There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. He was without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil.

And of cattle he had seven thousand sheep and goats, and three thousand camels, and a thousand oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great number of servants. And the man was greater than any of the sons of the east.

And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them.

And there was a day when his sons and daughters were feasting in the house of their oldest brother,

And the men of Sheba came against them and took them away, putting the young men to the sword, and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

And this one was still talking when another came, and said, The fire of God came down from heaven, burning up the sheep and the goats and the young men completely, and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

And this one was still talking when another came, and said, The Chaldaeans made themselves into three bands, and came down on the camels and took them away, putting the young men to the sword, and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

And this one was still talking when another came, and said, Your sons and your daughters were feasting together in their oldest brother's house,

When a great wind came rushing from the waste land against the four sides of the house, and it came down on the young men, and they are dead; and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them.

And he took a broken bit of a pot, and, seated in the dust, was rubbing himself with the sharp edge of it.

And lifting up their eyes when they were still far off, it did not seem that the man they saw was Job because of the change in him. And they gave way to bitter weeping, with signs of grief, and put dust on their heads.

And they took their seats on the earth by his side for seven days and seven nights: but no one said a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

Let destruction take the day of my birth, and the night on which it was said, A man child has come into the world.

He who was near to falling has been lifted up by your words, and you have given strength to bent knees.

A word was given to me secretly, and the low sound of it came to my ears.

And a breath was moving over my face; the hair of my flesh became stiff:

Something was present before me, but I was not able to see it clearly; there was a form before my eyes: a quiet voice came to my ears, saying:

In the daytime it becomes dark for them, and in the sunlight they go feeling about as if it was night.

They were put to shame because of their hope; they came and their hope was gone.

And though your start was small, your end will be very great.

If a man was desiring to go to law with him, he would not be able to give him an answer to one out of a thousand questions.

Even if my cause was good, I would not be able to give an answer; I would make request for grace from him who was against me.

Though I was in the right, he would say that I was in the wrong; I have done no evil; but he says that I am a sinner.

Your hands made me, and I was formed by you, but then, changing your purpose, you gave me up to destruction.

Was I not drained out like milk, becoming hard like cheese?

By you I was clothed with skin and flesh, and joined together with bones and muscles.

But you kept these things in the secret of your heart; I am certain this was in your thoughts:

That, if I was an evil-doer, the curse would come on me; and if I was upright, my head would not be lifted up, being full of shame and overcome with trouble.

And that if there was cause for pride, you would go after me like a lion; and again put out your wonders against me:

Why is your face veiled from me, as if I was numbered among your haters?

Are the comforts of God not enough for you, and the gentle word which was said to you?

For only to them was the land given, and no strange people were among them:)

And he has made his resting-place in the towns which have been pulled down, in houses where no man had a right to be, whose fate was to become masses of broken walls.

I was in comfort, but I have been broken up by his hands; he has taken me by the neck, shaking me to bits; he has put me up as a mark for his arrows.

He is pulled out of his tent where he was safe, and he is taken away to the king of fears.

Have you knowledge of this from early times, when man was placed on the earth,

For you have taken your brother's goods when he was not in your debt, and have taken away the clothing of those who have need of it.

For it was the man with power who had the land, and the man with an honoured name who was living in it.

By his power the sea was made quiet; and by his wisdom Rahab was wounded.

By his wind the heavens become bright: by his hand the quickly moving snake was cut through.

If only I might again be as I was in the months which are past, in the days when God was watching over me!

When his light was shining over my head, and when I went through the dark by his light.

As I was in my flowering years, when my tent was covered by the hand of God;

While the Ruler of all was still with me, and my children were round me;

For when it came to their ears, men said that I was truly happy; and when their eyes saw, they gave witness to me;

For I was a saviour to the poor when he was crying for help, to the child with no father, and to him who had no supporter.

The blessing of him who was near to destruction came on me, and I put a song of joy into the widow's heart.

I put on righteousness as my clothing, and was full of it; right decisions were to me a robe and a head-dress.

I was eyes to the blind, and feet to him who had no power of walking.

I was a father to the poor, searching out the cause of him who was strange to me.

After I had said what was in my mind, they were quiet and let my words go deep into their hearts;

I was laughing at them when they had no hope, and the light of my face was never clouded by their fear.

I took my place as a chief, guiding them on their way, and I was as a king among his army. ...

Have I not been weeping for the crushed? and was not my soul sad for him who was in need?

For I was looking for good, and evil came; I was waiting for light, and it became dark.

If my heart went after another man's wife, or if I was waiting secretly at my neighbour's door;

If I kept back the desire of the poor; if the widow's eye was looking for help to no purpose;

(For I was cared for by God as by a father from my earliest days; he was my guide from the body of my mother;)

If my hand had been lifted up against him who had done no wrong, when I saw that I was supported by the judges;

If I was glad because my wealth was great, and because my hand had got together a great store;

If I was glad at the trouble of my hater, and gave cries of joy when evil overtook him;

And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was angry, burning with wrath against Job, because he seemed to himself more right than God;

And he was angry with his three friends, because they had been unable to give him an answer, and had not made Job's sin clear.

Now Elihu had kept quiet while Job was talking, because they were older than he;

And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he was very angry.

And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, made answer and said, I am young, and you are very old, so I was in fear, and kept myself from putting my knowledge before you.

I was waiting for your words, I was giving ear to your wise sayings; while you were searching out what to say,

I was taking note; and truly not one of you was able to make clear Job's error, or to give an answer to his words.

See, I am the same as you are in the eyes of God; I was cut off from the same bit of wet earth.

By whom were its measures fixed? Say, if you have wisdom; or by whom was the line stretched out over it?

I have said once, and even twice, what was in my mind, but I will not do so again.

Under him are sharp edges of broken pots: as if he was pulling a grain-crushing instrument over the wet earth.

And the Lord made up to Job for all his losses, after he had made prayer for his friends: and all Job had before was increased by the Lord twice as much.

And the Lord's blessing was greater on the end of Job's life than on its start: and so he came to have fourteen thousand sheep and goats, and six thousand camels, and two thousand oxen, and a thousand she-asses.