Old/New Testament
I. The Prologue (1:1-2:13)
Job’s Good Life[a]
1 [b] There was a man[c] in the land of Uz[d] whose[e] name was Job.[f] And that man was blameless[g] and upright,[h] one who feared God and turned away from evil.[i] 2 Seven[j] sons and three daughters were born to him.[k] 3 His possessions[l] included[m] 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys; in addition he had a very great household.[n] Thus he[o] was the greatest of all the people in the east.[p]
4 Now his sons used to go[q] and hold[r] a feast in the house of each one in turn,[s] and they would send and invite[t] their three[u] sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5 When[v] the days of their feasting were finished,[w] Job would send[x] for them and sanctify[y] them; he would get up early[z] in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to[aa] the number of them all. For Job thought, “Perhaps[ab] my children[ac] have sinned and cursed[ad] God in their hearts.” This was Job’s customary practice.[ae]
Satan’s Accusation of Job[af]
6 Now the day came when[ag] the sons of God[ah] came to present themselves before[ai] the Lord—and Satan[aj] also arrived among them. 7 The Lord said[ak] to Satan, “Where have you come from?”[al] And Satan answered the Lord,[am] “From roving about[an] on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it.”[ao] 8 So the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered[ap] my servant Job? There is no[aq] one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away[ar] from evil.”
9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Is it for nothing that Job fears God?[as] 10 Have you[at] not made a hedge[au] around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed[av] the work of his hands, and his livestock[aw] have increased[ax] in the land. 11 But[ay] extend your hand and strike[az] everything he has, and he will no doubt[ba] curse you[bb] to your face!”
12 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right then,[bc] everything he has is[bd] in your power.[be] Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!”[bf] So Satan went out[bg] from the presence of the Lord.[bh]
Job’s Integrity in Adversity[bi]
13 Now the day[bj] came when Job’s[bk] sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14 and a messenger came to Job, saying, “The oxen were plowing[bl] and the donkeys were grazing beside them, 15 and the Sabeans[bm] swooped down[bn] and carried them all away, and they killed[bo] the servants with the sword![bp] And I—only I alone[bq]—escaped to tell you!”
16 While this one was still speaking,[br] another messenger arrived[bs] and said, “The fire of God[bt] has fallen from heaven[bu] and has burned up the sheep and the servants—it has consumed them! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!”
17 While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “The Chaldeans[bv] formed three bands and made a raid[bw] on the camels and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword![bx] And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!”
18 While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19 and suddenly[by] a great wind[bz] swept across[ca] the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they died! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell you!”
20 Then Job got up[cb] and tore his robe.[cc] He shaved his head,[cd] and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground.[ce] 21 He said, “Naked[cf] I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return there.[cg] The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.[ch] May the name of the Lord[ci] be blessed!” 22 In all this Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with moral impropriety.[cj]
Satan’s Additional Charge
2 Again the day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also arrived among them to present himself before the Lord.[ck] 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord,[cl] “From roving about on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it.”[cm] 3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly[cn] to his integrity,[co] so that[cp] you stirred me up to destroy him[cq] without reason.”[cr]
4 But[cs] Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for[ct] skin![cu] Indeed, a man will give up[cv] all that he has to save his life.[cw] 5 But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh,[cx] and he will no doubt[cy] curse you to your face!”
6 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right,[cz] he is[da] in your power;[db] only preserve[dc] his life.”
Job’s Integrity in Suffering
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted[dd] Job with a malignant ulcer[de] from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.[df] 8 Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape[dg] himself[dh] with while he was sitting[di] among the ashes.[dj]
9 Then[dk] his wife said to him, “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity?[dl] Curse[dm] God, and die!”[dn] 10 But he replied,[do] “You’re talking like one of the godless women[dp] would do! Should we receive[dq] what is good from God, and not also[dr] receive[ds] what is evil?”[dt] In all this Job did not sin by what he said.[du]
The Visit of Job’s Friends[dv]
11 When Job’s three friends heard about all this calamity that had happened to him, each of them came from his own country[dw]—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite.[dx] They met together[dy] to come to show sympathy[dz] for him and to console[ea] him. 12 But when they gazed intently[eb] from a distance but did not recognize[ec] him, they began to weep loudly. Each of them tore his robes, and they threw dust into the air over their heads.[ed] 13 Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain[ee] was very great.[ef]
22 So Moses was trained[a] in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful[b] in his words and deeds. 23 But when he was about forty years old, it entered his mind[c] to visit his fellow countrymen[d] the Israelites.[e] 24 When[f] he saw one of them being hurt unfairly,[g] Moses[h] came to his defense[i] and avenged the person who was mistreated by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He thought his own people[j] would understand that God was delivering them[k] through him,[l] but they did not understand.[m] 26 The next day Moses[n] saw two men[o] fighting, and tried to make peace between[p] them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why are you hurting one another?’ 27 But the man who was unfairly hurting his neighbor pushed[q] Moses[r] aside, saying, ‘Who made[s] you a ruler and judge over us? 28 You don’t want to kill me the way you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’[t] 29 When the man said this,[u] Moses fled and became a foreigner[v] in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
30 “After[w] forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert[x] of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.[y] 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached to investigate, there came the voice of the Lord, 32 ‘I am the God of your forefathers,[z] the God of Abraham, Isaac,[aa] and Jacob.’[ab] Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look more closely.[ac] 33 But the Lord said to him, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.[ad] 34 I have certainly seen the suffering[ae] of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them.[af] Now[ag] come, I will send you to Egypt.’[ah] 35 This same[ai] Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’[aj] God sent as both ruler and deliverer[ak] through the hand of the angel[al] who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and miraculous signs[am] in the land of Egypt,[an] at[ao] the Red Sea, and in the wilderness[ap] for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites,[aq] ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’[ar] 38 This is the man who was in the congregation[as] in the wilderness[at] with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors,[au] and he[av] received living oracles[aw] to give to you.[ax] 39 Our[ay] ancestors[az] were unwilling to obey[ba] him, but pushed him aside[bb] and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go in front of us, for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt[bc] —we do not know what has happened to him!’[bd] 41 At[be] that time[bf] they made an idol in the form of a calf,[bg] brought[bh] a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing[bi] in the works of their hands.[bj] 42 But God turned away from them and gave them over[bk] to worship the host[bl] of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘It was not to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices[bm] forty years in the wilderness, was it,[bn] house of Israel? 43 But you took along the tabernacle[bo] of Moloch[bp] and the star of the[bq] god Rephan,[br] the images you made to worship, but I will deport[bs] you beyond Babylon.’[bt]
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