'God' in the Bible

There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of perfect integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.

Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought: Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts. This was Job’s regular practice.

One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

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

One day the sons of God came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord.

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him, to destroy him without just cause.”

His wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.

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

Why is life given to a man whose path is hidden,whom God has hedged in?

They perish at a single blast from Godand come to an end by the breath of His nostrils.

“Can a person be more righteous than God,or a man more pure than his Maker?”

If God puts no trust in His servantsand He charges His angels with foolishness,

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

See how happy the man is God corrects;so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.

If only my request would be grantedand God would provide what I hope for:

Does God pervert justice?Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

But if you earnestly seek Godand ask the Almighty for mercy,

Such is the destiny of all who forget God;the hope of the godless will perish.

Look, God does not reject a person of integrity,and He will not support evildoers.

Yes, I know what you’ve said is true,but how can a person be justified before God?

If one wanted to take Him to court,he could not answer God once in a thousand times.

God is wise and all-powerful.Who has opposed Him and come out unharmed?

God does not hold back His anger;Rahab’s assistants cringe in fear beneath Him!

I will say to God:“Do not declare me guilty!Let me know why You prosecute me.

But if only God would speakand declare His case against you,

He would show you the secrets of wisdom,for true wisdom has two sides.Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your sin.

Can you fathom the depths of Godor discover the limits of the Almighty?

I am a laughingstock to my friends,by calling on God, who answers me.The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

The tents of robbers are safe,and those who provoke God are secure;God’s power provides this.

Wisdom and strength belong to God;counsel and understanding are His.

Yet I prefer to speak to the Almightyand argue my case before God.

Only grant these two things to me, God,so that I will not have to hide from Your presence:

But you even undermine the fear of Godand hinder meditation before Him.

Do you listen in on the council of God,or have a monopoly on wisdom?

as you turn your anger against Godand allow such words to leave your mouth?

If God puts no trust in His holy onesand the heavens are not pure in His sight,

For he has stretched out his hand against Godand has arrogantly opposed the Almighty.

God hands me over to unjust men;He throws me into the hands of the wicked.

My friends scoff at meas I weep before God.

I wish that someone might arbitratebetween a man and Godjust as a man pleads for his friend.

Indeed, such is the dwelling of the unjust man,and this is the place of the one who does not know God.

then understand that it is God who has wronged meand caught me in His net.

Why do you persecute me as God does?Will you never get enough of my flesh?

Even after my skin has been destroyed,yet I will see God in my flesh.

He swallows wealth but must vomit it up;God will force it from his stomach.

When he fills his stomach,God will send His burning anger against him,raining it down on him while he is eating.

This is the wicked man’s lot from God,the inheritance God ordained for him.

Their homes are secure and free of fear;no rod from God strikes them.

Yet they say to God: “Leave us alone!We don’t want to know Your ways.

God reserves a person’s punishment for his children.Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.

Can anyone teach God knowledge,since He judges the exalted ones?

Can a man be of any use to God?Can even a wise man be of use to Him?

Isn’t God as high as the heavens?And look at the highest stars—how lofty they are!

Yet you say: “What does God know?Can He judge through thick darkness?

They were the ones who said to God, “Leave us alone!”and “What can the Almighty do to us?”

Come to terms with God and be at peace;in this way good will come to you.

Then you will delight in the Almightyand lift up your face to God.

When others are humiliated and you say, “Lift them up,”God will save the humble.

God has made my heart faint;the Almighty has terrified me.

From the city, men groan;the mortally wounded cry for help,yet God pays no attention to this crime.

Yet God drags away the mighty by His power;when He rises up, they have no assurance of life.

How can a person be justified before God?How can one born of woman be pure?

Sheol is naked before God,and Abaddon has no covering.

As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,and the Almighty who has made me bitter,

as long as my breath is still in meand the breath from God remains in my nostrils,

For what hope does the godless man have when he is cut off,when God takes away his life?

Will God hear his crywhen distress comes on him?

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

This is a wicked man’s lot from God,the inheritance the ruthless receive from the Almighty.

But God understands the way to wisdom,and He knows its location.

When God fixed the weight of the windand limited the water by measure,

If only I could be as in months gone by,in the days when God watched over me,

Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me,they have cast off restraint in my presence.

For what portion would I have from God above,or what inheritance from the Almighty on high?

let God weigh me in accurate scales,and He will recognize my integrity.

what could I do when God stands up to judge?How should I answer Him when He calls me to account?

Did not the One who made me in the womb also make them?Did not the same God form us both in the womb?

For disaster from God terrifies me,and because of His majesty I could not do these things.

this would also be a crime deserving punishment,for I would have denied God above.

Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite from the family of Ram became angry. He was angry at Job because he had justified himself rather than God.

So do not claim, “We have found wisdom;let God deal with him, not man.”

The Spirit of God has made me,and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

I am just like you before God;I was also pinched off from a piece of clay.

But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter,since God is greater than man.

For God speaks time and again,but a person may not notice it.

God spares his soul from the Pit,his life from crossing the river of death.

He will pray to God, and God will delight in him.That man will see His face with a shout of joy,and God will restore his righteousness to him.

God certainly does all these thingstwo or three times to a man

For Job has declared, “I am righteous,yet God has deprived me of justice.

Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding.It is impossible for God to do wrong,and for the Almighty to act unjustly.

Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedlyand the Almighty does not pervert justice.

God is not partial to princesand does not favor the rich over the poor,for they are all the work of His hands.

God does not need to examine a person further,that one should approach Him in court.

But when God is silent, who can declare Him guilty?When He hides His face, who can see Him?Yet He watches over both individuals and nations,

Suppose someone says to God,“I have endured my punishment;I will no longer act wickedly.

Should God repay you on your termswhen you have rejected His?You must choose, not I!So declare what you know.

For he adds rebellion to his sin;he scornfully claps in our presence,while multiplying his words against God.