“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.

If only that day had turned to darkness!
May God above not care about it,
or light shine on it.

If only darkness had taken that night away!
May it not appear among the days of the year
or be listed in the calendar.

If only my grief could be weighed
and my devastation placed with it in the scales.

If only my request would be granted
and God would provide what I hope for:

since we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are but a shadow.

Even if I were in the right, I could not answer.
I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

But if only God would speak
and declare His case against you,

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

But the sight of the wicked will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath.

If only you would shut up
and let that be your wisdom!

Only grant these two things to me, God,
so that I will not have to hide from Your presence:

If only You would hide me in Sheol
and conceal me until Your anger passes.
If only You would appoint a time for me
and then remember me.

He feels only the pain of his own body
and mourns only for himself.

For only a few years will pass
before I go the way of no return.

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Even if it is true that I have sinned,
my mistake concerns only me.

the joy of the wicked has been brief
and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment?

If only I knew how to find Him,
so that I could go to His throne.

If only I could be as in months gone by,
in the days when God watched over me,

If only I had someone to hear my case!
Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me.
Let my Opponent compose His indictment.

It is not only the old who are wise
or the elderly who understand how to judge.

If only Job were tested to the limit,
because his answers are like those of wicked men.

He is the foremost of God’s works;
only his Maker can draw the sword against him.