Beginning
1 There was a man in the land of Uz, called Job. And this man was an upright and just man, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
2 And he had seven sons and three daughters.
3 Also, the number of his livestock were seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels and five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred female donkeys. And his family was very great, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East.
4 And his sons went and banqueted in their houses, each on his day, and sent and called their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
5 And when the days of their banqueting had completed their cycle, Job sent, and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning and offered Burnt Offerings, according to the number of them all. For Job thought, “It may be that my sons have sinned and blasphemed God in their hearts.” Thus did Job every day.
6 Now, on a day when the children of God came and stood before the LORD, Satan also came among them.
7 Then the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” And Satan answered the LORD, saying, “From going to and fro on the Earth. And from walking in it.”
8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you not considered My servant, Job, how no one is like him on the Earth, an upright and just man, one who fears God and turns away from evil?”
9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?”
10 “Haven’t You made a hedge around him and around his house and around all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands. And his possessions have increased in the land.
11 “But now, stretch out Your Hand and touch all that he has, to see if he will not blaspheme You to Your Face.”
12 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Lo, all that he has is in your hand. Only, you shall not stretch out your hand upon him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.
13 And on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house,
14 there came a messenger to Job, and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding in their places,
15 “and the Sabeans came violently and took them. Indeed, they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword. But only I have escaped, alone, to tell you.”
16 And while he was still speaking, another came, and said, “The fire of God has fallen from the sky and has burnt up the sheep and the servants and devoured them. But only I have escaped, alone, to tell you.”
17 And while he was still speaking, another came, and said, “The Chaldeans appointed three bands and attacked the camels, and have taken them, and have killed the servants with the edge of the sword. But only I have escaped, alone, to tell you.”
18 And while he was still speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house,
19 “and behold, there came a great wind from beyond the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, which fell upon the children and they are dead. And only I have escaped, alone, to tell you.”
20 Then Job arose and tore his garment and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshipped,
21 and said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD has given. And the LORD has taken it. Blessed be the Name of the LORD.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin or blame God foolishly.
2 And one day, the children of God came and stood before the LORD. And Satan also came among them and stood before the LORD.
2 Then the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” And Satan answered the LORD, and said, “From going to and fro on the Earth, and from walking in it.”
3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you not considered My servant, Job, how no one is like him on the Earth, an upright and just man, one who fears God and turns away from evil? For he still continues in his uprightness, although you moved Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”
4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, “Skin for skin! And all that a man has, he will give for his life.
5 “But now, stretch out Your Hand and touch his bones and his flesh, to see if he will not blaspheme You to Your Face.”
6 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Lo, he is in your hand. But preserve his life.”
7 So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils, from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.
8 And he took a potsherd to scrape himself. And he sat down among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still continue in your uprightness? Blaspheme God and die!”
10 But he said to her, “You speak like a foolish woman. What? Shall we receive good from the Hand of God, and not receive misery?” In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.
11 Now, when Job’s three friends heard of all this calamity that had come upon him, they came, everyone from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had agreed together to come to lament with him, and to comfort him.
12 So, when they lifted up their eyes from far off, they did not know him. Therefore, they lifted up their voices and wept. And every one of them tore his garment and sprinkled dust upon his head, toward the sky.
13 So they sat by him, upon the ground, for seven days and seven nights. And no one spoke a word to him. For they saw that the grief was very great.
3 Afterward, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
2 And Job cried out, and said,
3 “Let the day on which I was born perish, and the night when it was said, ‘There is a male child conceived.’
4 “Let that day be darkness. Do not let God seek it from above or let the light shine upon it.
5 “Let darkness, and the shadow of death, stain it. Let the cloud remain upon it. And let them make it fearful, as a bitter day.
6 “Let darkness possess that night. Do not let it be joined to the days of the year or let it come into the count of the months.
7 “Yea, let that night be desolate! And let no joy be in it!
8 “Let those who curse the day, curse it (being ready to renew their mourning).
9 “Let the stars of that twilight be dim through the darkness of it. Let it look for light but have none. Nor let it see the dawning of the day,
10 “because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb or hide sorrow from my eyes.
11 “Why did I not die at birth? Or why did I not die when I came out of the womb?
12 “Why did the knees prevent me? And why did I suck the breasts?
13 “For I would now have lain down and been quiet. I would have slept then, and been at rest
14 “with the kings and counselors of the Earth, who have built themselves desolate places,
15 “or with the princes who had gold and have filled their houses with silver.
16 “Or, why was I not hidden, as a stillborn birth, or as infants who have not seen the light?
17 “There the wicked have ceased from tyranny. And there those who labored valiantly are at rest.
18 “The prisoners rest together, not hearing the voice of the oppressor.
19 “The small and great are there. And the servant is free from his master.
20 “Why is the light given to him who is in misery, and life to those who have heavy hearts,
21 “who long for death? And if it does not come, they will search for it even more than treasures,
22 “who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they can find the grave.
23 “Why is the light given to the man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?
24 “For my sighing comes before I eat. And my roarings are poured out like the water.
25 “For the thing I feared has come upon me. And the thing that I was afraid of has come to me.
26 “I had no peace. Nor had I quietness. Nor had I rest. Yet trouble has come.”
4 Then Eliphaz, the Temanite, answered and said,
2 “If we try to commune with you, will you grow weary? But who can withhold himself from speaking?
3 “Behold, you have taught many, and have strengthened weary hands.
4 “Your words have upheld him who was falling. And you have strengthened weak knees.
5 “But now it has come upon you, and you grow weary. It touches you, and you are troubled.
6 “Is not this your fear, your confidence, your patience and uprightness of your ways?
7 “Please remember, whoever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed?
8 “As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow wickedness reap the same.
9 “With the blast of God they perish. And with the breath of His Nostrils are they consumed.
10 “The roaring of the Lion, and the voice of the Lioness, and the teeth of the Lion’s whelps are broken.
11 “The Lion perishes for lack of prey. And the Lion’s whelps are scattered.
12 “But a thing was brought to me secretly. And my ear has received a little of it.
13 “In the thoughts of the visions of the night, when sleep falls on men,
14 “fear came upon me, and dread, which made all my bones tremble.
15 “And the wind passed before me, and made the hairs of my flesh stand up.
16 “Then, one stood. And I did not know his face, an image before my eyes. In silence, I heard a voice,
17 “‘Shall man be more just than God? Or shall a man be more pure than his Maker?
18 ‘Behold, he found no steadfastness in his servants, and laid folly upon his angels.
19 ‘How much more in those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which shall be destroyed before the moth?
20 ‘They are destroyed from the morning to the evening. They perish forever, without regard.
21 ‘Does not their excellence go away with them? Do they not die without wisdom?’”
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