There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God [with reverence] and abstained from and turned away from evil [because he honored God].

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God].”

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God]. And still he maintains and holds tightly to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to destroy him without cause.”

“Let those curse it who curse the day,
Who are skilled in rousing up Leviathan.

With kings and counselors of the earth,
Who built up [now desolate] ruins for themselves;

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

“Or like a miscarriage which is hidden and put away, I would not exist,
Like infants who never saw light.

“Why is the light given to him who is in misery,
And life to the bitter in soul,

Who wait for death, but it does not come,
And dig (search) for death more [diligently] than for hidden treasures,

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

“Why is the light of day given to a man whose way is hidden,
And whom God has hedged in?

“If we dare to converse with you, will you be impatient [or offended]?
But who can restrain himself from speaking?

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

“Remember now, who, being innocent, ever perished?
Or where [and in what circumstances] were those upright and in right standing with God destroyed?

“As I have seen, those who plow wickedness
And those who sow trouble and harm harvest it.

‘How much more [will He blame and charge] those who dwell in houses (bodies) of clay,
Whose foundations are in the dust,
Who are crushed like a moth.

“Call now —is there anyone who will answer you?
And to which of the holy ones (angels) will you turn?

Who does great and unsearchable things,
Marvelous things without number.

“He gives rain upon the earth
And sends waters upon the fields,

So that He sets on high those who are lowly,
And He lifts to safety those who mourn.

“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].

“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not abandon (turn away from) the fear of the Almighty.

“Do you intend to reprove my words [with a convincing argument],
When the words of one in despair belong to the wind [and go ignored]?

“As a slave earnestly longs for the shade,
And as a hired man eagerly awaits his wages,

“The eye of him who sees me [now] will see me no more;
Your eyes will be upon me, but I will not be.

“As a cloud vanishes and is gone,
So he who goes down to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) does not come up.

“So are the paths of all who forget God;
And the hope of the godless will perish,

“Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
And the tents of the wicked will be no longer.”

“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
Who has [ever] defied or challenged Him and remained unharmed?

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

Who shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;

Who commands the sun, and it does not shine;
Who seals up the stars [from view];

Who alone stretches out the heavens
And tramples down the waves of the sea;

Who made [the constellations] the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the [vast starry] spaces of the south;

Who does great things, [beyond understanding,] unfathomable,
Yes, marvelous and wondrous things without number.

“Behold, He snatches away; who can restrain or turn Him back?
Who will say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

For though I were righteous, I could not answer.
I must appeal for mercy to my Opponent and Judge.

“If it is a matter of strength and power, behold, He is mighty!
And if of justice, who can summon and challenge Him?

“The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;
He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice].
If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]?

“There is no arbitrator between us,
Who could lay his hand upon us both [would that there were].

‘Although You know that I am not guilty or wicked,
Yet there is no one who can rescue me from Your hand.

“If God passes by or arrests,
Or calls an assembly [of judgment], who can restrain Him?
[If He is against a man, who can call Him to account for it?]

“But I have intelligence and understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these [of God’s wisdom and might]?

“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].

“He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,
But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

“The tents of the destroyers prosper;
And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure,
Whom God brings into their power.

“Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life]
That the hand of the Lord has done this,

“He deprives the trusted ones of speech
And takes away the discernment and discretion of the aged.

“Who will argue and contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die.

“Man, who is born of a woman,
Is short-lived and full of turmoil.

“Who can make a clean thing out of the unclean?
No one!

“What is man, that he should be pure and clean,
Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous and just?

How much less [pure and clean is] the one who is repulsive and corrupt,
Man, who drinks unrighteousness and injustice like water!

To whom alone the land was given,
And no stranger passed among them [corrupting the truth].

“Even now, behold, my Witness is in heaven,
And my Advocate [who vouches and testifies for me] is on high.

“Oh, that a man would mediate and plead with God [for me]
Just as a man [mediates and pleads] with his neighbor and friend.

“Give me a pledge (guarantee, promise) with Yourself [acknowledge my innocence before my death];
Who is there that will be my guarantor and give security for me?

“He who denounces and informs against his friends for a share of the spoil,
The eyes of his children will also languish and fail.

“Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his ways,
And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

Where now is my hope?
And who regards or considers or is even concerned about my hope?

“You who tear yourself apart in anger,
Is the earth to be abandoned for your sake,
Or the rock to be moved out of its place?

“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked and the ungodly,
And such is the place of him who does not know or recognize or honor God.”

“Those who live [temporarily] in my house and my maids consider me a stranger;
I am a foreigner in their sight.

“All the men of my council hate me;
Those I love have turned against me.

Whom I, even I, will see for myself,
And my eyes will see Him and not another!
My heart faints within me.

Yet he perishes forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

“In the fullness of his excess (great abundance) he will be in trouble;
The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him [he is miserable on every side].

Complete darkness (misfortune) is held in reserve for his treasures.
An unfanned fire will devour him;
It will consume the survivor in his tent.

‘Who [and what] is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

“Can anyone teach God knowledge,
Seeing that He judges those on high?

“Have you not asked those who travel this way,
And do you not recognize their witness?

“But who will confront him with his actions and rebuke him face to face,
And who will repay him for what he has done?

Men who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundations were poured out like a river?

‘Surely our adversaries are cut off and destroyed,
And fire has consumed their abundance.’

“He will even rescue the one [for whom you intercede] who is not innocent;
And he will be rescued through the cleanness of your hands.”

“There the righteous and upright could reason with Him;
So I would be acquitted forever by my Judge.

“But He is unique and unchangeable, and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.

“Why does the Almighty not set seasons for judgment?
Why do those who know Him not see His days [for punishment of the wicked]?

“Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to know its ways
Nor stay in its paths.

“Drought and heat consume the snow waters;
So does Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume] those who have sinned.

“And if this is not so, who can prove me a liar
And make my speech worthless?”

“Is there any number to His [vast celestial] armies?
And upon whom does His light not rise?

“How then can man be justified and righteous with God?
Or how can he who is born of a woman be pure and clean?

How much less man, that maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”

“What a help you are to the weak (powerless)!
How you have saved the arm that is without strength!

“How you have counseled the one who has no wisdom!
And how abundantly you have provided sound wisdom and helpful insight!

“It is He who spreads out the north over emptiness
And hangs the earth on nothing.

“Yet these are just the fringes of His ways [mere samples of His power],
The faintest whisper of His voice!
Who can contemplate the thunder of His [full] mighty power?”

“As God lives, who has taken away my right and denied me justice,
And the Almighty, who has caused bitterness and grief for my soul,

“May my enemy be as the wicked,
And he who rises up against me be as the unrighteous (unjust).

“Those who survive him will be buried because of the plague,
And [their] widows will not be able to weep.

Because I rescued the poor who cried for help,
And the orphan who had no helper.

“The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.

“I chose a way for them and sat as chief,
And dwelt as a king among his soldiers,
As one who comforts mourners.

“But now those younger than I mock and laugh at me,
Whose fathers I refused to put with the sheepdogs of my flock.

“They are driven from the community;
They shout after them as after a thief.

“Did I not weep for one whose life was hard and filled with trouble?
Was not my heart grieved for the needy?

“Therefore my lyre (harp) is used for [the sound of] mourning,
And my flute for the [sound of the] voices of those who weep.

“Did not He who made me in the womb make my servant,
And did not the same One fashion us both in the womb?

This also would have been [a heinous] sin calling for judgment,
For I would have denied God above.