There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God [with reverence] and abstained from and turned away from evil [because he honored God].

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).

Now there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them.

Now there was a day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

While he was still speaking, another [messenger] also came and said, “The fire of God (lightning) has fallen from the heavens and has burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

While he was still speaking, another [messenger] also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and have taken them away and have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

While he was still speaking, another [messenger] also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

Again there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; for they had made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.

“Let the day on which I was born perish,
And the night which announced: ‘There is a man-child conceived.’

“Let darkness and gloom claim it for their own;
Let a cloud settle upon it;
Let all that blackens the day terrify it (the day that I was born).

“Why did I not die at birth,
Come forth from the womb and expire?

“Or like a miscarriage which is hidden and put away, I would not exist,
Like infants who never saw light.

“I am not at ease, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, and yet trouble still comes [upon me].”

“Your words have helped the one who was stumbling to stand,
And you have strengthened feeble knees.

“Now a word was secretly brought to me,
And my ear received a whisper of it.

“The spirit stood still, but I could not discern its appearance;
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence, and then I heard a voice, saying:

“I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering],
But I cursed his dwelling immediately [for his destruction was certain].

“Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your end will greatly increase.

“If I were to wash myself with snow
And cleanse my hands with lye,

‘Yet these [present evils] You have hidden in Your heart [since my creation]:
I know that this was within You [in Your purpose and thought].

Water wears away the stones,
Its floods and torrents wash away the soil of the earth,
So You [O Lord] destroy the hope of man.

“Were you the first man to be born [the original wise man],
Or were you created before the hills?

What wise men have [freely] told,
And have not hidden [anything passed on to them] from their fathers,

To whom alone the land was given,
And no stranger passed among them [corrupting the truth].

“I was [living] at ease, but He crushed me and broke me apart,
And He has seized me by the neck and has shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His target.

“Do you not know this from the old days,
Since the time that man was placed on the earth,

“There is nothing left of what he devoured;
Therefore his prosperity does not endure.

But I am not silenced by the darkness [of these woes that fell on me],
Nor by the thick darkness which covers my face.

As I was in the prime of my days,
When the friendship and counsel of God were over my tent,

When the Almighty was still with me
And my boys were around me,

“The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.

“I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban!

“I was eyes to the blind
And I was feet to the lame.

“I was a father to the needy;
I investigated the case I did not know [and assured justice].

“Did I not weep for one whose life was hard and filled with trouble?
Was not my heart grieved for the needy?

If his loins have not thanked and blessed me [for clothing them],
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

“For tragedy from God is a terror to me,
And because of His majesty and exaltation I can do nothing [nor endure facing Him].

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

So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes [and could not be persuaded otherwise by them].

But Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became indignant. His indignation was kindled and burned and he became upset with Job because he justified himself rather than God [and even expressed doubts about God’s character].

Elihu’s anger burned against Job’s three friends because they had found no answer [and were unable to determine Job’s error], and yet they had condemned Job and declared him to be in the wrong [and responsible for his own afflictions].

And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he burned with anger.

Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite said,

“I am young, and you are aged;
For that reason I was anxious and dared not tell you what I think.

“He sings out to other men,
‘I have sinned and perverted that which was right,
And it was not proper for me!

“Will you have faith and depend on him to return your grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?

“Have you [Job] made him leap like a locust?
The majesty of his snorting [nostrils] is terrible.