Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head.

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

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

He would show you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your sin.

True wisdom and power belong to Him.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.

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

He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes
and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.

My days have slipped by;
my plans have been ruined,
even the things dear to my heart.

You who tear yourself in anger—
should the earth be abandoned on your account,
or a rock be removed from its place?

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

He tears me down on every side so that I am ruined.
He uproots my hope like a tree.

The womb forgets them;
worms feed on them;
they are remembered no more.
So injustice is broken like a tree.

If this is not true, then who can prove me a liar
and show that my speech is worthless?

They plucked mallow among the shrubs,
and the roots of the broom tree were their food.

They tear up my path;
they contribute to my destruction,
without anyone to help them.

If my heart has been seduced by my neighbor’s wife
or I have lurked at his door,

No stranger had to spend the night on the street,
for I opened my door to the traveler.

Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly
and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

Do you know when mountain goats give birth?
Have you watched the deer in labor?

He stiffens his tail like a cedar tree;
the tendons of his thighs are woven firmly together.

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