Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God].”

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.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God]. And still he maintains and holds tightly to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to destroy him without cause.”

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still cling to your integrity [and your faith and trust in God, without blaming Him]? Curse God and die!”

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; for they had made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.

When they looked from a distance and did not recognize him [because of his disfigurement], they raised their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe [in grief] and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky [in sorrow].

So they sat down on the ground with Job for seven days and seven nights and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

“Why is the light given to him who is in misery,
And life to the bitter in soul,

“Your words have helped the one who was stumbling to stand,
And you have strengthened feeble knees.

“As for me, I would seek God and inquire of Him,
And I would commit my cause to God;

“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not abandon (turn away from) the fear of the Almighty.

“The eye of him who sees me [now] will see me no more;
Your eyes will be upon me, but I will not be.

“He will not return again to his house,
Nor will his place know about him anymore.

“What is man that You [should] magnify him [and think him important]?
And that You are concerned about him?

“And that You examine him every morning
And try and test him every moment?

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

“If he is snatched from his place [in the garden],
Then his place will forget him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’

“If one should want to contend or dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

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

“Behold, He passes by me, and I do not see Him;
He moves past me, but I do not perceive Him.

“Behold, He snatches away; who can restrain or turn Him back?
Who will say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

“God will not turn back His anger;
The [proud] helpers of Rahab [the arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.

“How can I answer Him [and plead my case],
Choosing my words [to reason] with Him?

“For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him,
That we may go to court and judgment together.

“Let Him take His rod away from me,
And let not the dread and fear of Him terrify me.

“Then I would speak [my defense] and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.

“If God passes by or arrests,
Or calls an assembly [of judgment], who can restrain Him?
[If He is against a man, who can call Him to account for it?]

Then, indeed, you could lift up your face [to Him] without moral defect,
And you would be firmly established and secure and not fear.

“I am a joke to my friends;
I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him—
A just and blameless man is a joke [and laughed to scorn].

“He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,
But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

“With Him are might and sound wisdom,
The misled and the misleader are His [and in His power].

“But I wish to speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to argue with God.

“Will you speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?

“Will you show partiality for Him [and be unjust to me so that you may gain favor with Him]?
Will you contend and plead for God?

“Will it be well for you when He investigates you [and your tactics against me]?
Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

“Will not His majesty terrify you,
And will not the dread of Him fall upon you?

“Even though He kills me;
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless, I will argue my ways to His face.

“This also will be my salvation,
For a godless man may not come before Him.

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

“You prevail forever against him and overpower him, and he passes on;
You change his appearance and send him away [from the presence of the living].

“But his body [lamenting its decay] grieves in pain over it,
And his soul mourns over [the loss of] himself.”

“The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
And numbered are the years stored up for him, the ruthless one.

“A [dreadful] sound of terrors is in his ears;
While at peace and in a time of prosperity the destroyer comes upon him [the tent of the robber is not at peace].

“He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that the day of darkness and destruction is already at hand.

“Distress and anxiety terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for battle.

Running and charging headlong against Him
With his ornamented and massive shield;

“He will not escape from darkness [fleeing disaster];
The flame [of God’s wrath] will wither his branch,
And by the blast of His mouth he will go away.

“Let him not trust in vanity (emptiness, futility) and be led astray;
For emptiness will be his reward [for such living].

“Oh, that a man would mediate and plead with God [for me]
Just as a man [mediates and pleads] with his neighbor and friend.

“The light will be dark in his tent,
And his lamp beside him will be put out.

“A snare catches him by the heel,
And a trap snaps shut on him.

“A noose is hidden for him on the ground,
And a trap for him on the path.

“Terrors frighten him on every side
And chase at his heels.

“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked and the ungodly,
And such is the place of him who does not know or recognize or honor God.”

“I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore him with words.

Whom I, even I, will see for myself,
And my eyes will see Him and not another!
My heart faints within me.

“If you say, ‘How shall we [continue to] persecute him?’
And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find [since we claim the root of these afflictions is found in him]?’

Yet he perishes forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

“The eye which saw him sees him no longer,
Neither does his [accustomed] place behold him any longer.

“His bones are full of youthful strength
But it lies down with him in the dust.

Yet his food turns [to poison] in his stomach;
It is the venom of vipers within him.

“He sucks the poison of vipers [which ill-gotten wealth contains];
The viper’s tongue slays him.

“Because he knew no quietness or calm within him [because of his greed],
He does not retain anything he desires.

“In the fullness of his excess (great abundance) he will be in trouble;
The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him [he is miserable on every side].

“When he fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And will rain it upon him while he is eating.

“He may flee from the iron weapon,
But the bow of bronze will pierce him through.

“The arrow is drawn forth and it comes out of his back [after passing through his body];
Yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall.
Terrors march in upon him;

Complete darkness (misfortune) is held in reserve for his treasures.
An unfanned fire will devour him;
It will consume the survivor in his tent.

“The heavens will reveal his wickedness and guilt,
And the earth will rise up against him.

“This is the wicked man’s portion from God,
And the heritage decreed and appointed to him by God.”

“As for me, is my complaint to man or about him?
And why should I not be impatient and my spirit troubled?

‘Who [and what] is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

“You say, ‘God stores away [the punishment of] man’s wickedness for his children.’
Let God repay him so that he may know and experience it.

“Let his own eyes see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

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

“The [dirt] clods of the valley are sweet to him [and gently cover him],
Moreover, all men will follow after him [to a grave],
While countless ones go before him.

“Is it any pleasure or joy to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it of benefit to Him that you make your ways perfect?

“Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
That He enters into judgment against you?

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

“Now yield and submit yourself to Him [agree with God and be conformed to His will] and be at peace;
In this way [you will prosper and great] good will come to you.

“If you return to the Almighty [and submit and humble yourself before Him], you will be built up [and restored];
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents,

“You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,
And you will pay your vows.

“Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might [even] come to His seat!

“I would present my cause before Him
And fill my mouth with arguments.

“There the righteous and upright could reason with Him;
So I would be acquitted forever by my Judge.

“Behold, I go forward (to the east), but He is not there;
I go backward (to the west), but I cannot perceive Him;

To the left (north) He turns, but I cannot behold Him;
He turns to the right hand (south), but I cannot see Him.

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

“Therefore I would be terrified at His presence;
When I consider [all of this], I tremble in dread of Him.

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

“A mother will forget him;
The worm feeds on him until he is no longer remembered.
And wickedness will be broken like a tree [which cannot be restored].

“What a help you are to the weak (powerless)!
How you have saved the arm that is without strength!

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

“May my enemy be as the wicked,
And he who rises up against me be as the unrighteous (unjust).

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

“Will God hear his cry
When trouble and distress come upon him?

“Those who survive him will be buried because of the plague,
And [their] widows will not be able to weep.

“Terrors overtake him like a [suddenly rising] flood;
A windstorm steals him away in the night.

“The east wind lifts him up, and he is gone;
It sweeps him out of his place.