But put forth Your hand now and touch (destroy) all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Yes, a man will give all he has for his life.

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.”

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

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

“He will rescue you from six troubles;
Even in seven, evil will not touch you.

“In famine He will redeem you from death,
And in war from the power of the sword.

“For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
Therefore my words have been incoherent,

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

“Teach me, and I will be silent;
And show me how I have erred.

“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul [O Lord].

“Will You never turn Your gaze away from me [it plagues me],
Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?

“Why then do You not pardon my transgression
And take away my sin and guilt?
For now I will lie down in the dust;
And You will seek me [diligently], but I will not be.”

“How long will you say these things?
And will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

“If you would [diligently] seek God
And implore the compassion and favor of the Almighty,

Then, if you are pure and upright,
Surely now He will awaken for you
And restore your righteous place.

“If he is snatched from his place [in the garden],
Then his place will forget him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’

“Behold, this is the joy of His way;
And from out of the dust others will spring up and grow [to take his place].

“Behold, God will not reject a man of integrity,
Nor will He strengthen or support evildoers.

“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
And your lips with joyful shouting [if you are found blameless].

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

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

“God will not turn back His anger;
The [proud] helpers of Rahab [the arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.

“He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills and saturates me with bitterness.

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

“If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad appearance, and be cheerful and brighten up,’

I am afraid of all my pains and worries [yet to come];
I know that You will not acquit me and leave me unpunished.

You would still plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would hate me [and refuse to cover my foul body].

“I am disgusted with my life and loathe it!
I will give free expression to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me [and declare me guilty]!
Show me why You contend and argue and struggle with me.

‘Remember now, that You have made me as clay;
So will You turn me into dust again?

‘If I sin, then You would take note and observe me,
And You would not acquit me of my guilt.

“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.

“No doubt you are the [only wise] people [in the world],
And wisdom will die with you!

“Now ask the animals, and let them teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character];
And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you;

Or speak to the earth [with its many forms of life], and it will teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare [this truth] to you.

“Will you speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?

“Will you show partiality for Him [and be unjust to me so that you may gain favor with Him]?
Will you contend and plead for God?

“He will surely reprimand you
If you secretly show partiality.

“Your memorable sayings are [worthless, merely] proverbs of ashes;
Your defenses are defenses of [crumbling] clay.

“Even though He kills me;
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless, I will argue my ways to His face.

“This also will be my salvation,
For a godless man may not come before Him.

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

“Only [O Lord,] do not do two things to me,
And then I will not hide myself from Your face:

“Then [Lord,] call, and I will answer;
Or let me speak, and then reply to me.

“Will You cause a windblown leaf to tremble?
Will You pursue the chaff of the dry stubble?

“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that the shoots of it will not cease nor fail, [but there is no such hope for man].

Yet at the scent of water [the stump of the tree] will flourish
And bring forth sprigs and shoots like a seedling.

So man lies down and does not rise [again].
Until the heavens are no longer,
The dead will not awake nor be raised from their sleep.

“If a man dies, will he live again?
I will wait all the days of my struggle
Until my change and release will come.

“I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;

“He does not believe that he will return out of the darkness [for fear of being murdered],
And he is destined for the sword [of God’s vengeance].

“Is there no end to [your futile] words of wind?
Or what plagues you [so much] that you [so boldly] answer [me like this]?

“O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let there be no [resting] place for my cry [where it will cease being heard].

“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?

“But You [Lord] have closed their hearts to understanding,
Therefore You will not exalt them [by giving a verdict against me].

If I call out to the pit (grave), ‘You are my father’;
And to the worm [that feeds on decay], ‘You are my mother and my sister [because I will soon be closest to you],’

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

“How long will you hunt for words and continue these speeches?
Do some clear thinking and show understanding and then we can talk.

“A snare catches him by the heel,
And a trap snaps shut on him.

“How long will you torment and exasperate me
And crush me with words?

“Why do you persecute me as God does?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh (anguish)?

“For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives,
And at the last He will take His stand upon the earth.

“If you say, ‘How shall we [continue to] persecute him?’
And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find [since we claim the root of these afflictions is found in him]?’

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

“He flies away like a dream and cannot be found;
Yes, he is chased away like a vision of the night.

“The eye which saw him sees him no longer,
Neither does his [accustomed] place behold him any longer.

“His sons favor the poor [and pay his obligations],
And his hands give back his [ill-gotten] wealth.

“His bones are full of youthful strength
But it lies down with him in the dust.

“He swallows [his ill-gotten] riches,
But will vomit them up;
God will drive them out of his belly.

“Because he knew no quietness or calm within him [because of his greed],
He does not retain anything he desires.

“There is nothing left of what he devoured;
Therefore his prosperity does not endure.

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

“He may flee from the iron weapon,
But the bow of bronze will pierce him through.

“The produce and increase of his house will depart [with the victors];
His possessions will be dragged away in the day of God’s wrath.

“Bear with me, and I also will speak;
And after I have spoken, you may [continue to] mock [me].

“Will you keep to the ancient path
That wicked men walked [in the time of Noah],

“Now yield and submit yourself to Him [agree with God and be conformed to His will] and be at peace;
In this way [you will prosper and great] good will come to you.

“If you return to the Almighty [and submit and humble yourself before Him], you will be built up [and restored];
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents,

Then you will have delight in the Almighty,
And you will lift up your face to God.

“You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,
And you will pay your vows.

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

“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.”

“Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert,
The poor go to their work, diligently seeking food;
As bread for their children in the desert.

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

“Far be it from me that I should admit you are right [in your accusations against me];
Until I die, I will not remove my integrity from me.

“I hold fast my uprightness and my right standing with God and I will not let them go;
My heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

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

“Will he take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?

“I will teach you regarding the hand (power) of God;
I will not conceal what is with the Almighty [God’s actual treatment of the wicked].

“Though his children are many, they are destined for the sword;
And his descendants will not have sufficient bread.

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

He may prepare it, but the just will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.

“He lies down rich, but never will again;
He opens his eyes, and it is gone.

“Among the bushes they cry out [like wild animals];
Beneath the prickly scrub they gather and huddle together.

“For I know that You will bring me to death
And to the house of meeting [appointed] for all the living.

“However, does not one falling in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand?
Or in his disaster [will he not] therefore cry out for help?

“I assure you, the men of my tent have said,
‘Who can find one [in need] who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

“Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;
I also will give you my opinion [about Job’s situation] and tell you plainly what I think.’