That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.

Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.

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.

Yes, may that night be barren;
may no joyful shout be heard in it.

For that night did not shut
the doors of my mother’s womb,
and hide sorrow from my eyes.

Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling
and braced the knees that were buckling.

But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

He frustrates the schemes of the crafty
so that they achieve no success.

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

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

You will also know that your offspring will be many
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

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

that He would decide to crush me,
to unleash His power and cut me off!

It would still bring me comfort,
and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain
that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

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

Do you think that you can disprove my words
or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind?

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

Am I the sea or a sea monster,
that You keep me under guard?

so that I prefer strangling—
death rather than life in this body.

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

If I have sinned, what have I done to You,
Watcher of mankind?
Why have You made me Your target,
so that I have become a burden to You?

He shakes the earth from its place
so that its pillars tremble.

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

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

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that You look for my wrongdoing
and search for my sin,

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

Please remember that You formed me like clay.
Will You now return me to dust?

“Yet You concealed these thoughts in Your heart;
I know that this was Your hidden plan:

Are my days not few? Stop it!
Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little

Should your babbling put others to silence,
so that you can keep on ridiculing
with no one to humiliate you?

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.

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

Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?

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

Now then, I have prepared my case;
I know that I am right.

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

look away from him and let him rest
so that he can enjoy his day like a hired hand.

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.

Should he argue with useless talk
or with words that serve no good purpose?

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

Are God’s consolations not enough for you,
even the words that deal gently with you?

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

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

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

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

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

then understand that it is God who has wronged me
and caught me in His net.

He has blocked my way so that I cannot pass through;
He has veiled my paths with darkness.

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

I wish that my words were written down,
that they were recorded on a scroll

then be afraid of the sword,
because wrath brings punishment by the sword,
so that you may know there is a judgment.

I have heard a rebuke that insults me,
and my understanding makes me reply.

Don’t you know that ever since antiquity,
from the time man was placed on earth,

The eye that saw him will see him no more,
and his household will no longer see him.

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
and what will we gain by pleading with Him?”

God reserves a person’s punishment for his children.
Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.

Clouds veil Him so that He cannot see,
as He walks on the circle of the sky.”

Will you continue on the ancient path
that wicked men have walked?

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

Yet I am not destroyed by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.

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They float on the surface of the water.
Their section of the land is cursed,
so that they never go to their vineyards.

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

How you have helped the powerless
and delivered the arm that is weak!

The departed spirits tremble
beneath the waters and all that inhabit them.

The pillars that hold up the sky tremble,
astounded at His rebuke.

I will never affirm that you are right.
I will maintain my integrity until I die.

No bird of prey knows that path;
no falcon’s eye has seen it.

He dams up the streams from flowing
so that he may bring to light what is hidden.

He said to mankind,
“The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom.
And to turn from evil is understanding.”

Yes, I know that You will lead me to death—
the place appointed for all who live.

For that would be a disgrace;
it would be a crime deserving punishment.

For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon;
it would destroy my entire harvest.

if I ever cast my vote against a fatherless child
when I saw that I had support in the city gate,

so that my heart was secretly enticed
and I threw them a kiss,

But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.

I thought that age should speak
and maturity should teach wisdom.

But it is a spirit in man
and the breath of the Almighty
that give him understanding.

Should I continue to wait now that they are silent,
now that they stand there and no longer answer?

I must speak so that I can find relief;
I must open my lips and respond.

But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter,
since God is greater than man.

He uncovers their ears at that time
and terrifies them with warnings,

so that he detests bread,
and his soul despises his favorite food.

He will pray to God, and God will delight in him.
That man will see His face with a shout of joy,
and God will restore his righteousness to him.

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

God does not need to examine a person further,
that one should approach Him in court.

so that godless men should not rule
or ensnare the people.

how much less when you complain
that you do not see Him,
that your case is before Him
and you are waiting for Him.

Be careful that no one lures you with riches;
do not let a large ransom lead you astray.

Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity,
for that is why you have been tested by affliction.

Remember that you should praise His work,
which people have sung about.

Just listen to His thunderous voice
and the rumbling that comes from His mouth.

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

serve as His sign to all mankind,
so that all men may know His work.

Should He be told that I want to speak?
Can a man speak when he is confused?

What road leads to the place where light is dispersed?
Where is the source of the east wind that spreads across the earth?