There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And that man was pure and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

Then Satan answered the Lord, "Is it for nothing that Job fears God?

Have you not made a hedge around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land.

Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly to his integrity, so that you stirred me up to destroy him without reason."

But Satan answered the Lord, "Skin for skin! Indeed, a man will give up all that he has to save his life!

When Job's three friends heard about all this calamity that had happened to him, each of them came from his own country -- Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to come to show sympathy for him and to console him.

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

"Let the day on which I was born perish, and the night that said, 'A man has been conceived!'

That day -- let it be darkness; let not God on high regard it, nor let light shine on it!

That night -- let darkness seize it; let it not be included among the days of the year; let it not enter among the number of the months!

Indeed, let that night be barren; let no shout of joy penetrate it!

Why did the knees welcome me, and why were there two breasts that I might nurse at them?

to those who wait for death that does not come, and search for it more than for hidden treasures,

Your words have supported those who stumbled, and you have strengthened the knees that gave way.

he sets the lowly on high, that those who mourn are raised to safety.

He frustrates the plans of the crafty so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had planned!

So he saves from the sword that comes from their mouth, even the poor from the hand of the powerful.

And you will know that your home will be secure, and when you inspect your domains, you will not be missing anything.

You will also know that your children will be numerous, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

But because it is heavier than the sand of the sea, that is why my words have been wild.

Can food that is tasteless be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

"Oh that my request would be realized, and that God would grant me what I long for!

And that God would be willing to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and kill me.

What is my strength, that I should wait? and what is my end, that I should prolong my life?

Is my strength like that of stones? or is my flesh made of bronze?

My brothers have been as treacherous as a seasonal stream, and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams that flow away.

For now you have become like these streams that are no help; you see a terror, and are afraid.

Remember that my life is but a breath, that my eyes will never again see happiness.

Am I the sea, or the creature of the deep, that you must put me under guard?

so that I would prefer strangling, and death more than life.

"What is mankind that you make so much of them, and that you pay attention to them?

And that you visit them every morning, and try them every moment?

"How long will you speak these things, seeing that the words of your mouth are like a great wind?

If he is uprooted from his place, then that place will disown him, saying, 'I have never seen you!'

"Truly, I know that this is so. But how can a human be just before God?

he who shakes the earth out of its place so that its pillars tremble;

If I summoned him, and he answered me, I would not believe that he would be listening to my voice --

"It is all one! That is why I say, 'He destroys the blameless and the guilty.'

They glide by like reed boats, like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.

I dread all my sufferings, for I know that you do not hold me blameless.

For he is not a human being like I am, that I might answer him, that we might come together in judgment.

who would take his rod away from me so that his terror would not make me afraid.

that you must search out my iniquity, and inquire about my sin,

although you know that I am not guilty, and that there is no one who can deliver out of your hand?

Remember that you have made me as with the clay; will you return me to dust?

"But these things you have concealed in your heart; I know that this is with you:

Are not my days few? Cease, then, and leave me alone, that I may find a little comfort,

and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom -- for true wisdom has two sides -- so that you would know that God has forgiven some of your sins.

For you will forget your trouble; you will remember it like water that has flowed away.

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

If only you would keep completely silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

"Refrain from talking with me so that I may speak; then let come to me what may.

See now, I have prepared my case; I know that I am right.

"O that you would hide me in Sheol, and conceal me till your anger has passed! O that you would set me a time and then remember me!

Does he argue with useless talk, with words that have no value in them?

What do you know that we don't know? What do you understand that we don't understand?

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

All his days the wicked man suffers torment, throughout the number of the years that are stored up for the tyrant.

he wanders about -- food for vultures; he knows that the day of darkness is at hand.

Will there be an end to your windy words? Or what provokes you that you answer?

For the years that lie ahead are few, and then I will go on the way of no return.

But even if it were true that I have erred, my error remains solely my concern!

know then that God has wronged me and encircled me with his net.

"O that my words were written down, O that they were written on a scroll,

that with an iron chisel and with lead they were engraved in a rock forever!

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that as the last he will stand upon the earth.

Fear the sword yourselves, for wrath brings the punishment by the sword, so that you may know that there is judgment."

When I hear a reproof that dishonors me, then my understanding prompts me to answer.

"Surely you know that it has been from old, ever since humankind was placed on the earth,

that the elation of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

His bones were full of his youthful vigor, but that vigor will lie down with him in the dust.

The wealth that he consumed he vomits up, God will make him throw it out of his stomach.

"Nothing is left for him to devour; that is why his prosperity does not last.

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain if we were to pray to him?'

You may say, 'God stores up a man's punishment for his children!' Instead let him repay the man himself so that he may know it!

Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges those that are on high?

that the evil man is spared from the day of his misfortune, that he is delivered from the day of God's wrath?

"Is it to God that a strong man is of benefit? Is it to him that even a wise man is profitable?

Is it of any special benefit to the Almighty that you should be righteous, or is it any gain to him that you make your ways blameless?

Is it because of your piety that he rebukes you and goes to judgment with you?

That is why snares surround you, and why sudden fear terrifies you,

Will you keep to the old path that evil men have walked --

O that I knew where I might find him, that I could come to his place of residence!

But he knows the pathway that I take; if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.

That is why I am terrified in his presence; when I consider, I am afraid because of him.

Yet I have not been silent because of the darkness, because of the thick darkness that covered my face.

"You say, 'He is foam on the face of the waters; their portion of the land is cursed so that no one goes to their vineyard.

"The dead tremble -- those beneath the waters and all that live in them.

I will never declare that you three are in the right; until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!

This is the portion of the wicked man allotted by God, the inheritance that evildoers receive from the Almighty.

The house he builds is as fragile as a moth's cocoon, like a hut that a watchman has made.

And he said to mankind, 'The fear of the Lord -- that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"

"O that I could be as I was in the months now gone, in the days when God watched over me,

so that they had to live in the dry stream beds, in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks.

I know that you are bringing me to death, to the meeting place for all the living.

For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction, and it would uproot all my harvest.

so that my heart was secretly enticed, and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth,

because I was terrified of the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I remained silent and would not go outdoors --

"If only I had someone to hear me! Here is my signature -- let the Almighty answer me! If only I had an indictment that my accuser had written.

But when Elihu saw that the three men had no further reply, he became very angry.