Bible Browser

Job

Job and His Family

1There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. ²There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. ³He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. ⁴His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt-offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, ‘It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.’ This is what Job always did.

Attack on Job’s Character

6 One day the heavenly beings^* came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan^* also came among them. ⁷The Lord said to Satan,^* ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan^* answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ ⁸The Lord said to Satan,^* ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.’ ⁹Then Satan^* answered the Lord, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing? ¹⁰Have you not put 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 stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.’ ¹²The Lord said to Satan,^* ‘Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!’ So Satan^* went out from the presence of the Lord.

Job Loses Property and Children

13 One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother’s house, ¹⁴a messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were ploughing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, ¹⁵and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; 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; I alone have escaped to tell you.’ ¹⁷While he was still speaking, another came and said, ‘The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.’ ¹⁸While he was still speaking, another came and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, ¹⁹and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.’

20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshipped. ²¹He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’

22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

Attack on Job’s Health

2One day the heavenly beings^* 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?’ Satan^* answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ ³The Lord said to Satan,^* ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.’ ⁴Then Satan^* answered the Lord, ‘Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives.^{* 5}But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.’ ⁶The Lord said to Satan,^* ‘Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.’

7 So Satan^* went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. ⁸Job^* took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.

9 Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse^* God, and die.’ ¹⁰But he said to her, ‘You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job’s Three Friends

11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. ¹²When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. ¹³They sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

Job Curses the Day He Was Born

3After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. ²Job said:
³ ‘Let the day perish on which I was born,
   and the night that said,
   “A man-child is conceived.”
⁴ Let that day be darkness!
   May God above not seek it,
   or light shine on it.
⁵ Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.
   Let clouds settle upon it;
   let the blackness of the day terrify it.
⁶ That 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.
⁷ Yes, let that night be barren;
   let no joyful cry be heard^* in it.
⁸ Let those curse it who curse the Sea,^*
   those who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan.
⁹ Let the stars of its dawn be dark;
   let it hope for light, but have none;
   may it not see the eyelids of the morning—
¹⁰ because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,
   and hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹ ‘Why did I not die at birth,
   come forth from the womb and expire?
¹² Why were there knees to receive me,
   or breasts for me to suck?
¹³ Now I would be lying down and quiet;
   I would be asleep; then I would be at rest
¹⁴ with kings and counsellors of the earth
   who rebuild ruins for themselves,
¹⁵ or with princes who have gold,
   who fill their houses with silver.
¹⁶ Or why was I not buried like a stillborn child,
   like an infant that never sees the light?
¹⁷ There the wicked cease from troubling,
   and there the weary are at rest.
¹⁸ There 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 slaves are free from their masters.

²⁰ ‘Why is light given to one in misery,
   and life to the bitter in soul,
²¹ who long for death, but it does not come,
   and dig for it more than for hidden treasures;
²² who rejoice exceedingly,
   and are glad when they find the grave?
²³ Why is light given to one who cannot see the way,
   whom God has fenced in?
²⁴ For my sighing comes like^* my bread,
   and my groanings are poured out like water.
²⁵ Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me,
   and what I dread befalls me.
²⁶ I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
   I have no rest; but trouble comes.’

Eliphaz Speaks: Job Has Sinned

4Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
² ‘If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended?
   But who can keep from speaking?
³ See, you have instructed many;
   you have strengthened the weak hands.
⁴ Your words have supported those who were stumbling,
   and you have made firm the feeble knees.
⁵ But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
   it touches you, and you are dismayed.
⁶ Is not your fear of God your confidence,
   and the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷ ‘Think now, who that was innocent ever perished?
   Or where were the upright cut off?
⁸ As I have seen, those who plough iniquity
   and sow trouble reap the same.
⁹ By the breath of God they perish,
   and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.
¹⁰ The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,
   and the teeth of the young lions are broken.
¹¹ The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,
   and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

¹² ‘Now a word came stealing to me,
   my ear received the whisper of it.
¹³ Amid thoughts from visions of the night,
   when deep sleep falls on mortals,
¹⁴ dread came upon me, and trembling,
   which made all my bones shake.
¹⁵ A spirit glided past my face;
   the hair of my flesh bristled.
¹⁶ It stood still,
   but I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
   there was silence, then I heard a voice:
¹⁷ “Can mortals be righteous before^* God?
   Can human beings be pure before^* their Maker?
¹⁸ Even in his servants he puts no trust,
   and his angels he charges with error;
¹⁹ how much more those who live in houses of clay,
   whose foundation is in the dust,
   who are crushed like a moth.
²⁰ Between morning and evening they are destroyed;
   they perish for ever without any regarding it.
²¹ Their tent-cord is plucked up within them,
   and they die devoid of wisdom.”