There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil.

His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

Then Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you set your heart upon My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”

Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,

While this one was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans set up three companies and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the young men with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and touched the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

And Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you set your heart upon My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity. So you incited Me against him to swallow him up in vain.”

Satan answered Yahweh and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.

And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.

Then they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe, and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.

Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

“Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night which said, ‘A man is conceived.’

Let darkness and shadow of death redeem it; Let a cloud dwell upon it; Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

Or why was I not like a miscarriage hidden away, As infants that never saw light?

Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in?

“If one tries a word with you, will you become weary? But who can hold back from speaking?

“Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear received a whisper of it.

Then a spirit swept by my face; The hair of my flesh bristled up.

It stood still, but I could not recognize its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice:

‘Can mankind be right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?

His harvest the hungry devour And take it to a place of thorns, And the schemer pants after their wealth.

Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the slime of a yolk?

My brothers have betrayed me like a wadi, Like the torrents of wadis which pass away,

The paths of their course wind along; They go up into a formless place and perish.

Indeed, you have now become such; You see a terror and are afraid.

Have I said, ‘Give me something,’ Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’

“Is not man conscripted to labor on earth, And are not his days like the days of a hired man?

As a slave who pants for the shade, And as a hired man who eagerly hopes for his wages,

My flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt; My skin scabs over and flows out again.

My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And come to an end without hope.

A cloud vanishes, and it is gone, So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

Am I the sea or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me?