Old/New Testament

1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who [reverently] feared God and abstained from and shunned evil [because it was wrong].

² And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.

³ He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very great body of servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East.

⁴ His sons used to go and feast in the house of each on his day (birthday) in turn, and they invited their three sisters to eat and drink with them.^(A)

⁵ And when the days of their feasting were over, Job sent for them to purify and hallow them, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed or disowned God in their hearts. Thus did Job at all [such] times.

⁶ Now there was a day when the sons (the angels) of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and accuser) also came among them.^(B)

⁷ And the Lord said to Satan, From where did you come? Then Satan answered the Lord, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it.

⁸ And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who [reverently] fears God and abstains from and shuns evil [because it is wrong]?

⁹ Then Satan answered the Lord, Does Job [reverently] fear God for nothing?

¹⁰ Have You not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have conferred prosperity and happiness upon him in the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

¹¹ But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face.

¹² And the Lord said to Satan (the adversary and the accuser), Behold, all that he has is in your power, only upon the man himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

¹³ And there was a day when [Job’s] sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house [on his birthday],

¹⁴ And there came a messenger to Job and said, The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,

¹⁵ And the Sabeans swooped down upon them and took away [the animals]. Indeed, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

¹⁶ While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, The fire of God (lightning) has fallen from the heavens and has burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

¹⁷ While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, The Chaldeans divided into three bands and made a raid upon the camels and have taken them away, yes, and have slain the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

¹⁸ While he was yet speaking, there came also another 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 [whirlwind] from the desert, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

²⁰ Then Job arose and rent his robe and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshiped

²¹ And said, Naked (without possessions) came I [into this world] from my mother’s womb, and naked (without possessions) shall I depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed (praised and magnified in worship) be the name of the Lord!

²² In all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly.

2 Again there was a day when the sons of God [the angels] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and the accuser) came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

² And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? And Satan (the adversary and the accuser) answered the Lord, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it.

³ And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who [reverently] fears God and abstains from and shuns all evil [because it is wrong]? And still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved Me against him to destroy him without cause.

⁴ Then Satan answered the Lord, Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has will he give for his life.

⁵ But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse and renounce You to Your face.

⁶ And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.

⁷ So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with loathsome and painful sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

⁸ And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself, and he sat [down] among the ashes.

⁹ Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your blameless uprightness? Renounce God and die!

¹⁰ But he said to her, You speak as one of the impious and foolish women would speak. What? Shall we accept [only] good at the hand of God and shall we not accept [also] misfortune and what is of a bad nature? In [spite of] all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

¹¹ Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, for they had made an appointment together to come to condole with him and to comfort him.

¹² And when they looked from afar off and saw him [disfigured] beyond recognition, they lifted up their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe, and they cast dust over their heads toward the heavens.

¹³ So they sat down with [Job] on the ground for seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief and pain were very great.

²² So Moses was educated in all the wisdom and culture of the Egyptians, and he was mighty (powerful) in his speech and deeds.

²³ And when he was in his fortieth year, it came into his heart to visit his kinsmen the children of Israel [^[a]to help them and to care for them].

²⁴ And on seeing one of them being unjustly treated, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian and slaying [him].

²⁵ He expected his brethren to understand that God was granting them deliverance by his hand [taking it for granted that they would accept him]; but they did not understand.

²⁶ Then on the next day he ^[b]suddenly appeared to some who were quarreling and fighting among themselves, and he urged them to make peace and become reconciled, saying, Men, you are brethren; why do you abuse and wrong one another?

²⁷ Whereupon the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed [Moses] aside, saying, Who appointed you a ruler (umpire) and a judge over us?

²⁸ Do you intend to slay me as you slew the Egyptian yesterday?

²⁹ At that reply Moses sought safety by flight and he was an exile and an alien in the country of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.^(A)

³⁰ And when forty years had gone by, there appeared to him in the wilderness (desert) of Mount Sinai an angel, in the flame of a burning bramblebush.

³¹ When Moses saw it, he was astonished and marveled at the sight; but when he went close to investigate, there came to him the voice of the Lord, saying,

³² I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And Moses trembled and was so terrified that he did not venture to look.

³³ Then the Lord said to him, Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground and worthy of veneration.

³⁴ Because I have most assuredly seen the abuse and oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their sighing and groaning, I have come down to rescue them. So, now come! I will send you back to Egypt [as My messenger].^(B)

³⁵ It was this very Moses whom they had denied (disowned and rejected), saying, Who made you our ruler (referee) and judge? whom God sent to be a ruler and deliverer and redeemer, by and with the [protecting and helping] hand of the Angel that appeared to him in the bramblebush.^(C)

³⁶ He it was who led them forth, having worked wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and during the forty years in the wilderness (desert).^(D)

³⁷ It was this [very] Moses who said to the children of Israel, God will raise up for you a Prophet from among your brethren as He raised me up.^(E)

³⁸ This is he who in the assembly in the wilderness (desert) was the go-between for the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and our forefathers, and he received living oracles (words that still live) to be handed down to us.^(F)

³⁹ [And yet] our forefathers determined not to be subject to him [refusing to listen to or obey him]; but thrusting him aside they rejected him, and in their hearts yearned for and turned back to Egypt.^(G)

⁴⁰ And they said to Aaron, Make us gods who shall [be our leaders and] go before us; as for this Moses who led us forth from the land of Egypt—we have no knowledge of what has happened to him.^(H)

⁴¹ And they [even] made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice to the idol and made merry and exulted in the work of their [own] hands.^(I)

⁴² But God turned [away from them] and delivered them up to worship and serve the host (stars) of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: Did you [really] offer to Me slain beasts and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness (desert), O house of Israel?^(J)

⁴³ [No!] You took up the tent (the portable temple) of Moloch and carried it [with you], and the star of the god Rephan, the images which you [yourselves] made that you might worship them; and I will remove you [carrying you away into exile] beyond Babylon.^(K)