1:1 |
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. |
1:2 |
And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. |
1:3 |
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. |
1:4 |
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. |
1:5 |
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. |
1:6 |
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD,
and Satan came also among them. |
1:7 |
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. |
1:8 |
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? |
1:9 |
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? |
1:10 |
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. |
1:11 |
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to
thy face. |
1:12 |
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. |
1:13 |
And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in
their eldest brother's house: |
1:14 |
And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses
feeding beside them: |
1:15 |
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. |
1:16 |
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. |
1:17 |
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. |
1:18 |
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: |
1:19 |
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. |
1:20 |
Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the
ground, and worshipped, |
1:21 |
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. |
1:22 |
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. |
2:1 |
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. |
2:2 |
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. |
2:3 |
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. |
2:4 |
And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he
give for his life. |
2:5 |
But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee
to thy face. |
2:6 |
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. |
2:7 |
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. |
2:8 |
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. |
2:9 |
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and
die. |
2:10 |
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. |
2:11 |
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. |
2:12 |
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. |
2:13 |
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. |
3:1 |
After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. |
3:2 |
And Job spake, and said, |
3:3 |
Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a
man child conceived. |
3:4 |
Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light
shine upon it. |
3:5 |
Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the
blackness of the day terrify it. |
3:6 |
As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of
the year, let it not come into the number of the months. |
3:7 |
Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. |
3:8 |
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. |
3:9 |
Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none;
neither let it see the dawning of the day: |
3:10 |
Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes. |
3:11 |
Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the
belly? |
3:12 |
Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? |
3:13 |
For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been
at rest, |
3:14 |
With kings and counsellors of the earth, which build desolate places for themselves; |
3:15 |
Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: |
3:16 |
Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. |
3:17 |
There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. |
3:18 |
There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. |
3:19 |
The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. |
3:20 |
Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; |
3:21 |
Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; |
3:22 |
Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? |
3:23 |
Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? |
3:24 |
For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. |
3:25 |
For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of
is come unto me. |
3:26 |
I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came. |
4:1 |
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, |
4:2 |
If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself
from speaking? |
4:3 |
Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. |
4:4 |
Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble
knees. |
4:5 |
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art
troubled. |
4:6 |
Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? |
4:7 |
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous
cut off? |
4:8 |
Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. |
4:9 |
By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. |
4:10 |
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young
lions, are broken. |
4:11 |
The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered
abroad. |
4:12 |
Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. |
4:13 |
In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, |
4:14 |
Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. |
4:15 |
Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: |
4:16 |
It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine
eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, |
4:17 |
Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? |
4:18 |
Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: |
4:19 |
How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust,
which are crushed before the moth? |
4:20 |
They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding
it. |
4:21 |
Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom. |
5:1 |
Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou
turn? |
5:2 |
For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. |
5:3 |
I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. |
5:4 |
His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there
any to deliver them. |
5:5 |
Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the
robber swalloweth up their substance. |
5:6 |
Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of
the ground; |
5:7 |
Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. |
5:8 |
I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: |
5:9 |
Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: |
5:10 |
Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: |
5:11 |
To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. |
5:12 |
He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their
enterprise. |
5:13 |
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried
headlong. |
5:14 |
They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in the noonday as in the night. |
5:15 |
But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the
mighty. |
5:16 |
So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth. |
5:17 |
Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the
chastening of the Almighty: |
5:18 |
For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. |
5:19 |
He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. |
5:20 |
In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. |
5:21 |
Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of
destruction when it cometh. |
5:22 |
At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts
of the earth. |
5:23 |
For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field
shall be at peace with thee. |
5:24 |
And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy
habitation, and shalt not sin. |
5:25 |
Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of
the earth. |
5:26 |
Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his
season. |
5:27 |
Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good. |
6:1 |
But Job answered and said, |
6:2 |
Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances
together! |
6:3 |
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed
up. |
6:4 |
For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my
spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. |
6:5 |
Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder? |
6:6 |
Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white
of an egg? |
6:7 |
The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat. |
6:8 |
Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long
for! |
6:9 |
Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut
me off! |
6:10 |
Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not
spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. |
6:11 |
What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong
my life? |
6:12 |
Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass? |
6:13 |
Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me? |
6:14 |
To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the
fear of the Almighty. |
6:15 |
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass
away; |
6:16 |
Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid: |
6:17 |
What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their
place. |
6:18 |
The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish. |
6:19 |
The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. |
6:20 |
They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed. |
6:21 |
For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid. |
6:22 |
Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance? |
6:23 |
Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty? |
6:24 |
Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. |
6:25 |
How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove? |
6:26 |
Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are
as wind? |
6:27 |
Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend. |
6:28 |
Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie. |
6:29 |
Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in
it. |
6:30 |
Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things? |
7:1 |
Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days
of an hireling? |
7:2 |
As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward
of his work: |
7:3 |
So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. |
7:4 |
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. |
7:5 |
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become
loathsome. |
7:6 |
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. |
7:7 |
O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good. |
7:8 |
The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I
am not. |
7:9 |
As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall
come up no more. |
7:10 |
He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more. |
7:11 |
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. |
7:12 |
Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? |
7:13 |
When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaints; |
7:14 |
Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions: |
7:15 |
So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life. |
7:16 |
I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity. |
7:17 |
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart
upon him? |
7:18 |
And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment? |
7:19 |
How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my
spittle? |
7:20 |
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? |
7:21 |
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. |
8:1 |
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, |
8:2 |
How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be
like a strong wind? |
8:3 |
Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice? |
8:4 |
If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their
transgression; |
8:5 |
If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; |
8:6 |
If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the
habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. |
8:7 |
Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase. |
8:8 |
For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of
their fathers: |
8:9 |
(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a
shadow:) |
8:10 |
Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? |
8:11 |
Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water? |
8:12 |
Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other
herb. |
8:13 |
So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: |
8:14 |
Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. |
8:15 |
He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it
shall not endure. |
8:16 |
He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden. |
8:17 |
His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones. |
8:18 |
If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen
thee. |
8:19 |
Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow. |
8:20 |
Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers: |
8:21 |
Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. |
8:22 |
They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked
shall come to nought. |
9:1 |
Then Job answered and said, |
9:2 |
I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? |
9:3 |
If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. |
9:4 |
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him,
and hath prospered? |
9:5 |
Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger. |
9:6 |
Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. |
9:7 |
Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. |
9:8 |
Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. |
9:9 |
Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. |
9:10 |
Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number. |
9:11 |
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not. |
9:12 |
Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou? |
9:13 |
If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him. |
9:14 |
How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him? |
9:15 |
Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication
to my judge. |
9:16 |
If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened
unto my voice. |
9:17 |
For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause. |
9:18 |
He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness. |
9:19 |
If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time
to plead? |
9:20 |
If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall
also prove me perverse. |
9:21 |
Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life. |
9:22 |
This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. |
9:23 |
If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent. |
9:24 |
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges
thereof; if not, where, and who is he? |
9:25 |
Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good. |
9:26 |
They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. |
9:27 |
If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort
myself: |
9:28 |
I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. |
9:29 |
If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain? |
9:30 |
If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean; |
9:31 |
Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me. |
9:32 |
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in
judgment. |
9:33 |
Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both. |
9:34 |
Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me: |
9:35 |
Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me. |
10:1 |
My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in
the bitterness of my soul. |
10:2 |
I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. |
10:3 |
Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work
of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? |
10:4 |
Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? |
10:5 |
Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days, |
10:6 |
That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin? |
10:7 |
Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine
hand. |
10:8 |
Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy
me. |
10:9 |
Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me
into dust again? |
10:10 |
Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? |
10:11 |
Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. |
10:12 |
Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. |
10:13 |
And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee. |
10:14 |
If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. |
10:15 |
If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I
am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; |
10:16 |
For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself
marvellous upon me. |
10:17 |
Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me;
changes and war are against me. |
10:18 |
Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the
ghost, and no eye had seen me! |
10:19 |
I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb
to the grave. |
10:20 |
Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, |
10:21 |
Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of
death; |
10:22 |
A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order,
and where the light is as darkness. |