Job 1-5

New International Version

Prologue

1 In 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) ²He had seven sons^(G) and three daughters,^(H) ³and 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^[a]^(R) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan^[b]^(S) also came with them.^(T) ⁷The 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?^(AA) You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.^(AB) ¹¹But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has,^(AC) and he will surely curse you to your face.”^(AD)

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

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

¹³One day when Job’s sons and daughters^(AG) were feasting^(AH) and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing^(AI) nearby, ¹⁵and the Sabeans^(AJ) 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^(AK) and burned up the sheep and the servants,^(AL) and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁷While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans^(AM) 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 daughters^(AN) were feasting^(AO) and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹when suddenly a mighty wind^(AP) swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead,^(AQ) and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!^(AR)”

²⁰At this, Job got up and tore his robe^(AS) and shaved his head.^(AT) Then he fell to the ground in worship^(AU) ²¹and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.^[c]^(AV)
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;^(AW)
may the name of the Lord be praised.”^(AX)

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

2 On another day the angels^[d]^(AZ) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them^(BA) 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.”^(BB)

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.^(BC) And he still maintains his integrity,^(BD) though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”^(BE)

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

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

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.^(BK) ⁸Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.^(BL)

⁹His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity?^(BM) Curse God and die!”^(BN)

¹⁰He replied, “You are talking like a foolish^[e] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”^(BO)

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.^(BP)

¹¹When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite,^(BQ) Bildad the Shuhite^(BR) and Zophar the Naamathite,^(BS) 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.^(BT) ¹²When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him;^(BU) they began to weep aloud,^(BV) and they tore their robes^(BW) and sprinkled dust on their heads.^(BX) ¹³Then they sat on the ground^(BY) with him for seven days and seven nights.^(BZ) No one said a word to him,^(CA) because they saw how great his suffering was.

Job Speaks

3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.^(CB) ²He said:

³“May the day of my birth perish,
    and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’^(CC)
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^(CD) claim it once more;
    may a cloud settle over it;
    may blackness overwhelm it.
⁶That night—may thick darkness^(CE) 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^(CF) be heard in it.
⁸May those who curse days^[f] curse that day,^(CG)
    those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.^(CH)
⁹May its morning stars become dark;
    may it wait for daylight in vain
    and not see the first rays of dawn,^(CI)
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?^(CJ)
¹²Why were there knees to receive me^(CK)
    and breasts that I might be nursed?
¹³For now I would be lying down^(CL) in peace;
    I would be asleep and at rest^(CM)
¹⁴with kings and rulers of the earth,^(CN)
    who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,^(CO)
¹⁵with princes^(CP) who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.^(CQ)
¹⁶Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,^(CR)
    like an infant who never saw the light of day?^(CS)
¹⁷There the wicked cease from turmoil,^(CT)
    and there the weary are at rest.^(CU)
¹⁸Captives^(CV) also enjoy their ease;
    they no longer hear the slave driver’s^(CW) shout.^(CX)
¹⁹The small and the great are there,^(CY)
    and the slaves are freed from their owners.

²⁰“Why is light given to those in misery,
    and life to the bitter of soul,^(CZ)
²¹to those who long for death that does not come,^(DA)
    who search for it more than for hidden treasure,^(DB)
²²who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when they reach the grave?^(DC)
²³Why is life given to a man
    whose way is hidden,^(DD)
    whom God has hedged in?^(DE)
²⁴For sighing^(DF) has become my daily food;^(DG)
    my groans^(DH) pour out like water.^(DI)
²⁵What I feared has come upon me;
    what I dreaded^(DJ) has happened to me.^(DK)
²⁶I have no peace,^(DL) no quietness;
    I have no rest,^(DM) but only turmoil.”^(DN)

Eliphaz

4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite^(DO) replied:

²“If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?^(DP)
³Think how you have instructed many,^(DQ)
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.^(DR)
⁴Your words have supported those who stumbled;^(DS)
    you have strengthened faltering knees.^(DT)
⁵But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;^(DU)
    it strikes^(DV) you, and you are dismayed.^(DW)
⁶Should not your piety be your confidence^(DX)
    and your blameless^(DY) ways your hope?

⁷“Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?^(DZ)
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?^(EA)
⁸As I have observed,^(EB) those who plow evil^(EC)
    and those who sow trouble reap it.^(ED)
⁹At the breath of God^(EE) they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.^(EF)
¹⁰The lions may roar^(EG) and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions^(EH) are broken.^(EI)
¹¹The lion perishes for lack of prey,^(EJ)
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.^(EK)

¹²“A word^(EL) was secretly brought to me,
    my ears caught a whisper^(EM) of it.^(EN)
¹³Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,^(EO)
¹⁴fear and trembling^(EP) seized me
    and made all my bones shake.^(EQ)
¹⁵A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.^(ER)
¹⁶It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:^(ES)
¹⁷‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?^(ET)
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?^(EU)
¹⁸If God places no trust in his servants,^(EV)
    if he charges his angels with error,^(EW)
¹⁹how much more those who live in houses of clay,^(EX)
    whose foundations^(EY) are in the dust,^(EZ)
    who are crushed^(FA) more readily than a moth!^(FB)
²⁰Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
    unnoticed, they perish forever.^(FC)
²¹Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,^(FD)
    so that they die^(FE) without wisdom?’^(FF)

5 “Call if you will, but who will answer you?^(FG)
    To which of the holy ones^(FH) will you turn?
²Resentment^(FI) kills a fool,
    and envy slays the simple.^(FJ)
³I myself have seen^(FK) a fool taking root,^(FL)
    but suddenly^(FM) his house was cursed.^(FN)
⁴His children^(FO) are far from safety,^(FP)
    crushed in court^(FQ) without a defender.^(FR)
⁵The hungry consume his harvest,^(FS)
    taking it even from among thorns,
    and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
⁶For hardship does not spring from the soil,
    nor does trouble sprout from the ground.^(FT)
⁷Yet man is born to trouble^(FU)
    as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁸“But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.^(FV)
⁹He performs wonders^(FW) that cannot be fathomed,^(FX)
    miracles that cannot be counted.^(FY)
¹⁰He provides rain for the earth;^(FZ)
    he sends water on the countryside.^(GA)
¹¹The lowly he sets on high,^(GB)
    and those who mourn^(GC) are lifted^(GD) to safety.
¹²He thwarts the plans^(GE) of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.^(GF)
¹³He catches the wise^(GG) in their craftiness,^(GH)
    and the schemes of the wily are swept away.^(GI)
¹⁴Darkness^(GJ) comes upon them in the daytime;
    at noon they grope as in the night.^(GK)
¹⁵He saves the needy^(GL) from the sword in their mouth;
    he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.^(GM)
¹⁶So the poor^(GN) have hope,
    and injustice shuts its mouth.^(GO)

¹⁷“Blessed is the one whom God corrects;^(GP)
    so do not despise the discipline^(GQ) of the Almighty.^[g]^(GR)
¹⁸For he wounds, but he also binds up;^(GS)
    he injures, but his hands also heal.^(GT)
¹⁹From six calamities he will rescue^(GU) you;
    in seven no harm will touch you.^(GV)
²⁰In famine^(GW) he will deliver you from death,
    and in battle from the stroke of the sword.^(GX)
²¹You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,^(GY)
    and need not fear^(GZ) when destruction comes.^(HA)
²²You will laugh^(HB) at destruction and famine,^(HC)
    and need not fear the wild animals.^(HD)
²³For you will have a covenant^(HE) with the stones^(HF) of the field,
    and the wild animals will be at peace with you.^(HG)
²⁴You will know that your tent is secure;^(HH)
    you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.^(HI)
²⁵You will know that your children will be many,^(HJ)
    and your descendants like the grass of the earth.^(HK)
²⁶You will come to the grave in full vigor,^(HL)
    like sheaves gathered in season.^(HM)