And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east.

Now his sons were wont to go, and make a banquet, at the house of each one upon his day, - and to send and call their three sisters, to eat and to drink with them.

And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming around on the earth and from walking around on it.”

And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you set your heart against My servant Job, because there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one 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 put forth Your hand now and touch (destroy) all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that Job has is in your power, only do not put your hand on the man himself.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:

And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:

While this messenger was still speaking, another came and announced, "A lightning storm struck and incinerated the flock and the servants while they were eating. I alone escaped to tell you!"

While this one was still speaking, {another} came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three divisions, and they made a raid on the camels, and they carried them away, and they struck your servants {by the edge of the sword}, but I escaped, [even] I alone, to tell you."

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:

And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.

The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming around on the earth and from walking around on it.”

And Jehovah said unto Satan, Have you set your heart on My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil? And still he is keeping hold of his integrity, although you moved Me against him to destroy him without cause.

But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh [and severely afflict him]; and he will curse You to Your face.”

So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, only spare his life.”

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still cling to your integrity [and your faith and trust in God, without blaming Him]? Curse God and die!”

And he said to her, You are talking like one of the foolish women. If we take the good God sends us, are we not to take the evil when it comes? In all this Job kept his lips from sin.

And three of the friends of Job hear of all this evil that hath come upon him, and they come in each from his place -- Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite -- and they are met together to come in to bemoan him, and to comfort him;

When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head.

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

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

As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.

Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.

Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb,
Or hide trouble from my eyes.

Why didn't I die while I was still in the womb, or die while I was being born?

Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?

along with kings and counselors of the earth, who used to build for themselves what are now only ruins,

Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:

Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

There the wicked cease from troubling; And there the weary are at rest.

There the prisoners are at ease together; They hear not the voice of the taskmaster.

The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

Wherefore give, to the wretched, light? Or, life, to the embittered in soul? -

Who are waiting for death, and it is not, And they seek it above hid treasures.

Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?

For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.

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

If a word were essayed to thee, wouldest thou be grieved? But who can refrain from speaking?

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

“But now adversity comes upon you, and you are impatient and intolerant;
It touches you, and you are horrified.

“Is not your fear of God your confidence,
And [is not] the integrity and uprightness of your ways your hope?

Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.

The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.

Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.

When there were thoughts, from visions of the night, - When deep sleep falleth upon men,

Fear came on me and shaking, and my bones were full of trouble;

Then a breath of air passes by my face; it makes the hair of my flesh stand up.

‘Can [mortal] man be just before God or be more righteous than He?
Can a man be pure before his Maker or be more cleansed than He?

‘God puts no trust or confidence, even in His [heavenly] servants,
And He charges His angels with error.

How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

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

>

Give now a cry for help; is there anyone who will give you an answer? and to which of the holy ones will you make your prayer?

"I myself saw a fool becoming established, but I suddenly cursed where he lived.

His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.

For evil does not come out of the dust, or trouble out of the earth;

Though, man, to trouble, were born, as, sparks, on high, do soar,

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

Who does great things outside our knowledge, wonders without number:

So that he setteth up on high those that are low, And those that mourn are exalted to safety.

“He frustrates the devices and schemes of the crafty,
So that their hands cannot attain success or achieve anything of [lasting] worth.

[He] is capturing [the] wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are rushed.

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

Therefore there is hope for those who are poor, and iniquity shuts its mouth.

“Behold, how happy and fortunate is the man whom God reproves,
So do not despise or reject the discipline of the Almighty [subjecting you to trial and suffering].

In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.

You'll be protected from the accusing tongue; you need not fear destruction when it heads your way.

For your covenant [will be] with the stones of the field, and the wild animals of the field will be at peace with you.

“You will know also that your tent is secure and at peace,
And you will visit your dwelling and fear no loss [nor find anything amiss].

“You will know also that your descendants will be many,
And your offspring as the grass of the earth.

“You will come to your grave in old age,
Like the stacking of grain [on the threshing floor] in its season.

“Behold this; we have investigated it, and it is true.
Hear and heed it, and know for yourself [for your own good].”

Job answered, and said, "Oh that my misery were weighed, and my punishment laid in the balances:

Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!

For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.

For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.

Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?

Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.

“Would that God were willing to crush me,
That He would loose His hand and cut me off!

“Then I would still have consolation,
And I would jump for joy amid unsparing pain,
That I have not denied or hidden the words of the Holy One.

Have I strength to go on waiting, or have I any end to be looking forward to?

Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass?

For him that is fainting kindness is meet from his friend; or he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.

My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed; like a streambed of wadis they flow away,

Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:

What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish.

The camel-trains of Tema were searching with care, the bands of Sheba were waiting for them:

They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed.

For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.

Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance?

Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?