Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

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 on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,

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,

Or with princes who had gold,
Who were filling their houses with silver.

“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright destroyed?

“Oh that my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my calamity!

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

“They were disappointed for they had trusted,
They came there and were confounded.

“Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

“Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

“For though I were right, I could not answer;
I would have to implore the mercy of my judge.

“Were you the first man to be born,
Or were you brought forth before the hills?

“I too could speak like you,
If I were in your place.
I could compose words against you
And shake my head at you.

“Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!

“That with an iron stylus and lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!

Who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundations were washed away by a river?

“Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God watched over me;

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

When my steps were bathed in butter,
And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

“Fools, even those without a name,
They were scourged from the land.

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he.

“His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones which were not seen stick out.

“But you were full of judgment on the wicked;
Judgment and justice take hold of you.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding,

“On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

“You know, for you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!

“She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor be in vain, she is unconcerned;

In all the land no women were found so fair as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers.