Prologue

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

Then 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.”

“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.

But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship

Then 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. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life.

But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

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

So 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.

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

Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Job Speaks

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

May gloom and utter darkness claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm it.

with kings and rulers of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,

The small and the great are there, and the slaves are freed from their owners.

Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?

Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands.

Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope?

At the breath of God they perish; at the blast of his anger they are no more.

‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?

If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error,