Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”

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.

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.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”

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

When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.

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

“Why is light given to him who suffers,
And life to the bitter of soul,

“The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;
Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.

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

“What is man that You magnify him,
And that You are concerned about him,

That You examine him every morning
And try him every moment?

“If your sons sinned against Him,
Then He delivered them into the power of their transgression.

“If he is removed from his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’

“If one wished to dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

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

“Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

“Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

“God will not turn back His anger;
Beneath Him crouch the helpers of Rahab.

“How then can I answer Him,
And choose my words before Him?

“If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

“For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him,
That we may go to court together.

“Let Him remove His rod from me,
And let not dread of Him terrify me.

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

“If He passes by or shuts up,
Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?

“If you would direct your heart right
And spread out your hand to Him,

“I am a joke to my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and blameless man is a joke.

“With Him are wisdom and might;
To Him belong counsel and understanding.

“With Him are strength and sound wisdom,
The misled and the misleader belong to Him.

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

“Will you show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?

“Will it be well when He examines you?
Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

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

“Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.

“You also open Your eyes on him
And bring him into judgment with Yourself.

“Turn Your gaze from him that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day like a hired man.

“You forever overpower him and he departs;
You change his appearance and send him away.

“But his body pains him,
And he mourns only for himself.”

“Sounds of terror are in his ears;
While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.

“Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,

“He rushes headlong at Him
With his massive shield.

“Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his reward.

“The light in his tent is darkened,
And his lamp goes out above him.

“His vigorous stride is shortened,
And his own scheme brings him down.

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

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

“All around terrors frighten him,
And harry him at every step.

“He is torn from the security of his tent,
And they march him before the king of terrors.

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

“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

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

“If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’
And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find?’

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

“He flies away like a dream, and they cannot find him;
Even like a vision of the night he is chased away.

“The eye which saw him sees him no longer,
And his place no longer beholds him.

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

Yet his food in his stomach is changed
To the venom of cobras within him.

“He sucks the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue slays him.

“Because he knew no quiet within him,
He does not retain anything he desires.

“Nothing remains for him to devour,
Therefore his prosperity does not endure.

“In the fullness of his plenty he will be cramped;
The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.

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

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

“It is drawn forth and comes out of his back,
Even the glittering point from his gall.
Terrors come upon him,

Complete darkness is held in reserve for his treasures,
And unfanned fire will devour him;
It will consume the survivor in his tent.

“The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.

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

‘Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’

“You say, ‘God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’
Let God repay him so that he may know it.

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

“For what does he care for his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?

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

“The clods of the valley will gently cover him;
Moreover, all men will follow after him,
While countless ones go before him.

‘Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;
And He walks on the vault of heaven.’

“Yield now and be at peace with Him;
Thereby good will come to you.

“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 come to His seat!

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

“There the upright would reason with Him;
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

“Behold, I go forward but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;
He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.

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

“For He performs what is appointed for me,
And many such decrees are with Him.

“Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;
When I consider, I am terrified of Him.

“Why are times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not see His days?

“For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness,
For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

“A mother will forget him;
The worm feeds sweetly till he is no longer remembered.
And wickedness will be broken like a tree.

“Dominion and awe belong to Him
Who establishes peace in His heights.

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

“Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

“Will God hear his cry
When distress comes upon him?

“Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A tempest steals him away in the night.

“The east wind carries him away, and he is gone,
For it whirls him away from his place.

“For it will hurl at him without sparing;
He will surely try to flee from its power.

“Men will clap their hands at him
And will hiss him from his place.

Let Him weigh me with accurate scales,
And let God know my integrity.

What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?

“Did not He who made me in the womb make him,
And the same one fashion us in the womb?