Job 42
International Children’s Bible
Job Answers the Lord
42 Then Job answered the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things.
No plan of yours can be ruined.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that made my purpose unclear by saying things that are not true?’
Surely I talked about things I did not understand.
I spoke of things too wonderful for me to know.
4 You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak.
I will ask you questions.
And you must answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you before.
But now my eyes have seen you.
6 So now I hate myself.
I will change my heart and life and sit in the dust and ashes.”
End of the Story
7 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he spoke to Eliphaz the Temanite. The Lord said to him, “I am angry with you and your two friends. This is because you have not said what is right about me. But my servant Job did. 8 So now take seven bulls and seven male sheep. Go to my servant Job. And offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you. And I will listen to his prayer. Then I will not punish you for being foolish. You have not said what is right about me. But my servant Job did.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite did as the Lord told him to do. Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite also did as the Lord said. And the Lord listened to Job’s prayer.
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, God gave him success again. God gave Job twice as much as he had owned before. 11 Job’s brothers and sisters came to his house. Everyone who had known him before came to his house. And they all ate with him there. They comforted Job and spoke kindly to him. They made him feel better about the trouble the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave Job a piece of silver and a gold ring.
12 The Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life even more than the first part. Job had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels. He had 1,000 pairs of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 Job also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first daughter Jemimah. The second daughter he named Keziah. And his third daughter he named Keren-Happuch. 15 There were no other women in all the land as beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father Job gave them land to own along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived 140 years. He lived to see his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. 17 Then Job died. He was old and had lived many years.
Job 42
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
42 Then Job said to the Lord,
2 I know that You can do all things, and that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained or thwarted.
3 [You said to me] Who is this that darkens and obscures counsel [by words] without knowledge? Therefore [I now see] I have [rashly] uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.(A)
4 [I had virtually said to You what You have said to me:] Hear, I beseech You, and I will speak; I will demand of You, and You declare to me.
5 I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear, but now my [spiritual] eye sees You.
6 Therefore I loathe [my words] and abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.
7 After the Lord had spoken the previous words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has.
8 Now therefore take seven bullocks and seven rams and go to My servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept [his prayer] that I deal not with you after your folly, in that you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has.
9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord commanded them; and the Lord accepted [Job’s prayer].
10 And the Lord turned the captivity of Job and restored his fortunes, when he prayed for his friends; also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.(B)
11 Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they sympathized with him and comforted him over all the [distressing] calamities that the Lord had brought upon him. Every man also gave him a piece of money, and every man an earring of gold.
12 And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.(C)
13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.
14 And he called the name of the first Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch.
15 And in all the land there were no women so fair as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his sons’ sons, even to four generations.
17 So Job died, an old man and full of days.(D)
Job 42
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 42
Job’s Final Response[a]
Now I Have Seen You with My Own Eyes. 1 Job then answered the Lord in these words:
2 “I know that you can do all things
and that no plan you conceive can be thwarted.
3 Because of my ignorance
I have spoken of things that I have not understood,
of things too wondrous for me to know.
4 “You had said, ‘Listen and let me speak.
I intend to put questions to you,
and you must give me your answers.’
5 I had heard of you only by hearsay,
but now that I have seen you with my own eyes,
6 I retract what I have said,
repenting in dust and ashes.”
Epilogue: Job’s Honor and Goods Are Restored[b]
You Have Not Spoken About Me As You Should Have Done.[c] 7 After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken about me as you should, as my servant Job has. 8 Therefore, now take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. Then my servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer not to punish you severely, for you have not spoken about me as you should, as my servant Job has.”
9 Therefore, Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went forth and did what the Lord had commanded them. And the Lord accepted the intercession of Job.
10 God Restores the Prosperity of Job.[d] Thereupon the Lord restored the prosperity of Job after he had prayed for his friends, and he enriched him with twice as much as he had possessed before. 11 Then all his brothers and sisters came to him, as well as all his friends from former days. As they feasted with him in his house, they sympathized with him about his previous troubles, and they comforted him for all the misfortunes that the Lord had permitted to be inflicted upon him. Moreover, each of them gave him some money and a gold ring.
12 The Lord blessed the end of Job’s life more than the beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. 13 He also fathered seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the eldest daughter Jemimah,[e] the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In the entire land there were no women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.[f]
16 After this, Job lived for another one hundred and forty years, and he saw his children and his children’s children to the fourth generation. 17 Then Job died at a very great age.
Footnotes
- Job 42:1 Suffering is still mysterious, but Job humbles himself before God. He was wrong, posing as a judge in the name of too human an idea of God. He has now encountered God, i.e., he has had a new experience of God, a new perception of his mystery, and it has transformed him interiorly. Job can entrust himself with confidence to this God of infinite grandeur and unlimited power.
- Job 42:7 With Job’s reply (vv. 1-6), the drama has come to an end, but the author does not want to leave his readers in ignorance of what became of the principal players. Here is the Lord’s definitive judgment: the friends of Job are blameworthy, and Job, God’s impatient but faithful servant, has the greatest blessings heaped upon him.
- Job 42:7 God conducts the trial of the three friends. Job’s prayer will obtain pardon for them.
- Job 42:10 Job shows his greatness through his goodness, for he intercedes for those who have treated him harshly. Job recovers double what he previously had of honors, riches, posterity, length of life, and heaped-up possessions: all the rewards of the righteous, all the prosperity of the Patriarchs.
- Job 42:14 Jemimah: i.e., “dove.” Keziah: i.e., “cassia” or “cinnamon.” Keren-happuch: i.e., “eye cosmetic.”
- Job 42:15 Normally, daughters received an inheritance only when there were no sons (see Num 27:1-11).
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
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