Job 1–3

Prologue

1In the land of Uz^a there lived a man whose name was Job.^b This man was blameless^c and upright;^d he feared God^e and shunned evil.^{f 2}He had seven sons^g and three daughters,^{h 3}and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys,ⁱ and had a large number of servants.^j He was the greatest man^k among all the people of the East.^l

⁴His sons used to hold feasts^m in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified.ⁿ Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering^o for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned^p and cursed God^q in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

⁶One day the angels^ar came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan^bs also came with them.^{t 7}The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”^u

⁸Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job?^v There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God^w and shuns evil.”^x

⁹“Does Job fear God for nothing?”^y Satan replied. ¹⁰“Have you not put a hedge^z around him and his household and everything he has?^a You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.^{b 11}But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has,^c and he will surely curse you to your face.”^d

¹²The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has^e is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”^f

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

¹³One day when Job’s sons and daughters^g were feasting^h and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazingⁱ nearby, ¹⁵and the Sabeans^j attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁶While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens^k and burned up the sheep and the servants,^l and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁷While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans^m formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁸While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughtersⁿ were feasting^o and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹when suddenly a mighty wind^p swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead,^q and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!^r”

²⁰At this, Job got up and tore his robe^s and shaved his head.^t Then he fell to the ground in worship^{u 21}and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

and naked I will depart.^cv

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;^w

may the name of the Lord be praised.”^x

²²In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.^y

2On another day the angels^az came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them^a to present himself before him. ²And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”^b

³Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.^c And he still maintains his integrity,^d though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”^e

⁴“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has^f for his own life. ⁵But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones,^g and he will surely curse you to your face.”^h

⁶The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands;ⁱ but you must spare his life.”^j

⁷So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.^{k 8}Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.^l

⁹His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity?^m Curse God and die!”ⁿ

¹⁰He replied, “You are talking like a foolish^b woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”^o

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.^p

¹¹When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite,^q Bildad the Shuhite^r and Zophar the Naamathite,^s heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.^{t 12}When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him;^u they began to weep aloud,^v and they tore their robes^w and sprinkled dust on their heads.^{x 13}Then they sat on the ground^y with him for seven days and seven nights.^z No one said a word to him,^a because they saw how great his suffering was.

Job Speaks

3After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.^{b 2}He said:

³“May the day of my birth perish,

and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’^c

⁴That day—may it turn to darkness;

may God above not care about it;

may no light shine on it.

⁵May gloom and utter darkness^d claim it once more;

may a cloud settle over it;

may blackness overwhelm it.

⁶That night—may thick darkness^e seize it;

may it not be included among the days of the year

nor be entered in any of the months.

⁷May that night be barren;

may no shout of joy^f be heard in it.

⁸May those who curse days^a curse that day,^g

those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.^h

⁹May its morning stars become dark;

may it wait for daylight in vain

and not see the first rays of dawn,ⁱ

¹⁰for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me

to hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹“Why did I not perish at birth,

and die as I came from the womb?^j

¹²Why were there knees to receive me^k

and breasts that I might be nursed?

¹³For now I would be lying down^l in peace;

I would be asleep and at rest^m

¹⁴with kings and rulers of the earth,ⁿ

who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,^o

¹⁵with princes^p who had gold,

who filled their houses with silver.^q

¹⁶Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,^r

like an infant who never saw the light of day?^s

¹⁷There the wicked cease from turmoil,^t

and there the weary are at rest.^u

¹⁸Captives^v also enjoy their ease;

they no longer hear the slave driver’s^w shout.^x

¹⁹The small and the great are there,^y

and the slaves are freed from their owners.

²⁰“Why is light given to those in misery,

and life to the bitter of soul,^z

²¹to those who long for death that does not come,^a

who search for it more than for hidden treasure,^b

²²who are filled with gladness

and rejoice when they reach the grave?^c

²³Why is life given to a man

whose way is hidden,^d

whom God has hedged in?^e

²⁴For sighing^f has become my daily food;^g

my groans^h pour out like water.ⁱ

²⁵What I feared has come upon me;

what I dreaded^j has happened to me.^k

²⁶I have no peace,^l no quietness;

I have no rest,^m but only turmoil.”ⁿ