Job

Job (RSV)
Excerpts from the Original Electronic Text at the web site of The Bible Gateway.
Chapter 1

1
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil.
2
There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
3
He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.
4
His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each on his day; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
5
And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did continually.
6
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
7
The LORD said to Satan, "Whence have you come?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it."
8
And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?"
9
Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nought?
10
Hast thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11
But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face."
12
And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand." So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
13
Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house;
14
and there came a messenger to Job, and said, "The oxen were plowing and the asses feeding beside them;
15
and the Sabe'ans fell upon them and took them, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you."
16
While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you."
17
While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, "The Chalde'ans formed three companies, and made a raid upon the camels and took them, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you."
18
While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house;
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and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you."
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Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped.
21
And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."
22
In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Chapter 2

1
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.
2
And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence have you come?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it."
3
And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause."
4
Then Satan answered the LORD, "Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.
5
But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face."
6
And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power; only spare his life."
7
So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
8
And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.
9
Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God, and die."
10
But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11
Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eli'phaz the Te'manite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Na'amathite. They made an appointment together to come to condole with him and comfort him.
12
And when they saw him from afar, they did not recognize him; and they raised their voices and wept; and they rent their robes and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
13
And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
Chapter 3

1
After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
2
And Job said:
3
"Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night which said, 'A man-child is conceived.'
4
Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it.
5
Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6
That night--let thick darkness seize it! let it not rejoice among the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.
7
Yea, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry be heard in it.
8
Let those curse it who curse the day, who are skilled to rouse up Levi'athan.
9
Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none, nor see the eyelids of the morning;
10
because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes.
11
"Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?
12
Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should suck?
13
For then I should have lain down and been quiet; I should have slept; then I should have been at rest,
14
with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves,
15
or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.
16
Or why was I not as a hidden untimely birth, as infants that never see the light?
17
There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest.
18
There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.
19
The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master.
20
"Why is light given to him that is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,
21
who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hid treasures;
22
who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they find the grave?
23
Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, whom God has hedged in?
24
For my sighing comes as my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water.
25
For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.
26
I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes."
Chapter 4

1
Then Eli'phaz the Te'manite answered:
2
"If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended? Yet who can keep from speaking?
3
Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands.
4
Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees.
5
But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed.
6
Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?
7
"Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?
8
As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.
9
By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.
10
The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
11
The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
12
"Now a word was brought to me stealthily, my ear received the whisper of it.
13
Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
14
dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.
15
A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.
16
It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice:
17
'Can mortal man be righteous before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?
18
Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error;
19
how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth.
20
Between morning and evening they are destroyed; they perish for ever without any regarding it.
21
If their tent-cord is plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?'
Chapter 10

1
"I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2
I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why thou dost contend against me.
3
Does it seem good to thee to oppress, to despise the work of thy hands and favor the designs of the wicked?
4
Hast thou eyes of flesh? Dost thou see as man sees?
5
Are thy days as the days of man, or thy years as man's years,
6
that thou dost seek out my iniquity and search for my sin,
7
although thou knowest that I am not guilty, and there is none to deliver out of thy hand?
8
Thy hands fashioned and made me; and now thou dost turn about and destroy me.
9
Remember that thou hast made me of clay; and wilt thou turn me to dust again?
10
Didst thou not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?
11
Thou didst clothe me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews.
12
Thou hast granted me life and steadfast love; and thy care has preserved my spirit.
13
Yet these things thou didst hide in thy heart; I know that this was thy purpose.
14
If I sin, thou dost mark me, and dost not acquit me of my iniquity.
15
If I am wicked, woe to me! If I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head, for I am filled with disgrace and look upon my affliction.
16
And if I lift myself up, thou dost hunt me like a lion, and again work wonders against me;
17
thou dost renew thy witnesses against me, and increase thy vexation toward me; thou dost bring fresh hosts against me.
18
"Why didst thou bring me forth from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me,
19
and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.
20
Are not the days of my life few? Let me alone, that I may find a little comfort
21
before I go whence I shall not return, to the land of gloom and deep darkness,
22
the land of gloom and chaos, where light is as darkness."
Chapter 38

1
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2
"Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3
Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
4
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
5
Who determined its measurements--surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
6
On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone,
7
when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8
"Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth from the womb;
9
when I made clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10
and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors,
11
and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed'?
12
"Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place,
13
that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?
14
It is changed like clay under the seal, and it is dyed like a garment.
15
From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken.
16
"Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17
Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18
Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this.
19
"Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness,
20
that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home?
21
You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
22
"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23
which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?
24
What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
25
"Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt,
26
to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man;
27
to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground put forth grass?
28
"Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29
From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?
30
The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31
"Can you bind the chains of the Plei'ades, or loose the cords of Orion?
32
Can you lead forth the Maz'zaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children?
33
Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?
34
"Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you?
35
Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, 'Here we are'?
36
Who has put wisdom in the clouds, or given understanding to the mists?
37
Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
38
when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cleave fast together?
39
"Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40
when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their covert?
41
Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?
Chapter 42

1
Then Job answered the LORD:
2
"I know that thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted.
3
'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4
'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.'
5
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee;
6
therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
7
After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eli'phaz the Te'manite: "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.
8
Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has."
9
So Eli'phaz the Te'manite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Na'amathite went and did what the LORD had told them; and the LORD accepted Job's prayer.
10
And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11
Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house; and they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.
12
And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
13
He had also seven sons and three daughters.
14
And he called the name of the first Jemi'mah; and the name of the second Kezi'ah; and the name of the third Ker'en-hap'puch.
15
And in all the land there were no women so fair as Job's daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers.
16
And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations.
17
And Job died, an old man, and full of days.

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