When the days of their feasting were over, Job would send [for them] and consecrate them, rising early in the morning and offering 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.” Job did this at all [such] times.

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,

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.

When they looked from a distance and did not recognize him [because of his disfigurement], they raised their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe [in grief] and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky [in sorrow].

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

Who rejoice exceedingly,
And rejoice when they find the grave?

“Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,

“The hungry devour his harvest
And take it even [when it grows] among the thorns;
The trap opens for [his] wealth.

“You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
And you will not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

“Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass?
Or does the ox low over his fodder?

When it is warm, they are silent and cease to flow;
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

“When I lie down I say,
‘When shall I arise [and the night be gone]?’
But the night continues,
And I am continually tossing until the dawning of day.

“When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
My couch will ease my complaint,’

“While it is still green (in flower) and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other plant [when without water].

“It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know it,
When He overturns them in His anger;

“When [His] scourge kills suddenly,
He mocks at the despair of the innocent.

“Should your boasts and babble silence men?
And shall you scoff and no one put you to shame?

“For He recognizes and knows false and worthless men,
And He sees wickedness, will He not consider it?

“But a hollow (empty-headed) man will become intelligent and wise
[Only] when the colt of a wild donkey is born as a man.

“I am a joke to my friends;
I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him—
A just and blameless man is a joke [and laughed to scorn].

“For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way of no return.

“Will my hope go down with me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)?
Shall we go down together in the dust?”

“Even young children despise me;
When I get up, they speak against me.

“When he fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And will rain it upon him while he is eating.

“Even when I remember, I am troubled and afraid;
Horror and trembling take hold of my flesh.

“For what pleasure does he have in his house and family after he is dead,
When the number of his months [of life] is cut off?

“When he is carried to his grave,
A guard will keep watch over his tomb.

“When you are cast down and humbled, you will speak with confidence,
And the humble person He will lift up and save.

“But He knows the way that I take [and He pays attention to it].
When He has tried me, I will come forth as [refined] gold [pure and luminous].

“Therefore I would be terrified at His presence;
When I consider [all of this], I tremble in dread of Him.

“Yet God draws away the mighty by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

“For what is the hope of the godless, even though he has gained [in this world],
When God takes his life?

“Will God hear his cry
When trouble and distress come upon him?

“When He gave weight and pressure to the wind
And allotted the waters by measure,

When He made a limit for the rain
And a way for the thunderbolt,

“Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
As in the days when God watched over me,

When His lamp shone upon my head
And by His light I walked through darkness;

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,

When my steps [through rich pastures] were washed with butter and cream [from my livestock],
And the rock poured out for me streams of oil [from my olive groves].

“When I went out to the gate of the city,
When I took my seat [as a city father] in the square,

“For when an ear heard [my name mentioned], it called me happy and fortunate;
And when an eye saw [me], it testified for me [approvingly],

“I smiled at them when they did not believe,
And they did not diminish the light of my face.

“When I expected good, then came evil [to me];
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.

“If I have despised and rejected the claim of my male or female servants
When they filed a complaint against me,

What then could I do when God arises [to judge me]?
When He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?

If I have lifted my hand against the orphan,
Because I saw [that the judges would be] my help at the [council] gate,

If I beheld the sun [as an object of worship] when it shone
Or the moon going in its splendor,

“Have I rejoiced at the destruction of the enemy [who hated me],
Or exulted [in malicious triumph] when evil overtook him?

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

“In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God’s voice],
When deep sleep falls on men
While slumbering upon the bed,

“Man is also disciplined with pain on his bed,
And with unceasing complaint in his bones,

“When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?
When He hides His face [withdrawing His favor and help], who then can behold Him [and make supplication to Him],
Whether it be a nation or a man by himself?—

“Shall God’s retribution [for your sins] be on your terms, because you refuse to accept it?
For you must do the choosing, and not I;
Therefore say what you [truthfully] know.

“Even though you say that you do not see Him [when missing His righteous judgment on earth],
Yet your case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!

“But the godless in heart store up anger [at the divine discipline];
They do not cry [to Him] for help when He binds them [with cords of affliction].

“Do not long for the night,
When people vanish from their places.

“After it, His voice roars;
He thunders with the voice of His majesty,
And He does not restrain His lightning [against His adversaries] when His voice is heard.

You whose garments are hot,
When He quiets the earth [in sultry summer] with the [oppressive] south wind?

“Now people cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies [without being blinded],
When the wind has passed and cleared them.

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

When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy?

“Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When it burst forth and went out of the womb;

When I made the clouds its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,

When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together [because of the heat]?

When they crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?

“Who provides prey for the raven
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?

“Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock give birth [to their young]?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?

“Can you count the months that they carry offspring,
Or do you know the time when they give birth?

“They kneel down, they bring forth their young,
They cast out their labor pains.

“Yet when she lifts herself on high,
[So swift is she that] she laughs at the horse and his rider.

“Can anyone capture him when he is on watch,
Or pierce his nose with barbs [to trap him]?

“The folds of his flesh are joined together,
Firm on him and immobile [when he moves].

“When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
Because of the crashing they are bewildered.

The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.