There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

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

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

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

While he was still speaking, another 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 came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.

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

“Let the day perish on which I was to be born,
And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

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

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

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

“If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.

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

Water wears away stones,
Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;
So You destroy man’s hope.

To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them.

“I was at ease, but He shattered me,
And He has grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His target.

“To whom have you uttered words?
And whose spirit was expressed through you?

As I was in the prime of my days,
When the friendship of God was over my tent;

When the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were around me;

The voice of the nobles was hushed,
And their tongue stuck to their palate.

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

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

“I was a father to the needy,
And I investigated the case which I did not know.

“Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.

“Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

If I have gloated because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had secured so much;

Then these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men his anger burned.

So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said,
“I am young in years and you are old;
Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think.

“I even paid close attention to you;
Indeed, there was no one who refuted Job,
Not one of you who answered his words.

“Then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress,
Instead of it, a broad place with no constraint;
And that which was set on your table was full of fatness.