have devastated my entire family.

You have shriveled me up—it has become a witness;
My frailty rises up against me and testifies to my face.

I have sewn sackcloth over my skin;
I have buried my strength in the dust.

You have closed their minds to understanding,
therefore You will not honor them.

He has made me an object of scorn to the people;
I have become a man people spit at.

My eyes have grown dim from grief,
and my whole body has become but a shadow.

My days have slipped by;
my plans have been ruined,
even the things dear to my heart.

You have humiliated me ten times now,
and you mistreat me without shame.

Even if it is true that I have sinned,
my mistake concerns only me.

He has removed my brothers from me;
my acquaintances have abandoned me.

My relatives stop coming by,
and my close friends have forgotten me.

All of my best friends despise me,
and those I love have turned against me.

My skin and my flesh cling to my bones;
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

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

I have heard a rebuke that insults me,
and my understanding makes me reply.

Bear with me while I speak;
then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.

Have you never consulted those who travel the roads?
Don’t you accept their reports?

Will you continue on the ancient path
that wicked men have walked?

Yet He knows the way I have taken;
when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold.

My feet have followed in His tracks;
I have kept to His way and not turned aside.

I have not departed from the commands of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth
more than my daily food.

As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow,
so Sheol steals those who have sinned.

Yet God drags away the mighty by His power;
when He rises up, they have no assurance of life.

How you have helped the powerless
and delivered the arm that is weak!

How you have counseled the unwise
and thoroughly explained the path to success!

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

All of you have seen this for yourselves,
why do you keep up this empty talk?

Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword;
his descendants will never have enough food.

Proud beasts have never walked on it;
no lion has ever prowled over it.

The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,”
while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.”

Abaddon and Death say,
“We have heard news of it with our ears.”

My roots will have access to water,
and the dew will rest on my branches all night.

But now they mock me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.

Now I am mocked by their songs;
I have become an object of scorn to them.

Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me,
they have cast off restraint in my presence.

Now my life is poured out before my eyes,
and days of suffering have seized me.

He throws me into the mud,
and I have become like dust and ashes.

You have turned against me with cruelty;
You harass me with Your strong hand.

Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times?
Has my soul not grieved for the needy?

I have become a brother to jackals
and a companion of ostriches.

I have made a covenant with my eyes.
How then could I look at a young woman?

For what portion would I have from God above,
or what inheritance from the Almighty on high?

If I have walked in falsehood
or my foot has rushed to deceit,

let someone else eat what I have sown,
and let my crops be uprooted.

If my heart has been seduced by my neighbor’s wife
or I have lurked at his door,

If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants
when they made a complaint against me,

If I have refused the wishes of the poor
or let the widow’s eyes go blind,

if I have eaten my few crumbs alone
without letting the fatherless eat any of it—

if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing
or a needy person without a cloak,

if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great
or because my own hand has acquired so much,

if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining
or at the moon moving in splendor,

this would also be a crime deserving punishment,
for I would have denied God above.

Have I rejoiced over my enemy’s distress,
or become excited when trouble came his way?

I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by asking for his life with a curse.

Haven’t the members of my household said,
“Who is there who has not had enough to eat at Job’s table?”

Have I covered my transgressions as others do
by hiding my guilt in my heart,

if I have consumed its produce without payment
or shown contempt for its tenants,