When the days of their feasting were over, Job would send [for them] and consecrate them, rising early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job did this at all [such] times.

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.

and the Sabeans attacked and swooped down on them and took away the animals. They also killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

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.”

While he was still speaking, another [messenger] also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and have taken them away and have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

and suddenly, a great wind came from across the desert, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

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.”

“For now I would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept then, I would have been at rest [in death],

“I am not at ease, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, and yet trouble still comes [upon me].”

“Behold, you have admonished and instructed many,
And you have strengthened weak hands.

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

“As I have seen, those who plow wickedness
And those who sow trouble and harm harvest it.

“I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering],
But I cursed his dwelling immediately [for his destruction was certain].

“So the helpless have hope,
And injustice shuts its mouth.

“Behold this; we have investigated it, and it is true.
Hear and heed it, and know for yourself [for your own good].”

“For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
Therefore my words have been incoherent,

“Oh that my request would come to pass,
And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

“Then I would still have consolation,
And I would jump for joy amid unsparing pain,
That I have not denied or hidden the words of the Holy One.

“What strength do I have left, that I should wait [and hope]?
And what is ahead of me, that I should be patient and endure?

“Is it that I have no help within myself,
And that success and wisdom have been driven from me?

“My brothers have acted deceitfully like a brook,
Like the torrents of brooks that vanish,

“Teach me, and I will be silent;
And show me how I have erred.

“If I have sinned, what [harm] have I done to You,
O Watcher of mankind?
Why have You set me as a target for You,
So that I am a burden to myself?

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

“Inquire, please, of past generations,
And consider and apply yourself to the things searched out by their fathers.

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

‘Do You have eyes of flesh?
Do You see as a man sees?

‘Your hands have formed and made me altogether.
Would You [turn around and] destroy me?

‘Remember now, that You have made me as clay;
So will You turn me into dust again?

‘Have You not poured me out like milk
And curdled me like cheese?

‘[You have] clothed me with skin and flesh,
And knit me together with bones and sinews.

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

‘Yet these [present evils] You have hidden in Your heart [since my creation]:
I know that this was within You [in Your purpose and thought].

‘I should have been as though I had not existed;
[I should have been] carried from the womb to the grave.’

“For you have said, ‘My teaching (doctrine) [that God knowingly afflicts the righteous] is pure,
And I am innocent in your eyes.’

“But I have intelligence and understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these [of God’s wisdom and might]?

“The tents of the destroyers prosper;
And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure,
Whom God brings into their power.

“But you smear me with lies [you defame my character most untruthfully];
You are all worthless physicians and have no remedy to offer.

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

“Behold now, I have prepared my case;
I know that I will be vindicated.

“Should a wise man [such as you] utter such windy and vain knowledge [as we have just heard]
And fill himself with the east wind [of withering, parching, and violent accusations]?

“Are the consolations of God [as we have interpreted them to you] too trivial for you,
[Or] were we too gentle toward you [in our first speech] to be effective?

That you should turn your spirit against God
And let such words [as you have spoken] go out of your mouth?

“I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;

What wise men have [freely] told,
And have not hidden [anything passed on to them] from their fathers,

“I have heard many such things;
Wearisome and miserable comforters are you all.

“Is there no end to [your futile] words of wind?
Or what plagues you [so much] that you [so boldly] answer [me like this]?

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

“You have taken a firm hold on me and have shriveled me up,
It has become a witness [against me];
And my leanness [and infirmity] rises up [as evidence] against me,
It testifies to my face [about my guilt].

“They have gaped at me with their mouths,
With contempt they have struck me on the cheek;
They massed themselves together [and conspired] against me.

“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin [as a sign of mourning]
And have defiled my horn (symbol of strength) in the dust.

“O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let there be no [resting] place for my cry [where it will cease being heard].

“But You [Lord] have closed their hearts to understanding,
Therefore You will not exalt them [by giving a verdict against me].

Where now is my hope?
And who regards or considers or is even concerned about my hope?

“How long will you hunt for words and continue these speeches?
Do some clear thinking and show understanding and then we can talk.

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

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

“These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me [and harden your hearts against me].

“And if it were true that I have erred,
My error would remain with me [and I would be conscious of it].

“My relatives have failed [me],
And my intimate friends have forgotten me.

“My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,
And I have escaped [death] by the skin of my teeth.

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

“I have heard the reproof which insults me,
But the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.

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

“Bear with me, and I also will speak;
And after I have spoken, you may [continue to] mock [me].

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

“Have you not asked those who travel this way,
And do you not recognize their witness?

“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.

“For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,
And stripped men naked.

“You have not given water to the weary to drink,
And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

“You have sent widows away empty-handed,
And the arms (strength) of the fatherless have been broken.

Then you will have delight in the Almighty,
And you will lift up your face to God.

“Even today my complaint is contentious;
His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

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

“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
I have kept the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

“They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.

“Drought and heat consume the snow waters;
So does Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume] those who have sinned.

“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!

“To whom have you uttered [these] words?
And whose spirit [inspired what] came forth from you?

“Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you act vainly and foolishly [cherishing worthless concepts]?

“Though his children are many, they are destined for the sword;
And his descendants will not have sufficient bread.

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

“Abaddon (the place of destruction) and Death say,
‘We have [only] heard a report of it with our ears.’

“But now those younger than I mock and laugh at me,
Whose fathers I refused to put with the sheepdogs of my flock.

“They are the sons of [worthless and nameless] fools,
They have been driven out of the land.

“And now I have become [the subject of] their taunting;
Yes, I am a byword and a laughingstock to them.

“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.

“They break up and clutter my path [upsetting my plans],
They profit from my destruction;
No one restrains them.

“And now my soul is poured out within me;
The days of affliction have seized me.

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

“You have become harsh and cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You [keep me alive only to] persecute me.

“For what is the portion I would have from God above,
And what heritage from the Almighty on high?

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

“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],

“If I have despised and rejected the claim of my male or female servants
When they filed a complaint against me,

“If I have withheld from the poor what they desired,
Or have caused the eyes of the widow to look in vain [for relief],

Or have eaten my morsel [of food] alone,
And did not share it with the orphan

(But from my youth the orphan grew up with me as with a father,
And from my mother’s womb I have been the widow’s guide),