His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought: Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts. This was Job’s regular practice.

One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

Haven’t You placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

a messenger came to Job and reported: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby,

the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “A lightning storm struck from heaven. It burned up the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

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!”

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

One day the sons of God came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord.

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him, to destroy him without just cause.”

But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.

Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.

His wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

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.

After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born.

May the day I was born perish,
and the night when they said,
“A boy is conceived.”

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

Why was I not stillborn;
why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?

Why did the knees receive me,
and why were there breasts for me to nurse?

There the wicked cease to make trouble,
and there the weary find rest.

The captives are completely at ease;
they do not hear the voice of their oppressor.

Why is light given to one burdened with grief,
and life to those whose existence is bitter,

Why is life given to a man whose path is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?

For the thing I feared has overtaken me,
and what I dreaded has happened to me.

Should anyone try to speak with you
when you are exhausted?
Yet who can keep from speaking?

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

Isn’t your piety your confidence,
and the integrity of your life your hope?

They perish at a single blast from God
and come to an end by the breath of His nostrils.

A word was brought to me in secret;
my ears caught a whisper of it.

They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;
they perish forever while no one notices.

Are their tent cords not pulled up?
They die without wisdom.

>

Call out if you please. Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones will you turn to?

His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,
with no one to rescue them.

However, if I were you, I would appeal to God
and would present my case to Him.

He gives rain to the earth
and sends water to the fields.

He sets the lowly on high,
and mourners are lifted to safety.

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

They encounter darkness by day,
and they grope at noon
as if it were night.

See how happy the man is God corrects;
so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.

I refuse to touch them;
they are like contaminated food.

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

What strength do I have that I should continue to hope?
What is my future, that I should be patient?

So this is what you have now become to me.
When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.

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

No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child
and negotiate a price to sell your friend.

But now, please look at me;
would I lie to your face?

Reconsider; don’t be unjust.
Reconsider; my righteousness is still the issue.

Isn’t mankind consigned to forced labor on earth?
Are not his days like those of a hired hand?

So I have been made to inherit months of futility,
and troubled nights have been assigned to me.

My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.

As a cloud fades away and vanishes,
so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again.

He will never return to his house;
his hometown will no longer remember him.

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

You inspect him every morning,
and put him to the test every moment.

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?

Since your children sinned against Him,
He gave them over to their rebellion.

For ask the previous generation,
and pay attention to what their fathers discovered,

Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Do reeds flourish without water?

He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.
He grabs it, but it does not hold up.

If one wanted to take Him to court,
he could not answer God once in a thousand times.

He commands the sun not to shine
and seals off the stars.

If He passes by me, I wouldn’t see Him;
if He goes right by, I wouldn’t recognize Him.

If I summoned Him and He answered me,
I do not believe He would pay attention to what I said.

He doesn’t let me catch my breath
but soaks me with bitter experiences.

The earth is handed over to the wicked;
He blindfolds its judges.
If it isn’t He, then who is it?

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

There is no one to judge between us,
to lay his hand on both of us.

I will say to God:
“Do not declare me guilty!
Let me know why You prosecute me.

Is it good for You to oppress,
to reject the work of Your hands,
and favor the plans of the wicked?

Do You have eyes of flesh,
or do You see as a human sees?

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

If I am wicked, woe to me!
And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head.
I am filled with shame
and aware of my affliction.

I wish I had never existed
but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

before I go to a land of darkness and gloom,
never to return.

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.

They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

As for you, if you redirect your heart
and lift up your hands to Him in prayer—

if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—

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

No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!

But I also have a mind;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?

I am a laughingstock to my friends,
by calling on God, who answers me.
The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you;
let the fish of the sea inform you.

Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?

Wisdom and strength belong to God;
counsel and understanding are His.

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

Everything you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.

Yet I prefer to speak to the Almighty
and argue my case before God.

Hear now my argument,
and listen to my defense.

Would you show partiality to Him
or argue the case in His defense?

Be quiet, and I will speak.
Let whatever comes happen to me.

Why do I put myself at risk
and take my life in my own hands?