Job 1–3

CHAPTER 1

Job Was Greatest of the Sons of the East

¹There was a man in the ^aland of Uz whose name was ^bJob; and that man was ^cblameless, upright, ^dfearing God, and ^eturning away from evil.

^2aSeven sons and three daughters were born to him.

^3aHis possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 pairs of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was ^bthe greatest of all the sons 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.

⁵Now it happened when the days of feasting had completed their cycle, that Job would send and set them apart as holy. And he would rise up early in the morning and offer ^aburnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “^bPerhaps my sons have sinned and ^1ccursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

All Job Has Is in Satan’s Hand

^6aNow it was the day that the ^bsons of God came to stand before ¹Yahweh, and ²Satan also came among them.

⁷And Yahweh said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, “^aFrom roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

⁸Then Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you set your heart upon ^aMy servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, ^ba blameless and upright man, ¹fearing God and turning away from evil.”

⁹And ^aSatan answered Yahweh and said, “Does Job ¹fear God without cause?

¹⁰“^aHave You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? ^bYou have blessed the work of his hands, and his ^cpossessions have increased in the land.

¹¹“^aBut send forth Your hand now and ^btouch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.”

¹²Then Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand, only do not send forth your hand toward him.” So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh.

Messengers Speak of the Fire of God

¹³Now it happened that on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their brother, the firstborn,

¹⁴a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the ¹donkeys feeding beside them,

¹⁵and ¹the ^aSabeans fell upon them and took them. They also struck down the young men with the edge of the sword, and ²I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁶While this one was still speaking, another also came and said, “^aThe fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the young men and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁷While this one was still speaking, another also came and said, “The ^aChaldeans set up three companies and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the young men with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁸While this one was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their brother, the firstborn,

¹⁹and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and touched 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 arose and ^atore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped.

²¹And he said,

“^aNaked I came from my mother’s womb,

And naked I shall return there.

^bYahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away.

Blessed be the name of Yahweh.”

^22aThrough all this Job did not sin, nor did he give offense to God.

CHAPTER 2

Satan Strikes Job’s Flesh

^1aAgain it was the day that the sons of God came to stand before Yahweh, and Satan also came among them to stand himself before Yahweh.

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

³And Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you set your heart upon My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, ¹fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still ^aholds fast his integrity. So you incited Me against him to swallow him up in vain.”

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

⁵“^aHowever, send forth Your hand now, and ^btouch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You in Your face.”

⁶So Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, only spare his life.”

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

⁸And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while ^ahe was sitting among the ashes.

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

¹⁰But he said to her, “You speak as one of the wickedly foolish women speaks. ^aShall we indeed accept good from God and not accept calamity?” ^bIn all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job’s Three Friends

¹¹Then Job’s three friends heard of all this calamity that had come upon him. So they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the ^aTemanite, Bildad the ^bShuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to ^cconsole him and comfort him.

¹²Then they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And each of them ^atore his robe, and they ^bthrew dust over their heads toward the sky.

^13aThen 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.

CHAPTER 3

Job Curses the Day of His Birth

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

²And Job answered and said,

³“^aLet the day perish on which I was to be born,

And the night which said, ‘A man is conceived.’

⁴“May that day be darkness;

Let not God seek it from above,

Nor light shine on it.

⁵“Let ^adarkness and shadow of death redeem it;

Let a cloud dwell upon it;

Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

⁶“As for that night, let thick darkness take it;

Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;

Let it not come into the number of the months.

⁷“Behold, let that night be barren;

Let no joyful shout enter it.

⁸“Let those curse it who curse the day,

Who are ¹ready to ^arouse Leviathan.

⁹“Let the stars of its twilight be darkened;

Let it hope for light but have none,

And let it not see the ¹breaking dawn,

¹⁰Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s ¹body,

Or hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹“^aWhy did I not die from the womb,

Come forth from the womb and breathe my last?

¹²“Why did the knees receive me,

And why the breasts, that I should suck?

¹³“For now I ^awould have lain down and been quiet;

I would have slept then; it would have been rest to me,

¹⁴With ^akings and with ^bcounselors of the earth,

Who rebuilt ^cwaste places for themselves,

¹⁵Or with ^aprinces ^bwho had gold,

Who were filling their houses with silver.

¹⁶“Or why was I not like a miscarriage hidden away,

As infants that never saw light?

¹⁷“There the wicked cease from raging,

And there the weary of strength are at ^arest.

¹⁸“The prisoners are at ease together;

They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.

¹⁹“The small and the great are there,

And the slave is free from his master.

²⁰“Why is ^alight given to him who is troubled,

And life to the bitter of soul,

²¹Who ^1along for death, but there is none,

And dig for it more than for ^bhidden treasures,

²²Who are glad with joy,

And rejoice when they find the grave?

²³“Why is light given to a man ^awhose way is hidden,

And whom ^bGod has hedged in?

²⁴“For ^amy groaning comes at the sight of my food,

And ^bmy roaring pours out like water.

²⁵“For ^athe dread that I dread comes upon me,

And what I am afraid of befalls me.

²⁶“I ^aam not complacent, nor am I quiet,

And I am not at rest, and raging comes.”