Job 1

1 In the land of Uz there was a blameless and upright man named Job, who feared God and avoided evil.
2 Seven sons and three daughters were born to him;
3 and he had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses, and a great number of work animals, so that he was greater than any of the men of the East.
4 His sons used to take turns giving feasts, sending invitations to their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
5 And when each feast had run its course, Job would send for them and sanctify them, rising early and offering holocausts for every one of them. For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and blasphemed God in their hearts. This Job did habitually.
6 One day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan also came among them.
7 And the LORD said to Satan, Whence do you come? Then Satan answered the LORD and said, From roaming the earth and patrolling it.
8 And the LORD said to Satan, Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?
9 But Satan answered the LORD and said, Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing?
10 Have you not surrounded him and his family and all that he has with your protection? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock are spread over the land.
11 But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face.
12 And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand upon his person. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
13 And so one day, while his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother,
14 a messenger came to Job and said, The oxen were plowing and the asses grazing beside them,
15 and the Sabeans carried them off in a raid. They put the herdsmen to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.
16 While he was yet speaking, another came and said, Lightning has fallen from heaven and struck the sheep and their shepherds and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you.
17 While he was yet speaking, another came and said, The Chaldeans formed three columns, seized the camels, carried them off, and put those tending them to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.
18 While he was yet speaking, another came and said, Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother,
19 when suddenly a great wind came across the desert and smote the four corners of the house. It fell upon the young people and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you.
20 Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair. He cast himself prostrate upon the ground,
21 and said, Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I go back again. 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 say anything disrespectful of God.

Job 2

1 Once again the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
2 And the LORD said to Satan, Whence do you come? And Satan answered the LORD and said, From roaming the earth and patrolling it.
3 And the LORD said to Satan, Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, faultless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil? He still holds fast to his innocence although you incited me against him to ruin him without cause.
4 And Satan answered the LORD and said, Skin for skin! All that a man has will he give for his life.
5 But now put forth your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face.
6 And the LORD said to Satan, He is in your power; only spare his life.
7 So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD and smote Job with severe boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
8 And he took a potsherd to scrape himself, as he sat among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, Are you still holding to your innocence? Curse God and die.
10 But he said to her, Are even you going to speak as senseless women do? We accept good things from God; and should we not accept evil? Through all this, Job said nothing sinful.
11 Now when three of Job's friends heard of all the misfortune that had come upon him, they set out each one from his own place: Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuh, and Zophar from Naamath. They met and journeyed together to give him sympathy and comfort.
12 But when, at a distance, they lifted up their eyes and did not recognize him, they began to weep aloud; they tore their cloaks and threw dust upon their heads.
13 Then they sat down upon the ground with him seven days and seven nights, but none of them spoke a word to him; for they saw how great was his suffering.

Job 3

1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.
2 Job spoke out and said:
3 Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, The child is a boy!
4 May that day be darkness: let not God above call for it, nor light shine upon it!
5 May darkness and gloom claim it, clouds settle upon it, the blackness of night affright it!
6 May obscurity seize that day; let it not occur among the days of the year, nor enter into the count of the months!
7 May that night be barren; let no joyful outcry greet it!
8 Let them curse it who curse the sea, the appointed disturbers of Leviathan!
9 May the stars of its twilight be darkened; may it look for daylight, but have none, nor gaze on the eyes of the dawn,
10 Because it kept not shut the doors of the womb to shield my eyes from trouble!
11 Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?
12 Wherefore did the knees receive me? or why did I suck at the breasts?
13 For then I should have lain down and been tranquil; had I slept, I should then have been at rest
14 With kings and counselors of the earth who built where now there are ruins
15 Or with princes who had gold and filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth, like babes that have never seen the light?
17 There the wicked cease from troubling, there the weary are at rest.
18 There the captives are at ease together, and hear not the voice of the slave driver.
19 Small and great are there the same, and the servant is free from his master.
20 Why is light given to the toilers, and life to the bitter in spirit?
21 They wait for death and it comes not; they search for it rather than for hidden treasures,
22 Rejoice in it exultingly, and are glad when they reach the grave:
23 Men whose path is hidden from them, and whom God has hemmed in!
24 For sighing comes more readily to me than food, and my groans well forth like water.
25 For what I fear overtakes me, and what I shrink from comes upon me.
26 I have no peace nor ease; I have no rest, for trouble comes!

Job 4

1 Then spoke Eliphaz the Temanite, who said:
2 If someone attempts a word with you, will you mind? For how can anyone refrain from speaking?
3 Behold, you have instructed many, and have made firm their feeble hands.
4 Your words have upheld the stumbler; you have strengthened his faltering knees.
5 But now that it comes to you, you are impatient; when it touches yourself, you are dismayed.
6 Is not your piety a source of confidence, and your integrity of life your hope?
7 Reflect now, what innocent person perishes? Since when are the upright destroyed?
8 As I see it, those who plow for mischief and sow trouble, reap the same.
9 By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his wrath they are consumed.
10 Though the lion roars, though the king of beasts cries out, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken;
11 The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12 For a word was stealthily brought to me, and my ear caught a whisper of it.
13 In my thoughts during visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
14 Fear came upon me, and shuddering, that terrified me to the bones.
15 Then a spirit passed before me, and the hair of my flesh stood up.
16 It paused, but its likeness I could not discern; a figure was before my eyes, and I heard a still voice:
17 Can a man be righteous as against God? Can a mortal be blameless against his Maker?
18 Lo, he puts no trust in his servants, and with his angels he can find fault.
19 How much more with those that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed more easily than the moth!
20 Morning or evening they may be shattered; with no heed paid to it, they perish forever.
21 The pegs of their tent are plucked up; they die without knowing wisdom.

Job 5

1 Call now! Will anyone respond to you? To which of the holy ones will you appeal?
2 Nay, impatience kills the fool and indignation slays the simpleton.
3 I have seen a fool spreading his roots, but his household suddenly decayed.
4 His children shall be far from safety; they shall be crushed at the gate without a rescuer.
5 What they have reaped the hungry shall eat up; (or God shall take it away by blight;) and the thirsty shall swallow their substance.
6 For mischief comes not out of the earth, nor does trouble spring out of the ground;
7 But man himself begets mischief, as sparks fly upward.
8 In your place, I would appeal to God, and to God I would state my plea.
9 (OMITTED TEXT)
10 He gives rain upon the earth and sends water upon the fields;
11 He sets up on high the lowly, and those who mourn he exalts to safety.
12 He frustrates the plans of the cunning, so that their hands achieve no success;
13 He catches the wise in their own ruses, and the designs of the crafty are routed.
14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, and at noonday they grope as though it were night.
15 But the poor from the edge of the sword and from the hand of the mighty, he saves.
16 Thus the unfortunate have hope, and iniquity closes her mouth.
17 Happy is the man whom God reproves! The Almighty's chastening do not reject.
18 For he wounds, but he binds up; he smites, but his hands give healing.
19 Out of six troubles he will deliver you, and at the seventh no evil shall touch you.
20 In famine he will deliver you from death, and in war from the threat of the sword;
21 From the scourge of the tongue you shall be hidden, and shall not fear approaching ruin.
22 At destruction and want you shall laugh; the beasts of the earth you need not dread.
23 You shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the wild beasts shall be at peace with you.
24 And you shall know that your tent is secure; taking stock of your household, you shall miss nothing.
25 You shall know that your descendants are many, and your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 You shall approach the grave in full vigor, as a shock of grain comes in at its season.
27 Lo, this we have searched out; so it is! This we have heard, and you should know.