Job 1–3

Job’s Character and Wealth

1There was a man in the land of ^aUz whose name was ^bJob, and that man was ^cblameless and upright, one who ^dfeared God and ^eturned away from evil. ²There were born to him ^fseven sons and three daughters. ³He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all ^gthe people 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 and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and ^hconsecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and ⁱoffer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and ^jcursed¹ God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

Satan Allowed to Test Job

⁶Now there was a day when ^kthe sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and ^lSatan² also came among them. ⁷The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From ^mgoing to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” ⁸And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you ⁿconsidered my ^oservant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, ^pa blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” ⁹Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? ¹⁰Have you not put ^qa hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have ^rblessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹But ^sstretch out your hand and ^ttouch all that he has, and he will ^ucurse you ^vto your face.” ¹²And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Satan Takes Job’s Property and Children

¹³Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, ¹⁵and ^wthe Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants³ with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁶While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, ^x“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 yet speaking, there came another and said, ^y“The Chaldeans formed ^zthree groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁸While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, ^a“Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹and behold, a great wind came across ^bthe wilderness and struck 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.”

²⁰Then Job arose and ^ctore his ^drobe and ^eshaved his head ^fand fell on the ground and worshiped. ²¹And he said, ^g“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I ^hreturn. The Lord ⁱgave, and the Lord has taken away; ^jblessed be the name of the Lord.”

^22kIn all this Job did not sin or charge God with ^lwrong.

Satan Attacks Job’s Health

2Again ^mthere 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. ²And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” ³And 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, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still ⁿholds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him ^owithout reason.” ⁴Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. ⁵But ^pstretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will ^qcurse you to your face.” ⁶And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

⁷So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome ^rsores from ^sthe sole of his foot to the crown of his head. ⁸And he took ^ta piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in ^uthe ashes.

⁹Then his wife said to him, “Do you still ^vhold fast your integrity? ^qCurse God and die.” ¹⁰But he said to her, “You speak as one of the ^wfoolish women would speak. ^xShall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”^{1 y}In all this Job did not ^zsin with his lips.

Job’s Three Friends

¹¹Now when Job’s three ^afriends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz ^bthe Temanite, Bildad ^cthe Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to ^dshow him sympathy and comfort him. ¹²And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they ^etore their robes and sprinkled ^fdust on their heads toward heaven. ¹³And they sat with him on the ground ^gseven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

Job Laments His Birth

3After this Job ^hopened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. ²And Job said:

³ⁱ“Let the day perish on which I was born,

and the night that said,

‘A man is conceived.’

⁴Let that day be darkness!

May God above not seek it,

nor light shine upon it.

⁵Let gloom and ^jdeep darkness claim it.

Let clouds dwell upon it;

let the blackness of the day terrify it.

⁶That night—let thick darkness seize it!

Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;

let it not come into the number of the months.

⁷Behold, let that night be barren;

let no joyful cry enter it.

⁸Let those curse it who curse the day,

who are ready to rouse up ^kLeviathan.

⁹Let the stars of its dawn be dark;

let it hope for light, but have none,

nor see ^lthe eyelids of the morning,

¹⁰because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,

nor hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹“Why ^mdid I not die at birth,

come out from the womb and expire?

¹²Why did ⁿthe knees receive me?

Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?

¹³For then 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 ^orebuilt ruins for themselves,

¹⁵or with princes who had gold,

who filled their houses with silver.

¹⁶Or why was I not as a hidden ^pstillborn child,

as infants who never see the light?

¹⁷There the wicked cease from troubling,

and there the weary are at ^qrest.

¹⁸There the prisoners are at ease together;

they hear not the voice of ^rthe taskmaster.

¹⁹The small and the great are there,

and the slave is free from his master.

²⁰“Why is light given to him who is in misery,

and life to ^sthe bitter in soul,

²¹who ^tlong for death, but it comes not,

and dig for it more than for ^uhidden treasures,

²²who rejoice exceedingly

and are glad when they find the grave?

²³Why is light given to a man whose ^vway is hidden,

whom God has ^whedged in?

²⁴For my sighing comes ^xinstead of¹ my bread,

and my ^ygroanings are poured out like water.

^25zFor the thing that I fear comes upon me,

and what I dread befalls me.

²⁶I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;

I have no rest, but trouble comes.”