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.”

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.”

“Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be,
As infants that never saw light.

“For my groaning comes at the sight of my food,
And my cries pour out like water.

“The lion perishes for lack of prey,
And the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

“You will come to the grave in full vigor,
Like the stacking of grain in its season.

“My soul refuses to touch them;
They are like loathsome food to me.

“My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi,
Like the torrents of wadis which vanish,

“Now please look at me,
And see if I lie to your face.

“Is not man forced to labor on earth,
And are not his days like the days of a hired man?

“They slip by like reed boats,
Like an eagle that swoops on its prey.

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

‘Is it right for You indeed to oppress,
To reject the labor of Your hands,
And to look favorably on the schemes of the wicked?

‘Did You not pour me out like milk
And curdle me like cheese;

‘Should my head be lifted up, You would hunt me like a lion;
And again You would show Your power against me.

“Your life would be brighter than noonday;
Darkness would be like the morning.

“Then you would trust, because there is hope;
And you would look around and rest securely.

“They grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

While I am decaying like a rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

“Like a flower he comes forth and withers.
He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.

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

At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.

How much less one who is detestable and corrupt,
Man, who drinks iniquity like water!

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

“He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will cast off his flower like the olive tree.

“I too could speak like you,
If I were in your place.
I could compose words against you
And shake my head at you.

“He breaks through me with breach after breach;
He runs at me like a warrior.

“If I look for Sheol as my home,
I make my bed in the darkness;

“He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;
And He has uprooted my hope like a tree.

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.

“He does not look at the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and curds.

“Look at me, and be astonished,
And put your hand over your mouth.

“They send forth their little ones like the flock,
And their children skip about.

“Are they as straw before the wind,
And like chaff which the storm carries away?

“Is not God in the height of heaven?
Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!

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

“They are exalted a little while, then they are gone;
Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

“Though he piles up silver like dust
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,

“He has built his house like the spider’s web,
Or as a hut which the watchman has made.

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

“I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.

“Terrors are turned against me;
They pursue my honor as the wind,
And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

“He has cast me into the mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.

If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or that the needy had no covering,

“Have I covered my transgressions like Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
I would bind it to myself like a crown.

“I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
Like a prince I would approach Him.

“Behold, my belly is like unvented wine,
Like new wineskins it is about to burst.

“Behold, I belong to God like you;
I too have been formed out of the clay.

“What man is like Job,
Who drinks up derision like water,

“He strikes them like the wicked
In a public place,

‘Job ought to be tried to the limit,
Because he answers like wicked men.

“Look at the heavens and see;
And behold the clouds—they are higher than you.

“Your wickedness is for a man like yourself,
And your righteousness is for a son of man.

“Behold, God is exalted in His power;
Who is a teacher like Him?

“Now gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

“It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like a garment.

“Water becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.

“Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic snorting is terrible.

“Now gird up your loins like a man;
I will ask you, and you instruct Me.

“Or do you have an arm like God,
And can you thunder with a voice like His?

“Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
And look on everyone who is proud, and make him low.

“Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him,
And tread down the wicked where they stand.

“Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you;
He eats grass like an ox.

“He bends his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.

“His bones are tubes of bronze;
His limbs are like bars of iron.

“His sneezes flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

“His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
He spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mire.

“He makes the depths boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a jar of ointment.

“Nothing on earth is like him,
One made without fear.