Job 1–3

1There was a man in the land of ^aUz, whose name was ^bJob; and that man was ^cperfect and upright, and one that ^dfeared God, and ^eeschewed evil. ²And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. ³His ^||substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great ^||household; so that this man was the greatest of all the ^†men of the east. ⁴And his sons went and ^ffeasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and ^gcalled for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. ⁵And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and ^hoffered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and ⁱcursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job ^†continually.

⁶Now ^jthere was a day when ^kthe sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and ^†Satan came also ^†among them. ⁷And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, ^lFrom going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. ⁸And the Lord said unto Satan, ^†Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, ^ma perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? ⁹Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? ¹⁰Hast not thou ⁿmade an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? ^othou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his ^||substance ^pis increased in the land. ^11qBut put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, ^†and he will curse thee ^rto thy face. ¹²And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy ^†power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

¹³And ^jthere was a day ^swhen his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: ¹⁴And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: ¹⁵And ^tthe Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. ¹⁶While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, ^||The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. ¹⁷While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, ^uThe Chaldeans made out ^vthree ^wbands, and ^†fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. ¹⁸While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, ^xThy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: ¹⁹And, behold, there came a great wind ^†from ^ythe wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. ²⁰Then Job ^zarose, and ^arent his ^||mantle, and ^bshaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, ²¹And said,

^cNaked came I out of my mother’s womb,

And naked shall I return thither:

The ^dLord ^egave, and the Lord hath taken away;

^fBlessed be the name of the Lord.

^22gIn all this Job sinned not, nor ^||charged God foolishly.

2Again ^athere was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. ^2bAnd the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. ^3cAnd the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he ^dholdeth fast his ^eintegrity, although thou movedst me against him, ^†to destroy him ^fwithout cause. ⁴And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. ^5gBut put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will ^hcurse thee to thy face. ⁶ⁱAnd the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; ^||but save his life. ⁷So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore ^jboils ^kfrom the sole of his foot unto his crown. ⁸And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; ^land he sat down among the ashes. ⁹Then said his wife unto him, ^mDost thou still ⁿretain thine integrity? ^hcurse God, and die. ¹⁰But he said unto her, Thou speakest as ^oone of the foolish women speaketh. What? ^pshall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? ^qIn all this did not Job ^rsin with his lips.

¹¹Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the ^sTemanite, and Bildad the ^tShuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had ^umade an appointment together to come ^vto mourn with him and to comfort him. ¹²And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they ^wrent every one his mantle, and sprinkled ^xdust upon their heads toward heaven. ¹³So they sat down with him upon the ground ^yseven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

3After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. ²And Job ^†spake, and said,

^3aLet the day perish wherein I was born,

And the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.

⁴Let that day be darkness;

Let not God regard it from above,

Neither let the light shine upon it.

⁵Let darkness and ^bthe shadow of death ^c||stain it;

Let a cloud dwell upon it;

^||Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

⁶As for that night, let darkness seize upon it;

^||Let it not be joined unto the days of the year,

Let it not come into the number of the months.

⁷Lo, let that night be ^dsolitary,

Let no ^ejoyful voice come therein.

⁸Let them curse it that curse the day,

Who are ready to raise up ^||their mourning.

⁹Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark;

Let it look for light, but have none;

Neither let it see ^†the dawning of the day:

¹⁰Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb,

Nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

^11fWhy died I not from the womb?

Why did I ^gnot give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

¹²Why did ^hthe knees prevent me?

Or why the breasts that I should suck?

¹³For now should I have lain still and been quiet,

I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

¹⁴With kings and counsellers of the earth,

Which built desolate places for themselves;

¹⁵Or with princes that had gold,

Who filled their houses with silver:

¹⁶Or as an hidden ⁱuntimely birth I had not been;

As infants which never saw light.

¹⁷There the wicked cease from troubling;

And there the ^†weary be at rest.

¹⁸There the prisoners ^jrest together;

^kThey hear not the voice of the oppressor.

¹⁹The small and great are there;

And the servant is free from his master.

²⁰Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery,

And life unto the ^lbitter in soul;

²¹Which ^†mlong for death, but it cometh not;

And dig for it more than for ⁿhid treasures;

²²Which rejoice ^oexceedingly,

And are glad, when they can find the grave?

^23pWhy is light given to a man ^qwhose way is hid,

And ^rwhom God hath hedged in?

²⁴For my sighing cometh ^†before I eat,

And my roarings are poured out like the waters.

²⁵For ^†the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me,

And that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

²⁶I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet;

Yet trouble came.