He also possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke (pairs) of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very great number of servants, so that this man was the greatest [and wealthiest and most respected] of all the men of the east (northern Arabia).

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.”

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

“The small and the great are there,
And the servant is free from his master.

‘Is not their tent-cord drawn up within them [so that the tent collapses]?
Do they not die, and yet without [acquiring] wisdom?’

“His children are far from safety [and included in their father’s ruin],
They are oppressed and crushed in the [court of justice in the city’s] gate,
And there is no one to rescue them.

Who does great and unsearchable things,
Marvelous things without number.

Who does great things, [beyond understanding,] unfathomable,
Yes, marvelous and wondrous things without number.

“For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him,
That we may go to court and judgment together.

“Shall a multitude of words not be answered?
And should a talkative man [making such a long-winded defense] be acquitted?

“He makes [great and scheming] counselors walk barefoot
And makes fools of judges.

“He makes nations great, and He destroys them;
He enlarges nations, and leads them away [captive].

“Because he knew no quietness or calm within him [because of his greed],
He does not retain anything he desires.

“In the fullness of his excess (great abundance) he will be in trouble;
The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him [he is miserable on every side].

“Is not your wickedness great,
And your sins without end?

“Now yield and submit yourself to Him [agree with God and be conformed to His will] and be at peace;
In this way [you will prosper and great] good will come to you.

“Would He contend against me with His great power?
No, surely He would give attention to me.

“They crowd the needy off the road;
The poor of the land all hide themselves.

“By the great force [of my disease] my garment (skin) is disfigured and blemished;
It binds about me [choking me] like the collar of my coat.

If I gloated and rejoiced because my wealth was great,
And because my [powerful] hand [alone] had obtained so much,

Because I feared the great multitude,
And the contempt of families terrified me,
So that I kept silence and did not acknowledge my sin and did not go out of the door?

“Those [who are] abundant in years may not [always] be wise,
Nor may the elders [always] understand justice.

“Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him;
The number of His years is unsearchable.

“God thunders marvelously with His voice;
He does great things which we cannot comprehend.

“Will you trust him because his strength is great
And leave your labor to him?

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down his tongue with a cord?