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¹There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

²Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

³His possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

⁴His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send word and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

⁵When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send word to them and consecrate them, getting up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job did so continually.

⁶Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

⁷The LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

⁸The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”

⁹Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

¹⁰Have You not made a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

¹¹But reach out with Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will certainly curse You to Your face.”

¹²Then the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not reach out and put your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.

¹³Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

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

¹⁵and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁶While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁷While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three units and made a raid on the camels and took them, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁸While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

¹⁹and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

²⁰Then Job got up, tore his robe, and shaved his head; then he fell to the ground and worshiped.

²¹He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

²²Despite all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God.

¹Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.

²The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

³The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds firm to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”

⁴Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life.

⁵However, reach out with Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face!”

⁶So the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”

⁷Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with severe boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.

⁸And Job took a piece of pottery to scrape himself while he was sitting in the ashes.

⁹Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold firm your integrity? Curse God and die!”

¹⁰But he said to her, “You are speaking as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?” Despite all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

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

¹²When they looked from a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe, and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.

¹³Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

¹Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

²And Job said,

³“May the day on which I was to be born perish, As well as the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

⁴May that day be darkness; May God above not care for it, Nor light shine on it.

⁵May darkness and black gloom claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it.

⁶As for that night, may darkness seize it; May it not rejoice among the days of the year; May it not come into the number of the months.

⁷Behold, may that night be barren; May no joyful shout enter it.

⁸May those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to disturb Leviathan.

⁹May the stars of its twilight be darkened; May it wait for light but have none, And may it not see the breaking dawn;

¹⁰Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, Or hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹“Why did I not die at birth, Come out of the womb and pass away?

¹²Why were the knees there in front of me, And why the breasts, that I would nurse?

¹³For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,

¹⁴With kings and counselors of the earth, Who rebuilt ruins for themselves;

¹⁵Or with rulers who had gold, Who were filling their houses with silver.

¹⁶Or like a miscarriage which is hidden, I would not exist, As infants that never saw light.

¹⁷There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at rest.

¹⁸The prisoners are at ease together; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.

¹⁹The small and the great are there, And the slave is free from his master.

²⁰“Why is light given to one burdened with grief, And life to the bitter of soul,

²¹Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures;

²²Who are filled with jubilation, And rejoice when they find the grave?

²³Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has shut off?

²⁴For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries pour out like water.

²⁵For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread encounters me.

²⁶I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

²“If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient? But who can refrain from speaking?

³Behold, you have taught many, And you have strengthened weak hands.

⁴Your words have helped the stumbling to stand, And you have strengthened feeble knees.

⁵But now it comes to you, and you are impatient; It touches you, and you are horrified.

⁶Is your fear of God not your confidence, And the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed?

⁸According to what I have seen, those who plow wrongdoing And those who sow trouble harvest it.

⁹By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.

¹⁰The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken out.

¹¹The lion perishes for lack of prey, And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹²“Now a word was brought to me secretly, And my ear received a whisper of it.

¹³Amid disquieting thoughts from visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on people,

¹⁴Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made all my bones shake.

¹⁵Then a spirit passed by my face; The hair of my flesh stood up.

¹⁶Something was standing still, but I could not recognize its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice:

¹⁷‘Can mankind be righteous before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?

¹⁸He puts no trust even in His servants; And He accuses His angels of error.

¹⁹How much more those who live in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth!

²⁰Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unregarded, they perish forever.

²¹Is their tent-cord not pulled out within them? They die, yet without wisdom.’