Job Loses His Health

1On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satana also came with them to present himself before Him.

2“Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan.

“From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”

3Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”

4“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life. 5But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

6“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”

7So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. 8And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.

9Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curseb God and die!”

10“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?”

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Job’s Three Friends

11Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, each of them came from his home, and they met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him.

12When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head. 13Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.

Job Laments His Birth

1After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2And this is what he said:

3“May the day of my birth perish,

and the night it was said,

‘A boy is conceived.’

4If only that day had turned to darkness!

May God above disregard it;

may no light shine upon it.

5May darkness and gloom reclaim it,

and a cloud settle over it;

may the blackness of the day overwhelm it.

6If only darkness had taken that night away!

May it not appear among the days of the year;

may it never be entered in any of the months.

7Behold, may that night be barren;

may no joyful voice come into it.

8May it be cursed by those who curse the daya —

those prepared to rouse Leviathan.

9May its morning stars grow dark;

may it wait in vain for daylight;

may it not see the breaking of dawn.

10For that night did not shut the doors of the womb

to hide the sorrow from my eyes.

11Why did I not perish at birth;

why did I not die as I came from the womb?

12Why were there knees to receive me,

and breasts that I should be nursed?

13For now I would be lying down in peace;

I would be asleep and at rest

14with kings and counselors of the earth,

who built for themselves cities now in ruins,

15or with princes who had gold,

who filled their houses with silver.

16Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child,

like an infant who never sees daylight?

17There the wicked cease from raging,

and there the weary find rest.

18The captives enjoy their ease;

they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.

19Both small and great are there,

and the slave is freed from his master.

20Why is light given to the miserable,

and life to the bitter of soul,

21who long for death that does not come,

and search for it like hidden treasure,

22who rejoice and greatly exult

when they can find the grave?

23Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden,

whom God has hedged in?

24I sigh when food is put before me,

and my groans pour out like water.

25For the thing I feared has overtaken me,

and what I dreaded has befallen me.

26I am not at ease or quiet;

I have no rest, for trouble has come.”

Eliphaz: The Innocent Prosper

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2“If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied?

Yet who can keep from speaking?

3Surely you have instructed many,

and have strengthened their feeble hands.

4Your words have steadied those who stumbled;

you have braced the knees that were buckling.

5But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary.

It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

6Is your reverence not your confidence,

and the uprightness of your ways your hope?

7Consider now, I plead:

Who, being innocent, has ever perished?

Or where have the upright been destroyed?

8As I have observed, those who plow iniquity

and those who sow trouble reap the same.

9By the breath of God they perish,

and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.

10The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl,

yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.

11The old lion perishes for lack of prey,

and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

12Now a word came to me secretly;

my ears caught a whisper of it.

13In disquieting visions in the night,

when deep sleep falls on men,

14fear and trembling came over me

and made all my bones shudder.

15Then a spirita glided past my face,

and the hair on my body bristled.

16It stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance;

a form loomed before my eyes,

and I heard a whispering voice:

17‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God,

or a man more pure than his Maker?

18If God puts no trust in His servants,

and He charges His angels with error,

19how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

whose foundations are in the dust,

who can be crushed like a moth!

20They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;

unnoticed, they perish forever.

21Are not their tent cords pulled up,

so that they die without wisdom?’

15 a Or a wind 

Eliphaz Continues: God Blesses those Who Seek Him

1“Call out if you please, but who will answer?

To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2For resentment kills a fool,

and envy slays the simple.

3I have seen a fool taking root,

but suddenly his house was cursed.

4His sons are far from safety,

crushed in court without a defender.

5The hungry consume his harvest,

taking it even from the thorns,

and the thirsty pant after his wealth.a

6For distress does not spring from the dust,

and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

7Yet man is born to trouble

as surely as sparks fly upward.

8However, if I were you, I would appeal to God

and lay my cause before Him—

9the One who does great and unsearchable things,

wonders without number.

10He gives rain to the earth

and sends water upon the fields.

11He sets the lowly on high,

so that mourners are lifted to safety.

12He thwarts the schemes of the crafty,

so that their hands find no success.

13He catches the wise in their craftiness,b

and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

14They encounter darkness by day

and grope at noon as in the night.

15He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth

and from the clutches of the powerful.

16So the poor have hope,

and injustice shuts its mouth.

17Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects;

so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.c

18For He wounds, but He also binds;

He strikes, but His hands also heal.

19He will rescue you from six calamities;

no harm will touch you in seven.

20In famine He will redeem you from death,

and in battle from the stroke of the sword.

21You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,

and will not fear havoc when it comes.

22You will laugh at destruction and famine,

and need not fear the beasts of the earth.

23For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,

and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

24You will know that your tent is secure,

and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.

25You will know that your offspring will be many,

your descendants like the grass of the earth.

26You will come to the grave in full vigor,

like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.

27Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true!

So hear it and know for yourself.”

Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just

1Then Job replied:

2“If only my grief could be weighed

and placed with my calamity on the scales.

3For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas—

no wonder my words have been rash.

4For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me;

my spirit drinks in their poison;

the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

5Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass,

or an ox low over its fodder?

6Is tasteless food eaten without salt,

or is there flavor in the white of an egga?

7My soul refuses to touch them;

they are loathsome food to me.

8If only my request were granted

and God would fulfill my hope:

9that God would be willing to crush me,

to unleash His hand and cut me off!

10It still brings me comfort,

and joy through unrelenting pain,

that I have not denied

the words of the Holy One.

11What strength do I have, that I should still hope?

What is my future, that I should be patient?

12Is my strength like that of stone,

or my flesh made of bronze?

13Is there any help within me

now that success is driven from me?

14A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend,

even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

15But my brothers are as faithless as wadis,

as seasonal streams that overflow,

16darkened because of the ice

and the inflow of melting snow,

17but ceasing in the dry season

and vanishing from their channels in the heat.

18Caravans turn aside from their routes;

they go into the wasteland and perish.

19The caravans of Tema look for water;

the travelers of Sheba hope to find it.

20They are confounded because they had hoped;

their arrival brings disappointment.

21For now you are of no help;

you see terror, and you are afraid.

22Have I ever said, ‘Give me something;

offer me a bribe from your wealth;

23deliver me from the hand of the enemy;

redeem me from the grasp of the ruthless’?

24Teach me, and I will be silent.

Help me understand how I have erred.

25How painful are honest words!

But what does your argument prove?

26Do you intend to correct my words,

and treat as wind my cry of despair?

27You would even cast lots for an orphan

and barter away your friend.

28But now, please look at me.

Would I lie to your face?

29Reconsider; do not be unjust.

Reconsider, for my righteousness is at stake.

30Is there iniquity on my tongue?

Can my mouth not discern malice?

6 a Or in the sap of the mallow plant 

Job Continues: Life Seems Futile

1“Is not man consigned to labor on earth?

Are not his days like those of a hired hand?

2Like a slave he longs for shade;

like a hireling he waits for his wages.

3So I am allotted months of futility,

and nights of misery are appointed me.

4When I lie down I think:

‘When will I get up?’

But the night drags on,

and I toss and turn until dawn.

5My flesh is clothed with worms

and encrusted with dirt;

my skin is cracked and festering.

6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle;

they come to an end without hope.

7Remember that my life is but a breath.

My eyes will never again see happiness.

8The eye that beholds me will no longer see me.

You will look for me, but I will be no more.

9As a cloud vanishes and is gone,

so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back up.

10He never returns to his house;

his place remembers him no more.

11Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep,

that You must keep me under guard?

13When I think my bed will comfort me

and my couch will ease my complaint,

14then You frighten me with dreams

and terrify me with visions,

15so that I would prefer strangling and death

over my life in this body.

16I loathe my life! I would not live forever.

Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

17What is man that You should exalt him,

that You should set Your heart upon him,

18that You attend to him every morning,

and test him every moment?

19Will You never look away from me,

or leave me alone to swallow my spittle?

20If I have sinned, what have I done to You,

O watcher of mankind?

Why have You made me Your target,

so that I am a burden to Youa?

21Why do You not pardon my transgression

and take away my iniquity?

For soon I will lie down in the dust;

You will seek me, but I will be no more.”

20 a LXX; Hebrew to myself 

Bildad: Job Should Repent

1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2“How long will you go on saying such things?

The words of your mouth are a blustering wind.

3Does God pervert justice?

Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

4When your children sinned against Him,

He gave them over to their rebellion.

5But if you would earnestly seek God

and ask the Almighty for mercy,

6if you are pure and upright,

even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf

and restore your righteous estate.

7Though your beginnings were modest,

your latter days will flourish.

8Please inquire of past generations

and consider the discoveries of their fathers.

9For we were born yesterday and know nothing;

our days on earth are but a shadow.

10Will they not teach you and tell you,

and speak from their understanding?

11Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?

Do reeds flourish without water?

12While the shoots are still uncut,

they dry up quicker than grass.

13Such is the destiny of all who forget God;

so the hope of the godless will perish.

14His confidence is fragile;

his security is in a spider’s web.

15He leans on his web, but it gives way;

he holds fast, but it does not endure.

16He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine,

spreading its shoots over the garden.

17His roots wrap around the rock heap;

he looks for a home among the stones.

18If he is uprooted from his place,

it will disown him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’

19Surely this is the joy of his way;

yet others will spring from the dust.

20Behold, God does not reject the blameless,

nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers.

21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,

and your lips with a shout of joy.

22Your enemies will be clothed in shame,

and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

Job: How Can I Contend with God?

1Then Job answered:

2“Yes, I know that it is so,

but how can a mortal be righteous before God?

3If one wished to contend with God,a

he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

4God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.

Who has resisted Him and prospered?

5He moves mountains without their knowledge

and overturns them in His anger.

6He shakes the earth from its place,

so that its foundations tremble.

7He commands the sun not to shine;b

He seals off the stars.

8He alone stretches out the heavens

and treads on the waves of the sea.

9He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,

of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

10He does great things beyond searching out,

and wonders without number.

11Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;

were He to move, I would not recognize Him.

12If He takes away,c who can stop Him?

Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’

13God does not restrain His anger;

the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him.

14How then can I answer Him

or choose my arguments against Him?

15For even if I were right, I could not answer.

I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

16If I summoned Him and He answered me,

I do not believe He would listen to my voice.

17For He would crush me with a tempest

and multiply my wounds without cause.

18He does not let me catch my breath,

but overwhelms me with bitterness.

19If it is a matter of strength,

He is indeed mighty!

If it is a matter of justice,

who can summon Himd?

20Even if I were righteous, my mouth would condemn me;

if I were blameless, it would declare me guilty.e

21Though I am blameless, I have no concern for myself;

I despise my own life.

22It is all the same, and so I say,

‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

23When the scourge brings sudden death,

He mocks the despair of the innocent.

24The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;

He blindfolds its judges.

If it is not He, then who is it?

25My days are swifter than a runner;

they flee without seeing good.

26They sweep by like boats of papyrus,

like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

27If I were to say, ‘I will forget my complaint

and change my expression and smile,’

28I would still dread all my sufferings;

I know that You will not acquit me.

29Since I am already found guilty,

why should I labor in vain?

30If I should wash myself with snowf

and cleanse my hands with lye,

31then You would plunge me into the pit,

and even my own clothes would despise me.

32For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him,

that we can take each other to court.

33Nor is there a mediator between us,

to lay his hand upon us both.

34Let Him remove His rod from me,

so that His terror will no longer frighten me.

35Then I would speak without fear of Him.

But as it is, I am on my own.

Job’s Plea to God

1“I loathe my own life;

I will express my complaint

and speak in the bitterness of my soul.

2I will say to God:

Do not condemn me!

Let me know why You prosecute me.

3Does it please You to oppress me,

to reject the work of Your hands

and favor the schemes of the wicked?

4Do You have eyes of flesh?

Do You see as man sees?

5Are Your days like those of a mortal,

or Your years like those of a man,

6that You should seek my iniquity

and search out my sin—

7though You know that I am not guilty,

and there is no deliverance from Your hand?

8Your hands shaped me and altogether formed me.

Would You now turn and destroy me?

9Please remember that You molded me like clay.

Would You now return me to dust?

10Did You not pour me out like milk,

and curdle me like cheese?

11You clothed me with skin and flesh,

and knit me together with bones and sinews.

12You have granted me life and loving devotion,a

and Your care has preserved my spirit.

13Yet You concealed these things in Your heart,

and I know that this was in Your mind:

14If I sinned, You would take note,

and would not acquit me of my iniquity.

15If I am guilty, woe to me!

And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head.

I am full of shame

and aware of my affliction.

16Should I hold my head high,

You would hunt me like a lion,

and again display Your power against me.

17You produce new witnesses against me

and multiply Your anger toward me.

Hardships assault me

in wave after wave.

18Why then did You bring me from the womb?

Oh, that I had died, and no eye had seen me!

19If only I had never come to be,

but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

20Are my days not few?

Withdraw from me, that I may have a little comfort,

21before I go—never to return—

to a land of darkness and gloom,

22to a land of utter darkness,

of deep shadow and disorder,

where even the light is like darkness.”

12 a Forms of the Hebrew chesed  are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion ; the range of meaning includes love , goodness , kindness , faithfulness , and mercy , as well as loyalty to a covenant .

Zophar Rebukes Job

1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2“Should this stream of words go unanswered

and such a speaker be vindicated?

3Should your babbling put others to silence?

Will you scoff without rebuke?

4You have said, ‘My doctrine is sound,

and I am pure in Your sight.’

5But if only God would speak

and open His lips against you,

6and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,

for true wisdom has two sides.

Know then that God exacts from you

less than your iniquity deserves.

7Can you fathom the deep things of God

or discover the limits of the Almighty?

8They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?

They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

9Their measure is longer than the earth

and wider than the sea.

10If He comes along to imprison you,

or convenes a court, who can stop Him?

11Surely He knows the deceit of men.

If He sees iniquity, does He not take note?

12But a witless man can no more become wise

than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!a

13As for you, if you direct your heart

and lift up your hands to Him,

14if you put away the iniquity in your hand,

and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents,

15then indeed you will lift up your face without shame;

you will stand firm and unafraid.

16For you will forget your misery,

recalling it only as waters gone by.

17Your life will be brighter than noonday;

its darkness will be like the morning.

18You will be secure, because there is hope,

and you will look around and lie down in safety.

19You will lie down without fear,

and many will court your favor.

20But the eyes of the wicked will fail,

and escape will elude them;

they will hope for their last breath.”

Job Presents His Case

1Then Job answered:

2“Truly then you are the people

with whom wisdom itself will die!

3But I also have a mind;

I am not inferior to you.

Who does not know such things as these?

4I am a laughingstock to my friends,

though I called on God, and He answered.

The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

5The one at ease scorns misfortune

as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

6The tents of robbers are safe,

and those who provoke God are secure—

those who carry their god in their hands.a

7But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;

ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.

8Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;

let the fish of the sea inform you.

9Which of all these does not know

that the hand of the LORD has done this?

10The life of every living thing is in His hand,

as well as the breath of all mankind.

11Does not the ear test words

as the tongue tastes its food?

12Wisdom is found with the elderly,

and understanding comes with long life.

13Wisdom and strength belong to God;

counsel and understanding are His.

14What He tears down cannot be rebuilt;

the man He imprisons cannot be released.

15If He holds back the waters, they dry up,

and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.

16True wisdom and power belong to Him.

The deceived and the deceiver are His.

17He leads counselors away barefoot

and makes fools of judges.

18He loosens the bonds placed by kings

and fastens a belt around their waists.

19He leads priests away barefoot

and overthrows the established.

20He deprives the trusted of speech

and takes away the discernment of elders.

21He pours out contempt on nobles

and disarms the mighty.

22He reveals the deep things of darkness

and brings deep shadows into light.

23He makes nations great and destroys them;

He enlarges nations, then disperses them.

24He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason

and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

25They grope in the darkness without light;

He makes them stagger like drunkards.

6 a Or though God keeps them in His power 

Job Prepares His Case

1“Indeed, my eyes have seen all this;

my ears have heard and understood.

2What you know, I also know;

I am not inferior to you.

3Yet I desire to speak to the Almighty

and argue my case before God.

4You, however, smear with lies;

you are all worthless physicians.

5If only you would remain silent;

for that would be your wisdom!

6Hear now my argument,

and listen to the plea of my lips.

7Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf

or speak deceitfully for Him?

8Would you show Him partiality

or argue in His defense?

9Would it be well when He examined you?

Could you deceive Him like a man?

10Surely He would rebuke you

if you secretly showed partiality.

11Would His majesty not terrify you?

Would the dread of Him not fall upon you?

12Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;

your defenses are defenses of clay.

13Be silent, and I will speak.

Then let come to me what may.

14Why do I put myself at riska

and take my life in my own hands?

15Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.b

I will still defend my ways to His face.

16Moreover, this will be my salvation,

for no godless man can appear before Him.

17Listen carefully to my words;

let my declaration ring in your ears.

18Behold, now that I have prepared my case,

I know that I will be vindicated.

19Can anyone indict me?

If so, I will be silent and die.

20Only grant these two things to me,

so that I need not hide from You:

21Withdraw Your hand from me,

and do not let Your terror frighten me.

22Then call me, and I will answer,

or let me speak, and You can reply.

23How many are my iniquities and sins?

Reveal to me my transgression and sin.

24Why do You hide Your face

and consider me as Your enemy?

25Would You frighten a windblown leaf?

Would You chase after dry chaff?

26For You record bitter accusations against me

and bequeath to me the iniquities of my youth.

27You put my feet in the stocks

and stand watch over all my paths;

You set a limit

for the soles of my feet.

28So man wastes away like something rotten,

like a moth-eaten garment.

14 a Literally Why do I take my flesh in my teeth 
15 b Or I have no other hope 

Job Laments the Finality of Death

1“Man, who is born of woman,

is short of days and full of trouble.

2Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away;

like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

3Do You open Your eyes to one like this?

Will You bring him into judgment before You?

4Who can bring out clean from unclean?

No one!

5Since his days are determined

and the number of his months is with You,

and since You have set limits

that he cannot exceed,

6look away from him and let him rest,

so he can enjoy his day as a hired hand.

7For there is hope for a tree:

If it is cut down, it will sprout again,

and its tender shoots will not fail.

8If its roots grow old in the ground

and its stump dies in the soil,

9at the scent of water it will bud

and put forth twigs like a sapling.

10But a man dies and is laid low;

he breathes his last, and where is he?

11As water disappears from the sea

and a river becomes parched and dry,

12so a man lies down

and does not rise.

Until the heavens are no more,

he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.

13If only You would hide me in Sheol

and conceal me until Your anger has passed!

If only You would appoint a time for me

and then remember me!

14When a man dies, will he live again?

All the days of my hard service I will wait,

until my renewala comes.

15You will call, and I will answer;

You will desire the work of Your hands.

16For then You would count my steps,

but would not keep track of my sin.

17My transgression would be sealed in a bag,

and You would cover over my iniquity.

18But as a mountain erodes and crumbles

and a rock is dislodged from its place,

19as water wears away the stones

and torrents wash away the soil,

so You destroy a man’s hope.

20You forever overpower him, and he passes on;

You change his countenance and send him away.

21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it;

if they are brought low, he is unaware.

22He feels only the pain of his own body

and mourns only for himself.”

Eliphaz: Job Does Not Fear God

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel

or fill his belly with the hot east wind?

3Should he argue with useless words

or speeches that serve no purpose?

4But you even undermine the fear of God

and hinder meditation before Him.

5For your iniquity instructs your mouth,

and you choose the language of the crafty.

6Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you;

your own lips testify against you.

7Were you the first man ever born?

Were you brought forth before the hills?

8Do you listen in on the council of God

or limit wisdom to yourself?

9What do you know that we do not?

What do you understand that is not clear to us?

10Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—

men much older than your father.

11Are the consolations of God not enough for you,

even words spoken gently to you?

12Why has your heart carried you away,

and why do your eyes flash,a

13as you turn your spirit against God

and pour such words from your mouth?

14What is man, that he should be pure,

or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

15If God puts no trust in His holy ones,

if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,

16how much less man, who is vile and corrupt,

who drinks injustice like water?

17Listen to me and I will inform you.

I will describe what I have seen,

18what was declared by wise men

and was not concealed from their fathers,

19to whom alone the land was given

when no foreigner passed among them.

20A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;

only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

21Sounds of terror fill his ears;

in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.

22He despairs of his return from darkness;

he is marked for the sword.

23He wanders about as food for vultures;

he knows the day of darkness is at hand.

24Distress and anguish terrify him,

overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.

25For he has stretched out his hand against God

and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,

26rushing headlong at Him

with a thick, studded shield.

27Though his face is covered with fat

and his waistline bulges with flesh,

28he will dwell in ruined cities,

in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.

29He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.

His possessions will not overspread the land.

30He will not escape from the darkness;

the flame will wither his shoots,

and the breath of God’s mouth

will carry him away.

31Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness,

for emptiness will be his reward.

32It will be paid in full before his time,

and his branch will not flourish.

33He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,

like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.

34For the company of the godless will be barren,

and fire will consume the tents of bribery.

35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;

their womb is pregnant with deceit.”

12 a Or blink 

Job Decries His Comforters

1Then Job answered:

2“I have heard many things like these;

miserable comforters are you all.

3Is there no end to your long-winded speeches?

What provokes you to continue testifying?

4I could also speak like you

if you were in my place;

I could heap up words against you

and shake my head at you.

5But I would encourage you with my mouth,

and the consolation of my lips would bring relief.

6Even if I speak, my pain is not relieved,

and if I hold back, how will it go away?

7Surely He has now exhausted me;

You have devastated all my family.

8You have bound me, and it has become a witness;

my frailty rises up and testifies against me.

9His anger has torn me and opposed me;

He gnashes His teeth at me.

My adversary pierces me with His eyes.

10They open their mouths against me

and strike my cheeks with contempt;

they join together against me.

11God has delivered me to unjust men;

He has thrown me to the clutches of the wicked.

12I was at ease, but He shattered me;

He seized me by the neck and crushed me.

He has set me up as His target;

13His archers surround me.

He pierces my kidneys without mercy

and spills my gall on the ground.

14He breaks me with wound upon wound;

He rushes me like a mighty warrior.

15I have sewn sackcloth over my skin;

I have buried my horn in the dust.

16My face is red with weeping,

and deep shadows ring my eyes;

17yet my hands are free of violence

and my prayer is pure.

18O earth, do not cover my blood;

may my cry for help never be laid to rest.

19Even now my witness is in heaven,

and my advocate is on high.

20My friends are my scoffers

as my eyes pour out tears to God.

21Oh, that a man might plead with God

as he pleads with his neighbor!

22For when only a few years are past

I will go the way of no return.

Job Prepares for Death

1“My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished;

the grave awaits me.

2Surely mockers surround me,

and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.

3Give me, I pray, the pledge You demand.

Who else will be my guarantor?

4You have closed their minds to understanding;

therefore You will not exalt them.

5If a man denounces his friends for a price,

the eyes of his children will fail.

6He has made me a byword among the people,

a man in whose face they spit.

7My eyes have grown dim with grief,

and my whole body is but a shadow.

8The upright are appalled at this,

and the innocent are stirred against the godless.

9Yet a righteous one holds to his way,

and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

10But come back and try again, all of you.

For I will not find a wise man among you.

11My days have passed; my plans are broken off—

even the desires of my heart.

12They have turned night into day,

making light seem near in the face of darkness.

13If I look for Sheol as my home,

if I spread out my bed in darkness,

14and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’

and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’

15where then is my hope?

Who can see any hope for me?

16Will it go down to the gates of Sheol?

Will we go down together into the dust?”

Bildad: God Punishes the Wicked

1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2“How long until you end these speeches?

Show some sense, and then we can talk.

3Why are we regarded as cattle,

as stupid in your sight?

4You who tear yourself in anger—

should the earth be forsaken on your account,

or the rocks be moved from their place?

5Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished;

the flame of his fire does not glow.

6The light in his tent grows dark,

and the lamp beside him goes out.

7His vigorous stride is shortened,

and his own schemes trip him up.

8For his own feet lead him into a net,

and he wanders into its mesh.

9A trap seizes his heel;

a snare grips him.

10A noose is hidden in the ground,

and a trap lies in his path.

11Terrors frighten him on every side

and harass his every step.

12His strength is depleted,

and calamity is ready at his side.

13It devours patches of his skin;

the firstborn of death devours his limbs.

14He is torn from the shelter of his tent

and is marched off to the king of terrors.

15Fire resides in his tent;

burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling.

16The roots beneath him dry up,

and the branches above him wither away.

17The memory of him perishes from the earth,

and he has no name in the land.

18He is driven from light into darkness

and is chased from the inhabited world.

19He has no offspring or posterity among his people,

no survivor where he once lived.

20Those in the west are appalled at his fate,

while those in the east tremble in horror.

21Surely such is the dwelling of the wicked

and the place of one who does not know God.”

Job: My Redeemer Lives

1Then Job answered:

2“How long will you torment me

and crush me with your words?

3Ten times now you have reproached me;

you shamelessly mistreat me.

4Even if I have truly gone astray,

my error concerns me alone.

5If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me

and use my disgrace against me,

6then understand that it is God who has wronged me

and drawn His net around me.

7Though I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I get no response;

though I call for help, there is no justice.

8He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;

He has veiled my paths with darkness.

9He has stripped me of my honor

and removed the crown from my head.

10He tears me down on every side until I am gone;

He uproots my hope like a tree.

11His anger burns against me,

and He counts me among His enemies.

12His troops advance together;

they construct a ramp against me

and encamp around my tent.

13He has removed my brothers from me;

my acquaintances have abandoned me.

14My kinsmen have failed me,

and my friends have forgotten me.

15My guests and maidservants count me as a stranger;

I am a foreigner in their sight.

16I call for my servant, but he does not answer,

though I implore him with my own mouth.

17My breath is repulsive to my wife,

and I am loathsome to my own family.

18Even little boys scorn me;

when I appear, they deride me.

19All my best friends despise me,

and those I love have turned against me.

20My skin and flesh cling to my bones;

I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

21Have pity on me, my friends, have pity,

for the hand of God has struck me.

22Why do you persecute me as God does?

Will you never get enough of my flesh?

23I wish that my words were recorded

and inscribed in a book,

24by an iron stylus on lead,

or chiseled in stone forever.

25But I know that my Redeemera lives,

and in the end He will stand upon the earth.b

26Even after my skin has been destroyed,

yet in my fleshc I will see God.

27I will see Him for myself;

my eyes will behold Him, and not as a stranger.

How my heart yearnsd within me!

28If you say, ‘Let us persecute him,

since the root of the matter lies with him,e’

29then you should fear the sword yourselves,

because wrath brings punishment by the sword,

so that you may know there is a judgment.”

Zophar: Destruction Awaits the Wicked

1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2“So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer,

because of the turmoil within me.

3I have heard a rebuke that insults me,

and my understanding prompts a reply.

4Do you not know that from antiquity,

since man was placed on the earth,

5the triumph of the wicked has been brief

and the joy of the godless momentary?

6Though his arrogance reaches the heavens,

and his head touches the clouds,

7he will perish forever, like his own dung;

those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’

8He will fly away like a dream, never to be found;

he will be chased away like a vision in the night.

9The eye that saw him will see him no more,

and his place will no longer behold him.

10His sons will seek the favor of the poor,

for his own hands must return his wealth.

11The youthful vigor that fills his bones

will lie down with him in the dust.

12Though evil is sweet in his mouth

and he conceals it under his tongue,

13though he cannot bear to let it go

and keeps it in his mouth,

14yet in his stomach his food sours

into the venom of cobras within him.

15He swallows wealth but vomits it out;

God will force it from his stomach.

16He will suck the poison of cobras;

the fangs of a viper will kill him.

17He will not enjoy the streams,

the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

18He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it;

he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.

19For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor;

he has seized houses he did not build.

20Because his appetite is never satisfied,

he cannot escape with his treasure.

21Nothing is left for him to consume;

thus his prosperity will not endure.

22In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed;

the full force of misery will come upon him.

23When he has filled his stomach,

God will vent His fury upon him,

raining it down on him as he eats.

24Though he flees from an iron weapon,

a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.

25It is drawn out of his back,

the gleaming point from his liver.a

Terrors come over him.

26Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.

A fire unfanned will consume him

and devour what is left in his tent.

27The heavens will expose his iniquity,

and the earth will rise up against him.

28The possessions of his house will be removed,

flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.

29This is the wicked man’s portion from God,

the inheritance God has appointed him.”

25 a Literally from his gall 

Job: God Will Punish the Wicked

1Then Job answered:

2“Listen carefully to my words;

let this be your consolation to me.

3Bear with me while I speak;

then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.

4Is my complaint against a man?

Then why should I not be impatient?

5Look at me and be appalled;

put your hand over your mouth.

6When I remember, terror takes hold,

and my body trembles in horror.

7Why do the wicked live on,

growing old and increasing in power?

8Their descendants are established around them,

and their offspring before their eyes.

9Their homes are safe from fear;

no rod of punishment from God is upon them.

10Their bulls breed without fail;

their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.

11They send forth their little ones like a flock;

their children skip about,

12singing to the tambourine and lyre

and making merry at the sound of the flute.

13They spend their days in prosperity

and go down to Sheol in peace.a

14Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone!

For we have no desire to know Your ways.

15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,

and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’

16Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands,

so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?

Does disaster come upon them?

Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?

18Are they like straw before the wind,

like chaff swept away by a storm?

19It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children.

Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.

20Let his eyes see his own destruction;

let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty.

21For what does he care about his household after him,

when the number of his months has run out?

22Can anyone teach knowledge to God,

since He judges those on high?

23One man dies full of vigor,

completely secure and at ease.

24His body is well nourished,b

and his bones are rich with marrow.

25Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,

having never tasted prosperity.

26But together they lie down in the dust,

and worms cover them both.

27Behold, I know your thoughts full well,

the schemes by which you would wrong me.

28For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house,

and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’

29Have you never asked those who travel the roads?

Do you not accept their reports?

30Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity,

delivered from the day of wrath.

31Who denounces his behavior to his face?

Who repays him for what he has done?

32He is carried to the grave,

and watch is kept over his tomb.

33The clods of the valley are sweet to him;

everyone follows behind him,

and those before him are without number.

34So how can you comfort me with empty words?

For your answers remain full of falsehood.”

Eliphaz: Can a Man Be of Use to God?

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2“Can a man be of use to God?

Can even a wise man benefit Him?

3Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous?

Does He profit if your ways are blameless?

4Is it for your reverence that He rebukes you

and enters into judgment against you?

5Is not your wickedness great?

Are not your iniquities endless?

6For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers

and deprived the naked of their clothing.

7You gave no water to the weary

and withheld food from the famished,

8while the land belonged to a mighty man,

and a man of honor lived on it.

9You sent widows away empty-handed,

and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

10Therefore snares surround you,

and sudden peril terrifies you;

11it is so dark you cannot see,

and a flood of water covers you.

12Is not God as high as the heavens?

Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!

13Yet you say: ‘What does God know?

Does He judge through thick darkness?

14Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us

as He traverses the vault of heaven.a’

15Will you stay on the ancient path

that wicked men have trod?

16They were snatched away before their time,

and their foundations were swept away by a flood.

17They said to God, ‘Depart from us.

What can the Almighty do to us?’

18But it was He who filled their houses with good things;

so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

19The righteous see it and are glad;

the innocent mock them:

20‘Surely our foes are destroyed,

and fire has consumed their excess.’

21Reconcile now and be at peace with Him;

thereby good will come to you.

22Receive instruction from His mouth,

and lay up His words in your heart.

23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored.

If you remove injustice from your tents

24and consign your gold to the dust

and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines,

25then the Almighty will be your gold

and the finest silver for you.

26Surely then you will delight in the Almighty

and lift up your face to God.

27You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows.

28Your decisions will be carried out,

and light will shine on your ways.

29When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’

then He will save the lowly.

30He will deliver even one who is not innocent,

rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”

14 a Or heaven’s horizon  or the circle of the sky 

Job Longs for God

1Then Job answered:

2“Even today my complaint is bitter.

His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

3If only I knew where to find Him,

so that I could go to His seat.

4I would plead my case before Him

and fill my mouth with arguments.

5I would learn how He would answer,

and consider what He would say.

6Would He contend with me in His great power?

No, He would certainly take note of me.

7Then an upright man could reason with Him,

and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

8If I go east, He is not there,

and if I go west, I cannot find Him.

9When He is at work in the north, I cannot behold Him;

when He turns to the south, I cannot see Him.

10Yet He knows the way I have taken;

when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

11My feet have followed in His tracks;

I have kept His way without turning aside.

12I have not departed from the command of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth

more than my daily bread.

13But He is unchangeable, and who can oppose Him?

He does what He desires.

14For He carries out His decree against me,

and He has many such plans.

15Therefore I am terrified in His presence;

when I consider this, I fear Him.

16God has made my heart faint;

the Almighty has terrified me.

17Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,

by the thick darkness that covers my face.

Job: Judgment for the Wicked

1“Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment?

Why may those who know Him never see His days?

2Men move boundary stones;

they pasture stolen flocks.

3They drive away the donkey of the fatherless

and take the widow’s ox in pledge.

4They push the needy off the road

and force all the poor of the land into hiding.

5Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert,

the poor go to work foraging for food;

the wasteland is food for their children.

6They gather fodder in the fields

and glean the vineyards of the wicked.

7Without clothing, they spend the night naked;

they have no covering against the cold.

8Drenched by mountain rains,

they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.

9The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast;

the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.

10Without clothing, they wander about naked.

They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.

11They crush olives within their walls;

they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.

12From the city, men groan,

and the souls of the wounded cry out,

yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.

13Then there are those who rebel against the light,

not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.

14When daylight is gone, the murderer rises

to kill the poor and needy;

in the night he is like a thief.

15The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight.

Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.

16In the dark they dig through houses;

by day they shut themselves in,

never to experience the light.

17For to them, deep darkness is their morning;

surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!

18They are but foam on the surface of the water;

their portion of the land is cursed,

so that no one turns toward their vineyards.

19As drought and heat consume the melting snow,

so Sheol steals those who have sinned.

20The womb forgets them;

the worm feeds on them;

they are remembered no more.

So injustice is like a broken tree.

21They prey on the barren and childless,

and show no kindness to the widow.

22Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty;

though rising up, they have no assurance of life.

23He gives them a sense of security,

but His eyes are on their ways.

24They are exalted for a moment,

then they are gone;

they are brought low and gathered up like all others;

they are cut off like heads of grain.

25If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar

and reduce my words to nothing?”

Bildad: Man Cannot Be Righteous

1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2“Dominion and awe belong to God;

He establishes harmony in the heights of heaven.

3Can His troops be numbered?

On whom does His light not rise?

4How then can a man be just before God?

How can one born of woman be pure?

5If even the moon does not shine,

and the stars are not pure in His sight,

6how much less man, who is but a maggot,

and the son of man, who is but a worm!”

Job: Who Can Understand God’s Majesty?

1Then Job answered:

2“How you have helped the powerless

and saved the arm that is feeble!

3How you have counseled the unwise

and provided fully sound insight!

4To whom have you uttered these words?

And whose spirit spoke through you?

5The dead tremble—

those beneath the waters and those who dwell in them.

6Sheol is naked before God,

and Abaddona has no covering.

7He stretches out the north over empty space;

He hangs the earth upon nothing.

8He wraps up the waters in His clouds,

yet the clouds do not burst under their own weight.

9He covers the face of the full moon,b

spreading over it His cloud.

10He has inscribed a horizon on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness.

11The foundations of heaven quake,

astounded at His rebuke.

12By His power He stirredc the sea;

by His understanding He shattered Rahab.

13By His breath the skies were cleared;

His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.d

14Indeed, these are but the fringes of His ways;

how faint is the whisper we hear of Him!

Who then can understand

the thunder of His power?”

Job Affirms His Integrity

1Job continued his discourse:

2“As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—

the Almighty, who has embittered my soul—

3as long as my breath is still within me

and the breath of God remains in my nostrils,

4my lips will not speak wickedness,

and my tongue will not utter deceit.

5I will never say that you are right;

I will maintain my integrity until I die.

6I will cling to my righteousness and never let go.

As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.

The Wicked Man’s Portion

7May my enemy be like the wicked

and my opponent like the unjust.

8For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off,

when God takes away his life?

9Will God hear his cry

when distress comes upon him?

10Will he delight in the Almighty?

Will he call upon God at all times?

11I will instruct you in the power of God.

I will not conceal the ways of the Almighty.

12Surely all of you have seen it for yourselves.

Why then do you keep up this empty talk?

13This is the wicked man’s portion from God—

the heritage the ruthless receive from the Almighty.

14Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;

and his offspring will never have enough food.

15His survivors will be buried by the plague,

and their widows will not weep for them.

16Though he heaps up silver like dust

and piles up a wardrobe like clay,

17what he lays up, the righteous will wear,

and his silver will be divided by the innocent.

18The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon,

like a hut set up by a watchman.

19He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;

when he opens his eyes, all is gone.

20Terrors overtake him like a flood;

a tempest sweeps him away in the night.

21The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;

it sweeps him out of his place.

22It hurls itself against him without mercy

as he flees headlong from its power.

23It claps its hands at him

and hisses him out of his place.

Where Can Wisdom Be Found?

1“Surely there is a mine for silver

and a place where gold is refined.

2Iron is taken from the earth,

and copper is smelted from ore.

3Man puts an end to the darkness;

he probes the farthest recesses

for ore in deepest darkness.

4Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft

in places forgotten by the foot of man.

Far from men he dangles and sways.

5Food may come from the earth,

but from below it is transformed as by fire.

6Its rocks are the source of sapphires,

containing flecks of gold.

7No bird of prey knows that path;

no falcon’s eye has seen it.

8Proud beasts have never trodden it;

no lion has ever prowled over it.

9The miner strikes the flint;

he overturns mountains at their base.

10He hews out channels in the rocks,

and his eyes spot every treasure.

11He stops upa the sources of the streams

to bring what is hidden to light.

12But where can wisdom be found,

and where does understanding dwell?

13No man can know its value,

nor is it found in the land of the living.

14The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’

while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’

15It cannot be bought with gold,

nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

in precious onyx or sapphire.

17Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it,

nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.

18Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention;

the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

19Topaz from Cushb cannot compare to it,

nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20From where then does wisdom come,

and where does understanding dwell?

21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing

and concealed from the birds of the air.

22Abaddonc and Death say,

‘We have heard a rumor about it.’

23But God understands its way,

and He knows its place.

24For He looks to the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

25When God fixed the weight of the wind

and measured out the waters,

26when He set a limit for the rain

and a path for the thunderbolt,

27then He looked at wisdom and appraised it;

He established it and searched it out.

28And He said to man, ‘Behold,

the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,

and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”

Job’s Former Blessings

1And Job continued his discourse:

2“How I long for the months gone by,

for the days when God watched over me,

3when His lamp shone above my head,

and by His light I walked through the darkness,

4when I was in my prime,a

when the friendship of God rested on my tent,

5when the Almighty was still with me

and my children were around me,

6when my steps were bathed in cream

and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

7When I went out to the city gate

and took my seat in the public square,

8the young men saw me and withdrew,

and the old men rose to their feet.

9The princes refrained from speaking

and covered their mouths with their hands.

10The voices of the nobles were hushed,

and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.

11For those who heard me called me blessed,

and those who saw me commended me,

12because I rescued the poor who cried out

and the fatherless who had no helper.

13The dying man blessed me,

and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.

14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;

justice was my robe and my turban.

15I served as eyes to the blind

and as feet to the lame.

16I was a father to the needy,

and I took up the case of the stranger.

17I shattered the fangs of the unjust

and snatched the prey from his teeth.

18So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest

and multiply my days as the sand.

19My roots will spread out to the waters,

and the dew will rest nightly on my branches.

20My glory is ever new within me,

and my bow is renewed in my hand.’

21Men listened to me with expectation,

waiting silently for my counsel.

22After my words, they spoke no more;

my speech settled on them like dew.

23They waited for me as for rain

and drank in my words like spring showers.

24If I smiled at them, they did not believe it;

the light of my countenance was precious.

25I chose their course and presided as chief.

So I dwelt as a king among his troops,

as a comforter of the mourners.

Job’s Honor Turned to Contempt

1“But now they mock me,

men younger than I am,

whose fathers I would have refused

to entrust with my sheep dogs.

2What use to me was the strength of their hands,

since their vigor had left them?

3Gaunt from poverty and hunger,

they gnawed the dry land,

and the desolate wasteland by night.

4They plucked mallow among the shrubs,

and the roots of the broom tree were their food.a

5They were banished from among men,

shouted down like thieves,

6so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis,

among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

7They cried out among the shrubs

and huddled beneath the nettles.

8A senseless and nameless brood,

they were driven off the land.

9And now they mock me in song;

I have become a byword among them.

10They abhor me and keep far from me;

they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

11Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me,

they have cast off restraintb in my presence.

12The rabble arises at my right;

they lay snares for my feet

and build siege ramps against me.

13They tear up my path;

they profit from my destruction,

with no one to restrain them.c

14They advance as through a wide breach;

through the ruins they keep rolling in.

Job’s Prosperity Becomes Calamity

15Terrors are turned loose against me;

they drive away my dignity as by the wind,

and my prosperity has passed like a cloud.

16And now my soul is poured out within me;

days of affliction grip me.

17Night pierces my bones,

and my gnawing pains never rest.

18With great force He grasps my garment;d

He seizes me by the collar of my tunic.

19He throws me into the mud,

and I have become like dust and ashes.

20I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer;

when I stand up, You merely look at me.

21You have ruthlessly turned on me;

You oppose me with Your strong hand.

22You snatch me up into the wind

and drive me before it;

You toss me aboute in the storm.

23Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death,

to the place appointed for all the living.

24Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man

when he cries for help in his distress.

25Have I not wept for those in trouble?

Has my soul not grieved for the needy?

26But when I hoped for good, evil came;

when I looked for light, darkness fell.

27I am churning within and cannot rest;

days of affliction confront me.

28I go about blackened, but not by the sun.

I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.

29I have become a brother of jackals,f

a companion of ostriches.g

30My skin grows black and peels,

and my bones burn with fever.

31My harp is tuned to mourning

and my flute to the sound of weeping.

Job’s Final Appeal

1“I have made a covenant with my eyes.

How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?

2For what is the allotment of God from above,

or the heritage from the Almighty on high?

3Does not disaster come to the unjust

and calamity to the workers of iniquity?

4Does He not see my ways

and count my every step?

5If I have walked in falsehood

or my foot has rushed to deceit,

6let God weigh me with honest scales,

that He may know my integrity.

7If my steps have turned from the path,

if my heart has followed my eyes,

or if impurity has stuck to my hands,

8then may another eat what I have sown,

and may my crops be uprooted.

9If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife,

or I have lurked at his door,

10then may my own wife grind grain for another,

and may other men sleep with her.

11For that would be a heinous crime,

an iniquity to be judged.

12For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon;a

it would root out my entire harvest.

13If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant

when they made a complaint against me,

14what will I do when God rises to judge?

How will I answer when called to account?

15Did not He who made me in the womb also make them?

Did not the same One form us in the womb?

16If I have denied the desires of the poor

or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,

17if I have eaten my morsel alone,

not sharing it with the fatherless—

18though from my youth I reared him as would a father,

and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—

19if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing,

or a needy man without a cloak,

20if his heart has not blessed meb

for warming him with the fleece of my sheep,

21if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless

because I saw that I had support in the gate,

22then may my arm fall from my shoulder

and be torn from its socket.

23For calamity from God terrifies me,

and His splendor I cannot overpower.

24If I have put my trust in gold

or called pure gold my security,

25if I have rejoiced in my great wealth

because my hand had gained so much,

26if I have beheld the sunc in its radiance

or the moon moving in splendor,

27so that my heart was secretly enticed

and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

28this would also be an iniquity to be judged,

for I would have denied God on high.

29If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin,

or exulted when evil befell him—

30I have not allowed my mouth to sin

by asking for his life with a curse—

31if the men of my house have not said,

‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—

32but no stranger had to lodge on the street,

for my door has been open to the traveler—

33if I have covered my transgressions like Adamd

by hiding my guilt in my heart,

34because I greatly feared the crowds

and the contempt of the clans terrified me,

so that I kept silent

and would not go outside—

35(Oh, that I had one to hear me!

Here is my signature.

Let the Almighty answer me;

let my accuser compose an indictment.

36Surely I would carry it on my shoulder

and wear it like a crown.

37I would give account of all my steps;

I would approach Him like a prince.)—

38if my land cries out against me

and its furrows weep together,

39if I have devoured its produce without payment

or broken the spirit of its tenants,

40then let briers grow instead of wheat

and stinkweed instead of barley.”

Thus conclude the words of Job.

Elihu Rebukes Job’s Friends

1So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

2This kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. He burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God, 3and he burned with anger against Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.

4Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because the others were older than he. 5But when he saw that the three men had no further reply, his anger was kindled. 6So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared:

“I am young in years,

while you are old;

that is why I was timid and afraid

to tell you what I know.

7I thought that age should speak,

and many years should teach wisdom.

8But there is a spirita in a man,

the breath of the Almighty,

that gives him understanding.

9It is not only the oldb who are wise,

or the elderly who understand justice.

10Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;

I too will declare what I know.’

11Indeed, I waited while you spoke;

I listened to your reasoning;

as you searched for words,

12I paid you full attention.

But no one proved Job wrong;

not one of you rebutted his arguments.

13So do not claim, ‘We have found wisdom;

let God, not man, refute him.’

14But Job has not directed his words against me,

and I will not answer him with your arguments.

15Job’s friends are dismayed, with no more to say;

words have escaped them.

16Must I wait, now that they are silent,

now that they stand and no longer reply?

17I too will answer;

yes, I will declare what I know.

18For I am full of words,

and my spirit within me compels me.

19Behold, my belly is like unvented wine;

it is about to burst like a new wineskin.

20I must speak and find relief;

I must open my lips and respond.

21I will be partial to no one,

nor will I flatter any man.

22For I do not know how to flatter,

or my Maker would remove me in an instant.

Elihu Rebukes Job

1“But now, O Job, hear my speech,

and listen to all my words.

2Behold, I will open my mouth;

my address is on the tip of my tongue.

3My words are from an upright heart,

and my lips speak sincerely what I know.

4The Spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

5Refute me if you can;

prepare your case and confront me.

6I am just like you before God;

I was also formed from clay.

7Surely no fear of me should terrify you;

nor will my hand be heavy upon you.

8Surely you have spoken in my hearing,

and I have heard these very words:

9‘I am pure, without transgression;

I am clean, with no iniquity in me.

10Yet God finds occasions against me;

He counts me as His enemy.

11He puts my feet in the stocks;

He watches over all my paths.’

12Behold, you are not right in this matter.

I will answer you, for God is greater than man.

13Why do you complain to Him

that He answers nothing a man asks?a

14For God speaks in one way and in another,

yet no one notices.

15In a dream,

in a vision in the night,

when deep sleep falls upon men

as they slumber on their beds,

16He opens their ears

and terrifies them with warnings

17to turn a man from wrongdoing

and keep him from pride,

18to preserve his soul from the Pit

and his life from perishing by the sword.

19A man is also chastened on his bed

with pain and constant distress in his bones,

20so that he detests his bread,

and his soul loathes his favorite food.

21His flesh wastes away from sight,

and his hidden bones protrude.

22He draws near to the Pit,

and his life to the messengers of death.

23Yet if there is a messenger on his side,

one mediator in a thousand,

to tell a man what is right for him,

24to be gracious to him and say,

‘Spare him from going down to the Pit;

I have found his ransom,’

25then his flesh is refreshed like a child’s;

he returns to the days of his youth.

26He prays to God and finds favor;

he sees God’s face and shouts for joy,

and God restores His righteousness

to that man.

27Then he sings beforeb men

with these words:

‘I have sinned and perverted what was right;

yet I did not get what I deserved.

28He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,

and I will live to see the light.’

29Behold, all these things God does to a man,

two or even three times,

30to bring back his soul from the Pit,

that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

31Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;

be silent, and I will speak.

32But if you have something to say, answer me;

speak up, for I would like to vindicate you.

33But if not, then listen to me;

be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Elihu Confirms God’s Justice

1Then Elihu continued:

2“Hear my words, O wise men;

give ear to me, O men of learning.

3For the ear tests words

as the mouth tastes food.

4Let us choose for ourselves what is right;

let us learn together what is good.

5For Job has declared, ‘I am righteous,

yet God has deprived me of justice.

6Would I lie about my case?

My wound is incurable,

though I am without transgression.’

7What man is like Job,

who drinks up derision like water?

8He keeps company with evildoers

and walks with wicked men.

9For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing

that he should delight in God.’

10Therefore listen to me,

O men of understanding.

Far be it from God to do wrong,

and from the Almighty to act unjustly.

11For according to a man’s deeds He repays him;

according to a man’s ways He brings consequences.

12Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly,

and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

13Who gave Him charge over the earth?

Who appointed Him over the whole world?

14If He were to set His heart to it

and withdraw His Spirit and breath,

15all flesh would perish together

and mankind would return to the dust.

16If you have understanding, hear this;

listen to my words.

17Could one who hates justice govern?

Will you condemn the just and mighty One,

18who says to kings, ‘You are worthless!’

and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’

19who is not partial to princes

and does not favor rich over poor?

For they are all the work of His hands.

20They die in an instant,

in the middle of the night.

The people convulse and pass away;

the mighty are removed without human hand.

21For His eyes are on the ways of a man,

and He sees his every step.

22There is no darkness or deep shadow

where the workers of iniquity can hide.

23For God need not examine a man further

or have him approach for judgment.

24He shatters the mighty without inquiry

and sets up others in their place.

25Therefore, He recognizes their deeds;

He overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.

26He strikes them for their wickedness

in full view,

27because they turned aside from Him

and had no regard for any of His ways.

28They caused the cry of the poor to come before Him,

and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.

29But when He remains silent, who can condemn Him?

When He hides His face, who can see Him?

Yet He watches over both man and nation,

30that godless men should not rule

or lay snares for the people.

31Suppose someone says to God,

‘I have endured my punishment; I will offend no more.

32Teach me what I cannot see;

if I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’

33Should God repay you on your own terms

when you have disavowed His?

You must choose, not I;

so tell me what you know.

34Men of understanding will declare to me,

and the wise men who hear me will say:

35‘Job speaks without knowledge;

his words lack insight.’

36If only Job were tried to the utmost

for answering like a wicked man.

37For he adds rebellion to his sin;

he claps his hands among us

and multiplies his words against God.”

Elihu Recalls God’s Justice

1And Elihu went on to say:

2“Do you think this is just?

You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’a

3For you ask, ‘What does it profit me,

and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’

4I will reply to you

and to your friends as well.

5Look to the heavens and see;

gaze at the clouds high above you.

6If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him?

If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him?

7If you are righteous, what do you give Him,

or what does He receive from your hand?

8Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself,

and your righteousness only a son of man.

9Men cry out under great oppression;

they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty.

10But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker,

who gives us songs in the night,

11who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth

and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’

12There they cry out, but He does not answer,

because of the pride of evil men.

13Surely God does not listen to empty pleas,

and the Almighty does not take note of it.

14How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him,

that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him,

15and further, that in His anger He has not punished

or taken much notice of folly!

16So Job opens his mouth in vain

and multiplies words without knowledge.”

2 a Or ‘I am righteous before God.’ 

Elihu Describes God’s Power

1And Elihu continued:

2“Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you

that there is more to be said on God’s behalf.

3I get my knowledge from afar,

and I will ascribe justice to my Maker.

4For truly my words are free of falsehood;

one perfect in knowledge is with you.

5Indeed, God is mighty, but He despises no one;

He is mighty in strength of understanding.

6He does not keep the wicked alive,

but He grants justice to the afflicted.

7He does not take His eyes off the righteous,

but He enthrones them with kings

and exalts them forever.

8And if men are bound with chains,

caught in cords of affliction,

9then He tells them their deeds

and how arrogantly they have transgressed.

10He opens their ears to correction

and commands that they turn from iniquity.

11If they obey and serve Him,

then they end their days in prosperity

and their years in happiness.

12But if they do not obey,

then they perish by the sworda

and die without knowledge.

13The godless in heart harbor resentment;

even when He binds them, they do not cry for help.

14They die in their youth,

among the male shrine prostitutes.

15God rescues the afflicted by their afflictionb

and opens their ears in oppression.

16Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress

to a spacious and broad place,

to a table full of richness.

17But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked;

judgment and justice have seized you.

18Be careful that no one lures you with riches;

do not let a large bribe lead you astray.

19Can your wealthc or all your mighty effort

keep you from distress?

20Do not long for the night,

when people vanish from their homes.

21Be careful not to turn to iniquity,

for this you have preferred to affliction.

22Behold, God is exalted in His power.

Who is a teacher like Him?

23Who has appointed His way for Him,

or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’?

24Remember to magnify His work,

which men have praised in song.

25All mankind has seen it;

men behold it from afar.

26Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge;

the number of His years is unsearchable.

27For He draws up drops of water

which distill the rain from the mist,

28which the clouds pour out

and shower abundantly on mankind.

29Furthermore, who can understand how the clouds spread out,

how the thunder roars from His pavilion?

30See how He scatters His lightning around Him

and covers the depths of the sea.

31For by these He judgesd the nations

and provides food in abundance.

32He fills His hands with lightning

and commands it to strike its mark.

33The thunder declares His presence;

even the cattle regard the rising storm.

Elihu Proclaims God’s Majesty

1“At this my heart also pounds

and leaps from its place.

2Listen closely to the thunder of His voice

and the rumbling that comes from His mouth.

3He unleashes His lightning beneath the whole sky

and sends it to the ends of the earth.

4Then there comes a roaring sound;

He thunders with His majestic voice.

He does not restrain the lightning

when His voice resounds.

5God thunders wondrously with His voice;

He does great things we cannot comprehend.

6For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’

and to the gentle rain, ‘Pour out a mighty downpour.’

7He seals up the hand of every man,

so that all men may know His work.

8The wild animals enter their lairs;

they settle down in their dens.

9The tempest comes from its chamber,

and the cold from the driving north winds.

10By the breath of God the ice is formed

and the watery expanses are frozen.

11He loads the clouds with moisture;

He scatters His lightning through them.

12They swirl about,

whirling at His direction,

accomplishing all that He commands

over the face of all the earth.

13Whether for punishment or for His land,

He accomplishes this in His loving devotion.

14Listen to this, O Job;

stand still and consider the wonders of God.

15Do you know how God dispatches the clouds

or makes the lightning flash?

16Do you understand how the clouds float,

those wonders of Him who is perfect in knowledge?

17You whose clothes get hot

when the land lies hushed under the south wind,

18can you, like Him, spread out the skies

to reflect the heat like a mirror of bronze?

19Teach us what we should say to Him;

we cannot draw up our case when our faces are in darkness.

20Should He be told that I want to speak?

Would a man ask to be swallowed upa?

21Now no one can gaze at the sun

when it is bright in the skies

after the wind has swept them clean.

22Out of the north He comes in golden splendor;

awesome majesty surrounds Him.

23The Almighty is beyond our reach;

He is exalted in power!

In His justice and great righteousness

He does not oppress.

24Therefore, men fear Him,

for He is not partial to the wise in heart.”

20 a Or speak without being swallowed up 

The LORD Challenges Job

1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

2“Who is this who obscures My counsel

by words without knowledge?a

3Now brace yourselfb like a man;

I will question you, and you shall inform Me.c

4Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Tell Me, if you have understanding.

5Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know!

Or who stretched a measuring line across it?

6On what were its foundations set,

or who laid its cornerstone,d

7while the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8Who enclosed the sea behind doors

when it burst forth from the womb,

9when I made the clouds its garment

and thick darkness its blanket,

10when I fixed its boundaries

and set in place its bars and doors,

11and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther;

here your proud waves must stop’?

12In your days, have you commanded the morning

or assigned the dawn its place,

13that it might spread to the ends of the earth

and shake the wicked out of it?

14The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;

its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.

15Light is withheld from the wicked,

and their upraised arm is broken.

16Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea

or walked in the trenches of the deep?

17Have the gates of death been revealed to you?

Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

18Have you surveyed the extent of the earth?

Tell Me, if you know all this.

19Where is the way to the home of light?

Do you know where darkness resides,

20so you can lead it back to its border?

Do you know the paths to its home?

21Surely you know, for you were already born!

And the number of your days is great!

22Have you entered the storehouses of snow

or observed the storehouses of hail,

23which I hold in reserve for times of trouble,

for the day of war and battle?

24In which direction is the lightning dispersed,

or the east wind scattered over the earth?

25Who cuts a channel for the flood

or clears a path for the thunderbolt,

26to bring rain on a barren land,

on a desert where no man lives,

27to satisfy the parched wasteland

and make it sprout with tender grass?

28Does the rain have a father?

Who has begotten the drops of dew?

29From whose womb does the ice emerge?

Who gives birth to the frost from heaven,

30when the waters become hard as stone

and the surface of the deep is frozen?

31Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades

or loosen the belt of Orion?

32Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasonse

or lead out the Bearf and her cubs?

33Do you know the laws of the heavens?

Can you set their dominion over the earth?

34Can you command the clouds

so that a flood of water covers you?

35Can you send the lightning bolts on their way?

Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

36Who has put wisdom in the heartg

or given understanding to the mind?

37Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?

Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens

38when the dust hardens into a mass

and the clods of earth stick together?

39Can you hunt the prey for a lioness

or satisfy the hunger of young lions

40when they crouch in their dens

and lie in wait in the thicket?

41Who provides food for the raven

when its young cry out to God

as they wander about for lack of food?

The LORD Speaks of His Creation

1“Do you know when mountain goats give birth?

Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?

2Can you count the months they are pregnant?

Do you know the time they give birth?

3They crouch down and bring forth their young;

they deliver their newborn.

4Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field;

they leave and do not return.

5Who set the wild donkey free?

Who released the swift donkey from the harness?

6I made the wilderness his home

and the salt flats his dwelling.

7He scorns the tumult of the city

and never hears the shouts of a driver.

8He roams the mountains for pasture,

searching for any green thing.

9Will the wild ox consent to serve you?

Will he stay by your manger at night?

10Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?

Will he plow the valleys behind you?

11Can you rely on his great strength?

Will you leave your hard work to him?

12Can you trust him to bring in your grain

and gather it to your threshing floor?

13The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,

but cannot match the pinionsa and feathers of the stork.

14For she leaves her eggs on the ground

and lets them warm in the sand.

15She forgets that a foot may crush them,

or a wild animal may trample them.

16She treats her young harshly, as if not her own,

with no concern that her labor was in vain.

17For God has deprived her of wisdom;

He has not endowed her with understanding.

18Yet when she proudly spreads her wings,

she laughs at the horse and its rider.

19Do you give strength to the horse

or adorn his neck with a mane?

20Do you make him leap like a locust,

striking terror with his proud snorting?

21He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength;

he charges into battle.

22He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing;

he does not turn back from the sword.

23A quiver rattles at his side,

along with a flashing spear and lance.b

24Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance;

he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.

25At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor.c

He catches the scent of battle from afar—

the shouts of captains and the cry of war.

26Does the hawk take flight by your understanding

and spread his wings toward the south?

27Does the eagle soar at your command

and make his nest on high?

28He dwells on a cliff and lodges there;

his stronghold is on a rocky crag.

29From there he spies out food;

his eyes see it from afar.

30His young ones feast on blood;

and where the slain are, there he is.”

13 a Pinions  are the outer parts of a bird’s wings, including the flight feathers.
23 b Or javelin 
25 c Or he snorts, ‘Aha!’ 

Job Humbles Himself before the LORD

1And the LORD said to Job:

2“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?

Let him who argues with God give an answer.”

3Then Job answered the LORD:

4“Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You?

I place my hand over my mouth.

5I have spoken once, but I have no answer—

twice, but I have nothing to add.”

The LORD Challenges Job Again

6Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

7“Now brace yourselfa like a man;

I will question you, and you shall inform Me.b

8Would you really annul My justice?

Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?

9Do you have an arm like God’s?

Can you thunder with a voice like His?

10Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,

and clothe yourself with honor and glory.

11Unleash the fury of your wrath;

look on every proud man and bring him low.

12Look on every proud man and humble him;

trample the wicked where they stand.

13Bury them together in the dust;

imprison them in the grave.c

14Then I will confess to you

that your own right hand can save you.

15Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you.

He feeds on grass like an ox.

16See the strength of his loins

and the power in the muscles of his belly.

17His tail sways like a cedar;

the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.

18His bones are tubes of bronze;

his limbs are rods of iron.

19He is the foremost of God’s works;d

only his Maker can draw the sword against him.

20The hills yield him their produce,

while all the beasts of the field play nearby.

21He lies under the lotus plants,e

hidden among the reeds of the marsh.

22The lotus plants conceal him in their shade;

the willowsf of the brook surround him.

23Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid;

he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth.

24Can anyone capture him as he looks on,

or pierce his nose with a snare?

The LORD’s Power Shown in Leviathan

1“Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook

or tie down his tongue with a rope?

2Can you put a cord through his nose

or pierce his jaw with a hook?

3Will he beg you for mercy

or speak to you softly?

4Will he make a covenant with you

to take him as a slave for life?

5Can you pet him like a bird

or put him on a leash for your maidens?

6Will traders barter for him

or divide him among the merchants?

7Can you fill his hide with harpoons

or his head with fishing spears?

8If you lay a hand on him,

you will remember the battle and never repeat it!

9Surely hope of overcoming him is false.

Is not the sight of him overwhelming?

10No one is so fierce as to rouse Leviathan.

Then who is able to stand against Me?

11Who has given to Me that I should repay him?a

Everything under heaven is Mine.

12I cannot keep silent about his limbs,

his power and graceful form.

13Who can strip off his outer coat?

Who can approach him with a bridle?b

14Who can open his jaws,

ringed by his fearsome teeth?

15His rows of scales are his pride,

tightly sealed together.

16One scale is so near to another

that no air can pass between them.

17They are joined to one another;

they clasp and cannot be separated.

18His snorting flashes with light,

and his eyes are like the rays of dawn.

19Firebrands stream from his mouth;

fiery sparks shoot forth!

20Smoke billows from his nostrils

as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.

21His breath sets coals ablaze,

and flames pour from his mouth.

22Strength resides in his neck,

and dismay leaps before him.

23The folds of his flesh are tightly joined;

they are firm and immovable.

24His chest is as hard as a rock,

as hard as a lower millstone!

25When Leviathan rises up, the mighty are terrified;

they withdraw before his thrashing.

26The sword that reaches him has no effect,

nor does the spear or dart or arrow.

27He regards iron as straw

and bronze as rotten wood.

28No arrow can make him flee;

slingstones become like chaff to him.

29A club is regarded as straw,

and he laughs at the sound of the lance.c

30His undersides are jagged potsherds,

spreading out the mud like a threshing sledge.

31He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron;

he makes the sea like a jar of ointment.

32He leaves a glistening wake behind him;

one would think the deep had white hair!

33Nothing on earth is his equal—

a creature devoid of fear!

34He looks down on all the haughty;

he is king over all the proud.”

Job Submits Himself to the LORD

1Then Job replied to the LORD:

2“I know that You can do all things

and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

3You asked, ‘Who is this

who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’a

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.

4You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak.

I will question you, and you shall inform Me.’b

5My ears had heard of You,

but now my eyes have seen You.

6Therefore I retract my words,

and I repent in dust and ashes.”

The LORD Rebukes Job’s Friends

7After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has. 8So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has.”

9So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD had told them; and the LORD accepted Job’s request.

The LORD Blesses Job

10After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions. 11All his brothers and sisters and prior acquaintances came and dined with him in his house. They consoled him and comforted him over all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. And each one gave him a piece of silverc and a gold ring.

12So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch. 15No women as beautiful as Job’s daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance among their brothers.

16After this, Job lived 140 years and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17And so Job died, old and full of years.