Job 2-6
Christian Standard Bible
Satan’s Second Test of Job
2 One day the sons of God(A) came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity,(B) who fears God and turns away from evil.(C) He still retains his integrity, even though you incited me against him, to destroy him for no good reason.”
4 “Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike(D) his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
6 “Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.(E) 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.(F)
9 His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.[a]
Job’s Three Friends
11 Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite,(G) Bildad the Shuhite,(H) and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort(I) him. 12 When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud,(J) and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head.(K) 13 Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights,(L) but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering(M) was very intense.
Job’s Opening Speech
3 After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born. 2 He said:
3 May the day I was born perish,
and the night that said,
“A boy is conceived.”(N)
4 If only that day had turned to darkness!
May God above not care about it,
or light shine on it.
5 May darkness and gloom(O) reclaim it,
and a cloud settle over it.
May what darkens the day terrify it.
6 If only darkness had taken that night away!
May it not appear[b] among the days of the year
or be listed in the calendar.[c]
7 Yes, may that night be barren;
may no joyful shout(P) be heard in it.
8 Let those who curse days
condemn(Q) it,
those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.(R)
9 May its morning stars grow dark.
May it wait for daylight but have none;
may it not see the breaking[d] of dawn.
10 For that night did not shut
the doors of my mother’s womb,
and hide sorrow from my eyes.
11 Why was I not stillborn;
why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?(S)
12 Why did the knees receive me,
and why were there breasts for me to nurse?(T)
13 Now I would certainly be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep.(U)
Then I would be at rest(V)
14 with the kings and counselors(W) of the earth,
who rebuilt ruined cities for themselves,
15 or with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses(X) with silver.
16 Or why was I not hidden like a miscarried child,(Y)
like infants who never see daylight?
17 There the wicked(Z) cease to make trouble,
and there the weary find rest.
18 The captives are completely at rest;(AA)
they do not hear a taskmaster’s voice.(AB)
19 Both small and great are there,
and the slave is set free from his master.(AC)
20 Why is light given to one burdened with grief,
and life to those whose existence is bitter,(AD)
21 who wait for death,(AE) but it does not come,
and search for it more than for hidden treasure,
22 who are filled with much joy
and are glad when they reach the grave?(AF)
23 Why is life given to a man whose path is hidden,(AG)
whom God has hedged in?
24 I sigh when food(AH) is put before me,[e]
and my groans pour out like water.(AI)
25 For the thing I feared has overtaken me,
and what I dreaded has happened to me.(AJ)
26 I cannot relax or be calm;
I have no rest,(AK) for turmoil has come.
First Series of Speeches
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 Should anyone try to speak with you
when you are exhausted?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Indeed, you have instructed many
and have strengthened(AL) weak hands.
4 Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling
and braced the knees that were buckling.(AM)
5 But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes(AN) you, and you are dismayed.
6 Isn’t your piety your confidence,
and the integrity of your life[f] your hope?(AO)
7 Consider: Who has perished when he was innocent?
Where have the honest[g] been destroyed?(AP)
8 In my experience, those who plow injustice
and those who sow trouble(AQ) reap the same.(AR)
9 They perish at a single blast(AS) from God
and come to an end by the breath of his nostrils.(AT)
10 The lion may roar and the fierce lion(AU) growl,
but the teeth of young lions are broken.(AV)
11 The strong lion dies if it catches no prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.(AW)
12 A word was brought to me in secret;
my ears caught a whisper of it.(AX)
13 Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night,(AY)
when deep sleep(AZ) comes over men,
14 fear and trembling came over me(BA)
and made all my bones shake.
15 I felt a draft[h] on my face,
and the hair on my body stood up.
16 A figure stood there,
but I could not recognize its appearance;
a form loomed before my eyes.
I heard a whispering voice:
17 “Can a mortal be righteous before God?
Can a man be more pure than his Maker?” (BB)
18 If God puts no trust in his servants
and he charges his angels with foolishness,[i](BC)
19 how much more those who dwell in clay houses,(BD)
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth!
20 They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;
they perish forever while no one notices.(BE)
21 Are their tent cords not pulled up?
They die without wisdom.(BF)
5 Call out! Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones(BG) will you turn to?
2 For anger kills a fool,
and jealousy slays the gullible.(BH)
3 I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.
4 His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,(BI)
with no one to rescue them.
5 The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.[j]
The thirsty[k] pant for his children’s wealth.
6 For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
7 But humans are born for trouble(BJ)
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 However, if I were you, I would appeal to God
and would present my case to him.(BK)
9 He does great(BL) and unsearchable things,
wonders without number.(BM)
10 He gives rain to the earth
and sends water to the fields.(BN)
11 He sets the lowly on high,
and mourners are lifted to safety.(BO)
12 He frustrates the schemes of the crafty
so that they[l] achieve no success.
13 He traps the wise in their craftiness
so that the plans of the deceptive
are quickly brought to an end.(BP)
14 They encounter darkness by day,
and they grope at noon
as if it were night.(BQ)
15 He saves the needy from their sharp words[m](BR)
and from the clutches of the powerful.
16 So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.(BS)
17 See how happy is the person whom God corrects;
so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds but he also bandages;
he strikes, but his hands also heal.(BT)
19 He will rescue you from six calamities;
no harm will touch you in seven.
20 In famine he will redeem you from death,
and in battle, from the power of the sword.(BU)
21 You will be safe from slander[n]
and not fear destruction when it comes.(BV)
22 You will laugh at destruction and hunger
and not fear the land’s wild creatures.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.(BW)
24 You will know that your tent is secure,(BX)
and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home.
25 You will also know that your offspring will be many
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
26 You will approach the grave(BY) in full vigor,(BZ)
as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season.
27 We have investigated this, and it is true!
Hear it and understand it for yourself.
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
6 Then Job answered:
2 If only my grief could be weighed
and my devastation(CA) placed with it on the scales.(CB)
3 For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas!
That is why my words are rash.
4 Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced[o] me;
my spirit drinks their poison.
God’s terrors are arrayed against me.(CC)
5 Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass
or an ox low over its fodder?
6 Is bland food eaten without salt?
Is there flavor in an egg white?[p]
7 I refuse to touch them;
they are like contaminated food.(CD)
8 If only my request would be granted
and God would provide what I hope for:
9 that he would decide to crush me,
to unleash his power and cut me off!
10 It would still bring me comfort,
and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain
that I have not denied[q] the words of the Holy One.(CE)
11 What strength do I have, that I should continue to hope?
What is my future, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength that of stone,
or my flesh made of bronze?
13 Since I cannot help myself,
the hope for success has been banished from me.
14 A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends,[r](CF)
even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,
as seasonal streams that overflow
16 and become darkened[s] because of ice,
and the snow melts into them.
17 The wadis evaporate in warm weather;
they disappear from their channels in hot weather.
18 Caravans turn away from their routes,
go up into the desert, and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema look for these streams.
The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.
20 They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water.
When they arrive there, they are disappointed.(CG)
21 So this is what you have now become to me.[t]
When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.
22 Have I ever said, “Give me something”
or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth”
23 or “Deliver me from the enemy’s hand”
or “Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless”?
24 Teach me, and I will be silent.
Help me understand what I did wrong.
25 How painful honest words can be!
But what does your rebuke prove?
26 Do you think that you can disprove my words
or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind?(CH)
27 No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child
and negotiate a price to sell your friend.(CI)
28 But now, please look at me;
I will not lie to your face.(CJ)
29 Reconsider; don’t be unjust.
Reconsider; my righteousness(CK) is still the issue.
30 Is there injustice on my tongue
or can my palate not taste disaster?(CL)
Footnotes
- 2:10 Lit sin with his lips
- 3:6 LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg; MT reads rejoice
- 3:6 Lit or enter the number of months
- 3:9 Lit the eyelids
- 3:24 Or My sighing serves as my food
- 4:6 Lit ways
- 4:7 Or the upright, or those with integrity
- 4:15 Or a spirit
- 4:18 Or error; Hb obscure
- 5:5 Hb obscure
- 5:5 Aq, Sym, Syr, Vg; MT reads snares
- 5:12 Lit their hands
- 5:15 Lit from the sword of their mouth; Ps 55:21; 59:7
- 5:21 Lit be hidden from the whip of the tongue
- 6:4 Lit Almighty are in
- 6:6 Hb obscure
- 6:10 Lit hidden
- 6:14 Lit To the despairing his friend loyalty
- 6:16 Or turbid
- 6:21 Alt Hb tradition reads So you have now become nothing
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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