There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and
that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and
eschewed evil.
And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three
thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five
hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this
man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his
day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to
drink with them.
And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone
about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in
the morning, and offered 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 did Job
continually.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan
answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the
earth, and from walking up and down in it.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant
Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and
an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for
nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house,
and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed
the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the
land.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and
he will curse thee to thy face.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in
thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So
Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were
eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:
And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were
plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:
And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they
have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only
am escaped alone to tell thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said,
The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the
sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am
escaped alone to tell thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said,
The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels,
and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with
the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell
thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said,
Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in
their eldest brother's house:
And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and
smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the
young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to
tell thee.
Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and
fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked
shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken
away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to
present himself before the LORD.
And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And
Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in
the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant
Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and
an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and
still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me
against him, to destroy him without cause.
And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all
that a man hath will he give for his life.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his
flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but
save his life.
So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote
Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he
sat down among the ashes.
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine
integrity? curse God, and die.
But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish
women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of
God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job
sin with his lips.
Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was
come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz
the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the
Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come
to mourn with him and to comfort him.
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not,
they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one
his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven
nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his
grief was very great.
Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his
days also like the days of an hireling?
As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling
looketh for the reward of his work:
So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights
are appointed to me.
When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be
gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of
the day.
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is
broken, and become loathsome.
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent
without hope.
O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see
good.
The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine
eyes are upon me, and I am not.
As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth
down to the grave shall come up no more.
He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place
know him any more.
Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the
anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my
soul.
Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?
When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my
complaints;
Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through
visions:
So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my
life.
I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days
are vanity.
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou
shouldest set thine heart upon him?
And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him
every moment?
How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I
swallow down my spittle?
I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of
men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am
a burden to myself?
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away
my iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt
seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a
man full of talk be justified?
Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou
mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in
thine eyes.
But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;
And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they
are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth
of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the
Almighty unto perfection?
It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell;
what canst thou know?
The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than
the sea.
If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can
hinder him?
For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not
then consider it?
For vain men would be wise, though man be born like a wild
ass's colt.
If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands
toward him;
If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not
wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou
shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as
waters that pass away:
And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday: thou shalt
shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou
shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid;
yea, many shall make suit unto thee.
But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not
escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of
trouble.
He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also
as a shadow, and continueth not.
And doth thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest
me into judgment with thee?
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are
with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as
an hireling, his day.
For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will
sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not
cease.
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock
thereof die in the ground;
Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth
boughs like a plant.
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost,
and where is he?
As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and
drieth up:
So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no
more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest
keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest
appoint me a set time, and remember me!
If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my
appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a
desire to the work of thine hands.
For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my
sin?
My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up
mine iniquity.
And surely the mountains falling cometh to nought, and the
rock is removed out of his place.
The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which
grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the
hope of man.
Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou
changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are
brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within
him shall mourn.
Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I
make haste.
I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my
understanding causeth me to answer.
Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the
hypocrite but for a moment?
Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head
reach unto the clouds;
Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which
have seen him shall say, Where is he?
He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he
shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither
shall his place any more behold him.
His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands
shall restore their goods.
His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie
down with him in the dust.
Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it
under his tongue;
Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still
within his mouth:
Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps
within him.
He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up
again: God shall cast them out of his belly.
He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall
slay him.
He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey
and butter.
That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not
swallow it down: according to his substance shall the
restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because
he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;
Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not
save of that which he desired.
There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man
look for his goods.
In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits:
every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of
his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is
eating.
He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall
strike him through.
It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering
sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.
All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not
blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left
in his tabernacle.
The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise
up against him.
The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall
flow away in the day of his wrath.
This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage
appointed unto him by God.
Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they
that know him not see his days?
Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks,
and feed thereof.
They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the
widow's ox for a pledge.
They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide
themselves together.
Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their
work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food
for them and for their children.
They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the
vintage of the wicked.
They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have
no covering in the cold.
They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace
the rock for want of a shelter.
They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge
of the poor.
They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take
away the sheaf from the hungry;
Which make oil within their walls, and tread their
winepresses, and suffer thirst.
Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded
crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.
They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not
the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy,
and in the night is as a thief.
The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight,
saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.
In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for
themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.
For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one
know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the
earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.
Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave
those which have sinned.
The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him;
he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken
as a tree.
He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not
good to the widow.
He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and
no man is sure of life.
Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth;
yet his eyes are upon their ways.
They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought
low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off
as the tops of the ears of corn.
And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my
speech nothing worth?
So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was
righteous in his own eyes.
Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the
Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath
kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because
they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were
elder than he.
When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these
three men, then his wrath was kindled.
And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I
am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and
durst not shew you mine opinion.
I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach
wisdom.
But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the
Almighty giveth them understanding.
Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand
judgment.
Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine
opinion.
Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons,
whilst ye searched out what to say.
Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you
that convinced Job, or that answered his words:
Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth
him down, not man.
Now he hath not directed his words against me: neither will I
answer him with your speeches.
They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off
speaking.
When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and
answered no more;)
I said, I will answer also my part, I also will shew mine
opinion.
For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.
Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to
burst like new bottles.
I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and
answer.
Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither let
me give flattering titles unto man.
For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker
would soon take me away.
Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that
have knowledge.
For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.
Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what
is good.
For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my
judgment.
Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without
transgression.
What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?
Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and
walketh with wicked men.
For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should
delight himself with God.
Therefore hearken unto me ye men of understanding: far be it
from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty,
that he should commit iniquity.
For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause
every man to find according to his ways.
Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the
Almighty pervert judgment.
Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath
disposed the whole world?
If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his
spirit and his breath;
All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto
dust.
If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the
voice of my words.
Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn
him that is most just?
Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes,
Ye are ungodly?
How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of
princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they
all are the work of his hands.
In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled
at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away
without hand.
For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his
goings.
There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers
of iniquity may hide themselves.
For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should
enter into judgment with God.
He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set
others in their stead.
Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in
the night, so that they are destroyed.
He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;
Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any
of his ways:
So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and
he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when
he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be
done against a nation, or against a man only:
That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.
Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne
chastisement, I will not offend any more:
That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I
will do no more.
Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it,
whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I:
therefore speak what thou knowest.
Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken
unto me.
Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without
wisdom.
My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his
answers for wicked men.
For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands
among us, and multiplieth his words against God.
Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee that I have yet to
speak on God's behalf.
I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe
righteousness to my Maker.
For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in
knowledge is with thee.
Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in
strength and wisdom.
He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to
the poor.
He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings
are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever,
and they are exalted.
And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of
affliction;
Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that
they have exceeded.
He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that
they return from iniquity.
If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in
prosperity, and their years in pleasures.
But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they
shall die without knowledge.
But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when
he bindeth them.
They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.
He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their
ears in oppression.
Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a
broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which
should be set on thy table should be full of fatness.
But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment
and justice take hold on thee.
Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his
stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.
Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of
strength.
Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.
Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen
rather than affliction.
Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?
Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast
wrought iniquity?
Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.
Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off.
Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the
number of his years be searched out.
For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain
according to the vapour thereof:
Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.
Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the
noise of his tabernacle?
Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the
bottom of the sea.
For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in
abundance.
With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to
shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.
The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also
concerning the vapour.
I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can
be withholden from thee.
Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore
have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for
me, which I knew not.
Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee,
and declare thou unto me.
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine
eye seeth thee.
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto
Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is
kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have
not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job
hath.
Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks 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 him will
I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye
have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my
servant Job.
So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the
Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them:
the LORD also accepted Job.
And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for
his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had
before.
Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his
sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance
before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they
bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the
LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of
money, and every one an earring of gold.
So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his
beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six
thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand
she asses.
He had also seven sons and three daughters.
And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of
the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch.
And in all the land were no women found so fair as the
daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among
their brethren.
After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his
sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.