Beginning
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.
Chapter 2
Have You Paid Any Notice to My Servant Job?[i] 1 On another occasion the sons of God came forward to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan accompanied them. 2 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.”
3 The Lord said to Satan, “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. He still maintains his integrity, even though you incited me to ruin him without the slightest justification.”
4 Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin![j] A man will surrender everything he has to save his own life. 5 But now if you stretch forth your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, he will curse you to your face.” 6 The Lord said to Satan, “He is in your power, but you must spare his life.”
Job Did Not Utter a Single Sinful Word.[k] 7 Therefore, when Satan left the Lord’s presence, he afflicted Job with malignant sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Job took a potsherd to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.[l]
9 Then his wife said to him, “When will you give up persisting in your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. If we accept good things from God, should we not be willing to accept sorrows as well?” In all this, Job did not utter a single sinful word.
11 The Three Friends.[m] When three of Job’s friends heard of all the misfortunes that he had endured, each of them set out from his own home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. After they gathered together, they went forth to console and comfort him.[n]
12 However, when they first saw Job from a distance, they could hardly recognize him, and they wept aloud, tore their cloaks, and threw dust into the air over their heads. 13 Then they sat there with him upon the ground for seven days and seven nights. None of them spoke a word to him, for they could clearly see how greatly he was suffering.
First Cycle of Speeches
Job Curses the Day He Was Born
Chapter 3
Perish the Day on Which I Was Born. 1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 He said:
3 “Perish the day on which I was born
and the night it was said, ‘A boy is born.’
4 May that day turn to darkness;[o]
may God not take note of it from above,
and may light not shine upon it.
5 May gloom and heavy darkness claim it;
let clouds spread over it
and blackness eclipse its light.
6 May thick darkness overpower it;
let it not be numbered among the days of the year
or reckoned in the cycle of the months.
7 “May that night be barren;
let no cry of joy be heard during it.
8 Let those curse it who curse the sea
and are prepared to rouse Leviathan.[p]
9 May the stars of its twilight be darkened;
let it wait in vain for daylight
and never behold the first rays of dawn,
10 because it refused to shut the doors
of the womb of my mother who bore me
and shield my eyes from sorrow.
Why Go On Living?[q]
11 “Why did I not die at birth,
perishing as I came forth from the womb?
12 Why were there knees to receive me
or breasts for me to feed on?
13 “For now I would be lying in tranquility,
asleep and resting peacefully
14 with kings and counselors of the earth
who built palaces for themselves that now lie in ruins,
15 or with princes who possessed gold in abundance
and filled their homes with silver.
16 Or why was I not laid in a grave like a stillborn child,
like an infant that had never seen the light?
17 “In death[r] the wicked are free from worldly troubles
and the weary find rest.
18 There the captives enjoy the solace of peace
without having to cringe at the voice of their masters.
19 The small and the great are there as equals,
and servants are free from their masters.
What Good Is Life?[s]
20 “Why is light given to those in misery
and life to those whose hearts are bitter,
21 who long for death that never comes
and seek for it more than for hidden treasure,
22 who would rejoice to see the grave
and exult on reaching the tomb,
23 who are unable to find their way
and whom God has hemmed in on every side?[t]
24 “Sighs are for me my only food,
and my groans pour forth like water.
25 Everything that I fear has afflicted me,
and whatever I dread befalls me.
26 I am unable to find peace of mind or tranquility;
troubles assail me, and I find no rest.”
Eliphaz’s First Speech[u]
Chapter 4
Can You Recall Even One Innocent Person Who Perished?[v] 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded:
2 “If one of us attempts to reason with you, will you be offended?
Yet who can refrain from speaking?
3 Recall how you instructed many others
and strengthened their feeble hands.
4 Your words have supported those who were staggering,
and you have made firm their faltering knees.
5 “But now that adversity has befallen you, you have grown impatient;
you are dismayed because it has troubled you.
6 Does not your piety give you confidence
and the integrity of your life offer you hope?
7 Can you recall even one innocent person who perished?
Where have the upright ever been destroyed?
8 “My experience has been that those who plow iniquity and sow trouble
reap no other harvest.
9 At the breath of God they are destroyed;
at the blast of his anger they perish.
10 Even though they are as fierce as lions,
their fangs will be broken off.
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,
and the whelps of the lioness are abandoned.
Can a Human Being Appear Upright in the Presence of God?[w]
12 “A word was quietly brought to me;
a whisper of it reached my ears.
13 It was made known to me in nighttime visions
when sleep comes upon all men.
14 I was seized with terror and trembling
that caused all my bones to shake violently.
15 A spirit brushed across my face,
causing the hairs on my body to bristle.
16 It then halted,
but I could not discern its shape.
An image was before my eyes,
and then I heard a voice whisper:
17 “ ‘Can a human being appear upright in the presence of God?
Can a mortal seem pure before its Maker?
18 God places no trust in his servants,
and he finds fault even with his angels.[x]
19 How much more will this be true of those who dwell in houses of clay,
whose foundation is in the dust
and who can be crushed as easily as a moth.
20 From morning to evening they are cut down;
they perish forever, with hardly a thought from anyone.
21 Their tent-pegs are plucked up,
and they die devoid of wisdom.’
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