There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of perfect integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.

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.”

“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, you must not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

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.”

“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.”

“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.

May the day I was born perish,
and the night when they said,
“A boy is conceived.”

Why was I not stillborn;
why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?

Both small and great are there,
and the slave is set free from his master.

Why is light given to one burdened with grief,
and life to those whose existence is bitter,

Why is life given to a man whose path is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?

I sigh when food is put before me,
and my groans pour out like water.

how much more those who dwell in clay houses,
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth!

But mankind is born for trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

He traps the wise in their craftiness
so that the plans of the deceptive
are quickly brought to an end.

They encounter darkness by day,
and they grope at noon
as if it were night.

See how happy the man is God corrects;
so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.

You will know that your tent is secure,
and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home.

You will approach the grave in full vigor,
as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season.

We have investigated this, and it is true!
Hear it and understand it for yourself.

For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas!
That is why my words are rash.

Is bland food eaten without salt?
Is there flavor in an egg white?

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

Is my strength that of stone,
or my flesh made of bronze?

My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,
as seasonal streams that overflow

and become darkened because of ice,
and the snow melts into them.

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

Reconsider; don’t be unjust.
Reconsider; my righteousness is still the issue.

My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt.
My skin forms scabs and then oozes.

Remember that my life is but a breath.
My eye will never again see anything good.

As a cloud fades away and vanishes,
so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again.

What is man, that You think so highly of him
and pay so much attention to him?

Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Do reeds flourish without water?

Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless will perish.

His source of confidence is fragile;
what he trusts in is a spider’s web.

He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine;
his shoots spread out over his garden.

If he is uprooted from his place,
it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.”

Surely this is the joy of his way of life;
yet others will sprout from the dust.

Yes, I know what you’ve said is true,
but how can a person be justified before God?

God is wise and all-powerful.
Who has opposed Him and come out unharmed?

If it is a matter of strength, look, He is the Mighty One!
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

It is all the same. Therefore I say,
“He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.”

The earth is handed over to the wicked;
He blindfolds its judges.
If it isn’t He, then who is it?

For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him,
that we can take each other to court.

There is no one to judge between us,
to lay his hand on both of us.

Then I would speak and not fear Him.
But that is not the case; I am on my own.

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Is it good for You to oppress,
to reject the work of Your hands,
and favor the plans of the wicked?

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

even though You know that I am not wicked
and that there is no one who can deliver from Your hand?

It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness,
gloomy and chaotic,
where even the light is like the darkness.”

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

Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.

But a stupid man will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a man!

As for you, if you redirect your heart
and lift up your hands to Him in prayer—

if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—

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

You will be confident, because there is hope.
You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.

I am a laughingstock to my friends,
by calling on God, who answers me.
The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.

The life of every living thing is in His hand,
as well as the breath of all mankind.

Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?

Wisdom is found with the elderly,
and understanding comes with long life.

Would it go well if He examined you?
Could you deceive Him as you would deceive a man?

Man born of woman
is short of days and full of trouble.

Who can produce something pure from what is impure?
No one!

There is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its shoots will not die.

But a man dies and fades away;
he breathes his last—where is he?

As water disappears from the sea
and a river becomes parched and dry,

But as a mountain collapses and crumbles
and a rock is dislodged from its place,

as water wears away stones
and torrents wash away the soil from the land,
so You destroy a man’s hope.

If his sons receive honor, he does not know it;
if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it.

Does a wise man answer with empty counsel
or fill himself with the hot east wind?

What do you know that we don’t?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?

Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us,
men older than your father.

as you turn your anger against God
and allow such words to leave your mouth?

What is man, that he should be pure,
or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

how much less one who is revolting and corrupt,
who drinks injustice like water?

what was declared by wise men
and was not suppressed by their ancestors,

Dreadful sounds fill his ears;
when he is at peace, a robber attacks him.

He doesn’t believe he will return from darkness;
he is destined for the sword.

He wanders about for food, saying, “Where is it?”
He knows the day of darkness is at hand.

Though his face is covered with fat
and his waistline bulges with it,

Is there no end to your empty words?
What provokes you that you continue testifying?

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

I was at ease, but He shattered me;
He seized me by the scruff of the neck
and smashed me to pieces.
He set me up as His target;

although my hands are free from violence
and my prayer is pure.

Even now my witness is in heaven,
and my advocate is in the heights!

My friends scoff at me
as I weep before God.

I wish that someone might arbitrate
between a man and God
just as a man pleads for his friend.

My spirit is broken.
My days are extinguished.
A graveyard awaits me.

Yet the righteous person will hold to his way,
and the one whose hands are clean will grow stronger.

But come back and try again, all of you.
I will not find a wise man among you.

If I await Sheol as my home,
spread out my bed in darkness,

where then is my hope?
Who can see any hope for me?

Why are we regarded as cattle,
as stupid in your sight?

Yes, the light of the wicked is extinguished;
the flame of his fire does not glow.

The light in his tent grows dark,
and the lamp beside him is put out.

His powerful stride is shortened,
and his own schemes trip him up.

His strength is depleted;
disaster lies ready for him to stumble.