Job 42
EasyEnglish Bible
Job replies to God[a]
42 Then Job replied to the Lord. He said this:
2 ‘I know that you can do all things.
You can do anything that you want to do.
Nobody can stop you.
3 You asked me, “Why do you ask questions about my wisdom,
when you do not understand anything?”
It is true. I was speaking about things that I do not understand.
They are things that are too wonderful for me to know.
4 You said to me, “Listen carefully to what I will say.
I will ask you questions and you must answer them.”
5 In the past, I had heard about you from other people.
Now I have seen you for myself.
6 So I am ashamed of the things that I said.
I sit here in dirt and in ashes
to show you that I am very sorry.’
The end of the story[b]
7 When the Lord had spoken to Job, he said this to Eliphaz, the man from Teman:
‘I am very angry with you and with your two friends. The things that my servant Job has said about me are true. But the things that you said were not right. 8 You three men must now go to Job. Take seven bulls and seven male sheep with you. Burn them as sacrifices for yourselves. After you have done that, my servant Job will pray for you. I will answer his prayer. Then I will not punish you as you deserve because of your foolish words. My servant Job has spoken the truth about me, but you have not.’
9 So Eliphaz, the man from Teman, Bildad, the man from Shuah, and Zophar, the man from Naamah, did what the Lord had told them to do. And the Lord answered Job's prayer.
10 After Job prayed for his three friends, the Lord made him a rich man again. He gave Job twice as many things as he had before. 11 Then Job's brothers and sisters came to eat a big meal with him in his house. People who had been Job's friends came also. They all told him that they were sad about his troubles. They were upset because the Lord had caused him to suffer. Each of them gave Job a piece of silver and a gold ring.
12 After this, the Lord blessed Job more than in the beginning of his life. All these animals belonged to Job: 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 pairs of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The daughters' names were Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren-Happuch. 15 They were the most beautiful women in the whole land of Uz. Job said that they should receive some of his things after he died, along with their brothers.[c]
16 Job lived for 140 years after this. He was still alive when his grandchildren and their grandchildren were born. 17 So when Job died, he had lived for a long time.
Footnotes
- 42:1 Job has heard God speak. Job has heard God speak about himself. And now Job sees that God's wisdom is so much greater than Job's wisdom. He sees that God's power is so much greater than the power of any man. Job is now sorry about the things that he said. He is ready to believe God again.
- 42:7 At the end of this chapter, God speaks to Job's three friends. He tells them that Job was right. And he tells them that they said wrong things about Job. But he asks Job to pray for them and he promises to forgive them. God is kind to Job after all his troubles. And he makes Job richer than he had been before.
- 42:15 This shows that Job loved his daughters very much.
Job 42
New International Version
Job
42 Then Job replied to the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;(A)
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.(B)
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’(C)
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.(D)
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’(E)
5 My ears had heard of you(F)
but now my eyes have seen you.(G)
6 Therefore I despise myself(H)
and repent(I) in dust and ashes.”(J)
Epilogue
7 After the Lord had said these things to Job(K), he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends,(L) because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.(M) 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams(N) and go to my servant Job(O) and sacrifice a burnt offering(P) for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer(Q) and not deal with you according to your folly.(R) You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”(S) 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite(T) did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.(U)
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes(V) and gave him twice as much as he had before.(W) 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before(X) came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him,(Y) and each one gave him a piece of silver[a] and a gold ring.
12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.(Z)
Footnotes
- Job 42:11 Hebrew him a kesitah; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value.
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