Job 1
Palabra de Dios para Todos
La vida intachable de Job
1 En el país de Uz había un hombre llamado Job. Era honesto e intachable, respetaba a Dios y no le hacía mal a nadie. 2 Job tenía siete hijos y tres hijas. 3 Tenía, además, 7000 ovejas, 3000 camellos, 500 yuntas de bueyes, 500 burras y muchos siervos. Era el hombre más rico del oriente.
4 Los hijos de Job tomaban turno para hacer banquetes en la casa de cada uno de ellos, a los cuales invitaban a sus tres hermanas para comer y beber con ellos. 5 Al terminar cada ronda de banquetes, Job les mandaba instrucciones a sus hijos para que se purificaran, y levantándose de madrugada ofrecía un sacrificio que debe quemarse completamente por cada uno de sus hijos, pues Job pensaba que tal vez sus hijos pudieran haber pecado y maldecido[a] a Dios con su pensamiento.
6 Entonces llegó el día en que los seres celestiales[b] se presentaron ante el SEÑOR, incluso Satanás[c] estaba allí con ellos. 7 El SEÑOR le dijo a Satanás:
—¿Dónde has estado?
Y Satanás le respondió al SEÑOR:
—He estado vagando por la tierra.
8 Entonces el SEÑOR le dijo a Satanás:
—¿Te has fijado en mi siervo Job? No hay nadie en la tierra como él. Job es un hombre intachable, honesto, respeta a Dios y rechaza el mal.
9 Satanás le respondió al SEÑOR:
—¿Pero es que Job respeta a Dios por nada? 10 ¿Acaso no lo proteges a él, a su familia y a sus posesiones? Haces que le vaya bien en todo lo que hace, y sus rebaños se ven por todo el país. 11 Pero si le quitaras todo lo que tiene, seguro que te maldeciría en tu propia cara.
12 El SEÑOR le dijo a Satanás:
—Puedes hacer lo que quieras con lo que le pertenece a Job, pero a él mismo no le hagas daño.
Entonces Satanás se retiró de la presencia del SEÑOR.
13 Un día en que los hijos e hijas de Job estaban comiendo y bebiendo vino en casa del hermano mayor, 14 llegó un mensajero, se acercó a Job y le dijo:
—Tus bueyes estaban arando y tus mulas estaban pastando cerca, 15 cuando los sabeanos[d] atacaron y se los llevaron. Asesinaron a tus siervos a espada. Yo fui el único que pudo escapar para contártelo.
16 Mientras este mensajero todavía estaba hablando, llegó otro y le dijo a Job:
—Cayó un rayo del cielo e incineró a tus ovejas y a tus trabajadores. Yo fui el único que pudo escapar para contártelo.
17 Mientras este mensajero todavía estaba hablando, llegó otro y le dijo a Job:
—Los caldeos[e] enviaron tres grupos de soldados que nos atacaron, se llevaron los camellos y mataron a todos tus servidores a filo de espada. Yo fui el único que pudo escapar para contártelo.
18 Mientras este mensajero todavía estaba hablando, llegó otro y le dijo a Job:
—Tus hijos y tus hijas estaban comiendo y bebiendo vino en la casa de tu hijo mayor, 19 de repente, sopló un fuerte viento desde el desierto y destruyó la casa. La casa cayó sobre ellos y todos murieron. Yo fui el único que pudo escapar para contártelo.
20 Cuando Job escuchó todo esto, rasgó su ropa y luego se rapó la cabeza. Después se postró en tierra en actitud de adoración 21 y dijo:
«Desnudo salí del vientre de mi mamá
y desnudo saldré de este mundo.
El SEÑOR dio y el SEÑOR quitó.
Alabado sea el nombre del SEÑOR».
22 Job no cometió ningún pecado en lo que dijo ni le reprochó a Dios lo que había pasado.
Footnotes
- 1:5 maldecido Textualmente bendecido. Los copistas tenían miedo de escribir expresiones como «maldecir a Dios», así que colocaban bendecir confiando en que por el contexto el lector supiera que en realidad se trataba de maldecir.
- 1:6 seres celestiales Textualmente hijos de Dios. Expresión generalmente usada en el Antiguo Testamento para referirse a los ángeles. Igual en 2:1.
- 1:6 Satanás Textualmente El Acusador, no es un nombre propio sino un título.
- 1:15 sabeanos Tribus nómadas del desierto de Arabia que saqueaban y robaban.
- 1:17 caldeos Gente de Aram, al norte de Uz.
Job 1
New Catholic Bible
Prologue: Job’s Prosperity, Woes, and Resignation[a]
Chapter 1
A Good and Righteous Man.[b] 1 Job, a good and righteous man, lived in the land of Uz. He feared God and shunned evil. 2 He was the father of seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he possessed seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred donkeys, in addition to a large number of servants. Thus, he was the greatest man throughout the entire East.
4 Job’s sons had the custom of taking turns hosting banquets in one another’s house, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when each banquet had been completed, Job would send for his children and sanctify them, rising early in the morning and sacrificing burnt offerings for each of them. For Job said, “It could perhaps have happened that my sons have sinned and blasphemed against God in their hearts.” This was his regular custom.
“Why Should Job Not Be a God-Fearing Man?”[c] 6 One day the sons of God assembled to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan was with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “I have been roaming the earth and going back and forth in it.” 8 The Lord asked him, “Have you paid any notice to my servant Job? You will not find anyone like him on the entire earth. He is a good and righteous man who fears God and shuns evil.”
9 Satan said in reply, “Why should Job not be a God-fearing man? 10 You have safeguarded him and his family and all his possessions with your protection. You have blessed every one of his undertakings, and his flocks have continued to increase throughout the land. 11 But if you stretch out your hand and strike all that he has, he will surely curse you to your face.” 12 The Lord then said, “Very well. All that he has is in your power. However, you may not lay a hand upon him.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.
13 Messengers of Woe.[d] One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “While your oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing beside them, 15 the Sabeans[e] swooped down on them and carried them off, after first putting the herdsmen to the sword. I alone have escaped to tell you.”
16 While he was speaking, another messenger arrived and said, “The fire of God[f] flashed from heaven, striking the sheep and their shepherds and consuming them. I alone have escaped to tell you.”
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger ran up and said, “Three bands of Chaldeans[g] made a raid on the camels and carried them off and slaughtered those who were tending them. I alone have escaped to tell you.”
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came forth and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house. 19 Then suddenly a powerful wind swept across the desert. It struck the four corners of the house, which collapsed upon the young people, and they are all dead. I alone have escaped to tell you.”
Blessed Be the Name of the Lord.[h]20 Then Job arose, tore his cloak, and shaved his head. He threw himself prostrate on the ground 21 and said:
“Naked I emerged from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will return.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin, nor did he revile God.
Footnotes
- Job 1:1 Job, a personage celebrated for his virtues and his misfortunes, is one of those nomadic or seminomadic leaders—“the people of the East”—who had a reputation for wisdom. He is not an Israelite but lives in the Arabian wilderness that surrounds southern Palestine. He belongs to a distant past as one of a trio of legendary figures celebrated in Israel—the others being Noah, the hero of the flood, and Daniel, the protagonist of the biblical Book modeled after an earlier Phoenician king renowned for wisdom, right judgment, and true piety (Ezek 14:14-20).
- Job 1:1 Job represents the ideal righteous person according to the Old Covenant, one who is faithful to all the religious observances. God blesses him in his children and in his possessions.
- Job 1:6 The ancient story imagines God as surrounded by his court of heavenly beings for a discussion of human destinies. Satan is one of these servants; as his name indicates, his role is that of a prosecutor who is hostile to this human being (see Zec 3:1). Later on, Satan (Greek, diabolos, devil) will be turned into God’s principal adversary, the leader of the demons, and will be identified with the “serpent” of Gen 3:1.
- Job 1:13 Four times without respite the announcement of disaster takes place. The accounts are linked together and are given along the same lines in order to dramatize the catastrophe.
- Job 1:15 Sabeans: nomadic raiders from northern Arabia.
- Job 1:16 Fire of God: that is, lightning (see Num 11:1; 1 Ki 18:38; 2 Ki 1:12).
- Job 1:17 Chaldeans: Syrian nomads.
- Job 1:19 Submissive to God in misfortune, Job is the model of pure religion, bereft of any egotism. He already announces the ideal of the Gospel.
© 2005, 2015 Bible League International
