1 1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. He was a perfect man, who feared God and avoided evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters. 3 He had 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 oxen, 500 female donkeys, and many servants. He was the greatest man in the east. 4 Every night Job's sons would get together and invite their three sisters eat and drink with them. 5 Job worried about his sons, offering burnt offerings for their sins.
6 One day, the sons of God came to visit God, and Satan was among them.
7 God said to Satan, "Where have you been?"
Satan answered, "I've been walking around on the earth."
8 God said,
Have you considered my servant, Job?
He is a perfect man, who fears me and avoids evil.
9-10 Satan said,
Sure, he does now. You've blessed, protected, and enriched him.
11 But if you mess with his stuff, he'll curse you to your face.
12 God said,
Okay then, do whatever you like with his stuff.
But don't hurt him.
And Satan left.
13-14 One day, while Job's sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine at the oldest son's house, a messenger came to Job and said,
15 The Sabeans took your oxen and asses and killed your servants.
I'm the only one who survived.
16 While the first servant was speaking, another came and said to Job,
A fire from God killed your sheep and servants. I'm the only one who survived.
17 While the second servant was speaking, another came and said,
The Chaldeans stole your camels and killed your servants. I'm the only one who survived.
18-19 While the third servant was speaking, another came and said,
Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine at your oldest son's house, when the wind blew the house down. All of your children are dead. I'm the only one who survived.
20 Job stood up, tore his mantle, shaved his head, fell down to the ground, and worshiped God.
21 Job said,
I was born naked, and I'll die naked. God gives and God takes away.
May God's name be blessed.
22 None of this caused Job to sin or foolishly blame God.
2 1 One day, the sons of God visited God, and Satan was among them.
2 God said to Satan, "Where have you been?"
Satan answered, "I've been walking around on the earth."
3 God said,
Have you considered my servant, Job?
He is a perfect man, who fears me and avoids evil.
He didn't even get upset when we destroyed him for no reason.
4 Satan answered God, saying,
Skin for skin. People will do anything to stay alive.
5 If you touch his body, he'll curse you to your face.
6 God said to Satan,
Okay then, do whatever you like to his body.
But don't kill him.
7 So Satan left God and smote Job with painful boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Job scraped his skin with a potsherd and sat down in the ashes.
9 Job's wife said to him,
Do you want to keep any of your integrity?
If so, you should curse God and die.
10 Job said to her,
You're speaking like a foolish woman.
If we receive good things from God, we must accept bad things as well.
11 When Job's friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) heard about the evil that had come upon him, they came to comfort him. 12 At first, they didn't recognize him. But when they finally did, they wept, tore their clothes, and sprinkled dust on their heads.13 They sat down with Job for seven days and seven nights, never speaking a word.
3 1-3 After this, Job said, "I curse the day I was born. 11 I wish I’d have died in childbirth."
4 1 Eliphaz said to Job,
5 Only guilty people die.
5 17 You should be happy that God is correcting you. Don't despise him for it.
18 God hurts and wounds people, but he heals them later.
6 1 Job responded by saying,
4 God has shot me with arrows, poisoned my spirit, and terrorized my soul.
6 Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? Is there any taste in the white of an egg?
24 Tell me what I've done wrong.
29-30 But don't judge me for things I haven't done or for things I haven't said.
7 5 My body is covered with worms and dirt clods. My skin is broken and loathsome.
7 My life is ending. I will see nothing more that is good.
9 There is no life after death. Whoever goes to the grave comes up no more.
11 So I will speak and complain about my affliction.
17 Why do you spend so much of your time tormenting people?
20 If I've sinned, why does that matter to you?
21 Why not just forgive me before I die?
8 1 Bildad said to Job,
3 Does God pervert justice?
4 If God killed your children because they misbehaved, they deserved it.
9 1 Job said to Bildad,
17 God torments me for no reason.
18 He won't let me breathe.
22 He destroys the good and the bad.
23 He laughs at the trial of the innocent.
24 He gives the earth to evil people and hides the truth from judges.
10 3 Is it good for God to oppress people, despise his creation, or advise and assist wicked people?
11 1 Zophar said to Job,
6 You’re getting off easy. God should punish you more than this.
12 1 Job responded by saying,
2 You are wise, but your wisdom will die with you.
4 Just and upright people are laughed to scorn.
13 4 You are lying, useless physicians.
5 You'd be wise to stop talking.
7 Will you lie for God?
15 God may kill me, but I won't back down from him.
14 1 Men are born from women.
4 So men are unclean.
10 Death is forever. There is no afterlife.
15 1 Eliphaz said to Job,
5 Your own words prove that you are guilty.
13 You've turned your spirit against God by letting such words go out of your mouth.
14 How could a man be clean or righteous when he is born of a woman?
16 1 Job said to Eliphaz,
2 Yeah, I've heard all of this before.
You guys are miserable comforters.
7 God has made me weary, and you are bad company.
8 You've filled me with wrinkles.
9 God hates me. He tears me with his wrath and gnashes me with his teeth.
12 He’s taken me by the neck and shaken me to pieces.
13 He used me as target practice for his archers and poured my guts on the ground.
14 He has trampled me like a giant.
15 I’ve sewed sackcloth on my skin and defiled my horn in the dust.
17 1 My breath is corrupt. I'm ready to die.
18 1 Bildad said, "Will you ever stop talking and let us speak?"
19 1 Job said,
17 My breath is strange to my wife.
18 Young children hate me.
19 My closest friends have turned against me.
20 I escaped with the skin of my teeth.
21 Have pity on me, because God has touched me with his hand.
22 Why do you join God in persecuting me?
20 1 Zophar said to Job,
7 Wicked people will perish forever like their own dung.
21 1 Job said,
7 Why do the wicked live long?
23 One man dies peacefully, with his breasts full of milk.
25 Another dies in bitterness, never having experienced pleasure.
26 Both will lie in the dust, covered with worms.
22 1 Eliphaz said,
4 Is God punishing you because you fear him?
5 No, he's punishing you because of your great wickedness and infinite iniquities.
23 1 Job said,
3 If I knew where to find God, I'd go there to argue my case in front of him.
7 And he would listen to me and set me free.
8 But I can't find God anywhere.
24 25 If what I say isn't true, show me where I am wrong.
25 1 Bildad said,
2 Dominion and fear are with God.
4 How can a man be clean who is born of a woman?
5 Not even the stars are pure in his sight.
6 Men are worms, and so is the son of man.
26 1 Job said,
7 God hung the earth on nothing.
11 The pillars that hold up the sky tremble when he speaks.
27 1 Job continued his parable, saying,
2 God has refused to judge me fairly.
3 But while I still have breath in me,
5 I will not let you take away my integrity.
6 I will continue to proclaim my righteousness.
28 20 Wisdom is hidden from all living things, even birds.
29 2 I miss the good old days, when I lived a happy and carefree life.
11 Everyone liked me and said nice things about me.
12 I helped the poor and fatherless, and those who had no one else to help them.
13 People blessed me when they died.
I made widow's hearts sing for joy.
14 I was clothed in righteousness.
I wore justice like a robe.
15 I helped the blind see, and the lame walk.
16 I was a father to the poor and defended them in court.
17 I broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
20 I was glorious.
21 Everyone listened to me, and stopped talking when I told them to.
24 I made people happy just by smiling at them.
25 I was the king of my own world.
30 1 But now young people make fun of me.
10 They hate me and spit in my face.
20 I cry out to you, God, but you don't hear me.
21 You are cruel to me and oppress me.
23 I know you're going to kill me.
27 My bowels boiled.
29 I am a brother to dragons and a companion to owls.
31 1 Since I made an agreement with my eyes, why should I desire a woman?
9 If I've fallen for another woman,
10 Then let my wife grind to another, and let others bow down on her.
13 If I ignored the complaints of my servants, 16 or ignored the needs of the poor or blinded widows, 17 or not shared my food with the fatherless, 19 or didn't clothe the poor with the fleece of my sheep, 22 then let my arm be broken off from my shoulder.
24 If I put my hope in gold, 25 or rejoiced in my wealth,26 or saw the sun when it shined, or the moon when it was bright, 27 or kissed my hand, 28 then I deserve to be punished by God.
29 If I rejoiced when a person who hated me was destroyed, 30 or wanted to curse his soul, 31 or didn't take in travelers, 33 or hid my iniquity in my bosom, 34 or stayed silent from fear of what others would say, 39 or ate fruits without paying for them, or caused others to lose their life, 40 Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley.
And with that, Job stopped talking.
32 1 Job's three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) stopped speaking to him, since he considered himself righteous. Then Elihu arrived and was angry at Job for blaming God instead of himself. 3 And he was angry at Job's friends, because they couldn't prove that Job was wrong.
4 He waited until Job finished speaking, then he said,
19 My belly is ready to burst like a bottle of wine without a vent.
33 1 Hear my speeches and listen to me.
6 I'm speaking for God here.
14 God speaks in dreams while we sleep.
19 He punishes us with pain on our beds.
34 35 Job has spoken without knowledge or wisdom.
36 I'd like to see him tried and punished for his wickedness.
37 He added rebellion to sin, clapped his hands, and talked back to God.
35 2 Do you think you were right when you said that you were more righteous than God?
36 2 Be patient with me, and I'll speak to you on God's behalf.
3 I'll fetch knowledge from afar and talk about how great God is.
37 2 Hear the noise of God's voice and the sound that comes out of his mouth.
6 He tells the snow to go to the earth, and he does the same to rain.
10 He makes frost with his breath.
18 Were you with him when he spread out the sky, which is hard and strong like a mirror?
24 People fear him, and he respects no one who is wise.
38 1 Then God answered Job from out of a whirlwind, saying,
3 Gird up your loins like a man, and answer some of my questions.
4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
5 Who measured the earth by stretching a line upon it?
6 Upon what are the earth's foundations? Who laid the cornerstone?
7 Where were you when the morning stars sang and the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Who shut up the sea doors, as though it had issued out of the womb?
10 Who set bars and doors on the sea, saying, "This far you can come, but no further."
13 Can you grab hold of the ends of the earth and shake the wicked people out of it?
16 Have you walked in the deepest part of the sea or had the gates of death opened for you?
18 Do you know the size of the earth?
19 Do you know where light and darkness dwell?
21 Surely you know all this since you were here when it was created, and you've lived so long.
22-23 Have you seen where snow and rain are stored for use in times of war?
29 And out of whose womb comes the ice and the hoary frost of heaven?
31 Can you bind the Pleiades or untie the stars in Orion?
35 Can you send lightning bolts that say to you, "Here we are"?
37 Can you count the clouds or spill the bottles of heaven?
39 Can you find prey for lions?
39 1 Do you know when wild goats give birth?
2 Do you know their gestation period?
5 Who set the wild ass free?
9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve you?
13 Did you give the peacocks their wings?
Or feathers to the ostrich?
19 Did you give the horse its strength, or clothe its neck with thunder?
40 1 God asked Job,
2 Can someone who argues with the Almighty instruct him?
3 Job answered,
What can I say? I'm vile. My hand is on my mouth.
I spoke before, but I won't answer again.
6 God said,
Gird up your loins like a man and answer me.
8 Will you deny my judgment and condemn me, so that you can be righteous?
9 Do you have an arm like mine?
Can you make your voice as thunderous as mine?
12 Can you ruin the proud, walk on the wicked, and bury them in the dust?
14 If so, then I give up. You win
15 Consider the behemoth.
16 His strength is in his loins and his force is in his navel.
19 I made the behemoth, and I'm even stronger than him.
41 1 Can you catch the Leviathan with a hook, or catch his tongue with a line?
2 Can you put a hook in his nose, or drill a hole through his jaw with a thorn?
3 Does he speak soft words to you?
4 Does he agree to serve you forever?
5 Do you play with him like a bird?
7 Can you fill his skin with barbed wire, or his head with fish spears?
9 No one is strong enough to stand up before him.
10 Who then, can stand up to me?
11 I'm stronger than everyone else. And everything is mine.
12 I won't hide the Leviathan's powerful parts.
13 Who can even look at his clothes or double bridle?
14 He has terrible teeth.
15 He’s proud of his scales.
18 A light shines when he sneezes.
19 Burning lamps and sparks of fire leap out of his mouth.
20 Smoke comes out of his nose.
24 His heart is as hard as a stone.
25 When he comes around, everyone runs away.
27 To him, iron is like straw, and brass like rotten wood.
28 Arrows and slingshots don't scare him.
29 He laughs at darts and shaking spears.
33 Nobody's like him. He's fearless.
34 He sees everything and is king over everyone.
42 1 Job said to God,
2 You can do anything and can read everyone's mind.
5 I've heard you speak before, but now I can see you.
6 So I hate myself and repent in dust and ashes.
7 Then God said to Eliphaz and his friends,
I'm mad at you for not speaking well enough of me, as Job has.
8 So take seven bullocks and seven rams and offer them to me as a burnt offering.
Job will pray for you, and I'll accept your offerings.
9 So Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar sacrificed the animals and God accepted Job.
10 God gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11 All of Job's friends and relatives ate dinner with him and comforted him from all the evil that God did to him.
12 God gave Job twice as many animals as he had before: 14,000 sheep, 6000 camels, 1000 oxen, and 1000 female donkeys.
13 He also had seven sons and three daughters, whose names were Jemima, Kezia, Kerenhappuch.
15 They were the prettiest women in all the land, and they shared in the inheritance with their brothers.
16-17 Job lived 140 years and died.
They were also the inspiration for "Job's Daughters" - a Masonic organization for teenage girls, who dress up in robes and sing a song with these lyrics:
"Behold, behold, we are the daughters of Job.
Behold, behold, we are the daughters of Job,
The fairest, the fairest in all the land.”
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The Skeptic's Annotated Bible
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