Post by Scribe 06

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. He was without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil.

And he had seven sons and three daughters.

And of cattle he had seven thousand sheep and goats, and three thousand camels, and a thousand oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great number of servants. And the man was greater than any of the sons of the east.

His sons regularly went to one another's houses, and every one on his day gave a feast: and at these times they sent for their three sisters to take part in their feasts with them.

And at the end of their days of feasting, Job sent and made them clean, getting up early in the morning and offering burned offerings for them all. For, Job said, It may be that my sons have done wrong and said evil of God in their hearts. And Job did this whenever the feasts came round.

And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them.

And the Lord said to the Satan, Where do you come from? And the Satan said in answer, From wandering this way and that on the earth, and walking about on it.

And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil?

And the Satan said in answer to the Lord, Is it for nothing that Job is a god-fearing man?

Have you yourself not put a wall round him and his house and all he has on every side, blessing the work of his hands, and increasing his cattle in the land?

And the Lord said to the Satan, See, I give all he has into your hands, only do not put a finger on the man himself. And the Satan went out from before the Lord.

But now, put out your hand against all he has, and he will be cursing you to your face.

And there was a day when his sons and daughters were feasting in the house of their oldest brother,

And a man came to Job, and said, The oxen were ploughing, and the asses were taking their food by their side:

And the men of Sheba came against them and took them away, putting the young men to the sword, and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

And this one was still talking when another came, and said, The fire of God came down from heaven, burning up the sheep and the goats and the young men completely, and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

And this one was still talking when another came, and said, The Chaldaeans made themselves into three bands, and came down on the camels and took them away, putting the young men to the sword, and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

And this one was still talking when another came, and said, Your sons and your daughters were feasting together in their oldest brother's house,

When a great wind came rushing from the waste land against the four sides of the house, and it came down on the young men, and they are dead; and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

Then Job got up, and after parting his clothing and cutting off his hair, he went down on his face to the earth, and gave worship, and said,

With nothing I came out of my mother's body, and with nothing I will go back there; the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; let the Lord's name be praised.

In all this Job did no sin, and did not say that God's acts were foolish.

And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them.

And the Lord said to the Satan, Where do you come from? And the Satan said in answer, From wandering this way and that on the earth, and walking about on it.

And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil? and he still keeps his righteousness, though you have been moving me to send destruction on him without cause.

And the Satan said in answer to the Lord, Skin for skin, all a man has he will give for his life.

But now, if you only put your hand on his bone and his flesh, he will certainly be cursing you to your face.

And the Lord said to the Satan, See, he is in your hands, only do not take his life.

And the Satan went out from before the Lord, and sent on Job an evil disease covering his skin from his feet to the top of his head.

And he took a broken bit of a pot, and, seated in the dust, was rubbing himself with the sharp edge of it.

And his wife said to him, Are you still keeping your righteousness? Say a curse against God, and put an end to yourself.

And he said to her, You are talking like one of the foolish women. If we take the good God sends us, are we not to take the evil when it comes? In all this Job kept his lips from sin.

And Job's three friends had word of all this evil which had come on him. And they came every one from his place, Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. So they came together to a meeting-place, in order that they might go and make clear to Job their grief for him, and give him comfort.

And lifting up their eyes when they were still far off, it did not seem that the man they saw was Job because of the change in him. And they gave way to bitter weeping, with signs of grief, and put dust on their heads.

And they took their seats on the earth by his side for seven days and seven nights: but no one said a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

Then, opening his mouth, and cursing the day of his birth,

Job made answer and said,

Let destruction take the day of my birth, and the night on which it was said, A man child has come into the world.

That day--let it be dark; let not God take note of it from on high, and let not the light be shining on it;

Let the dark and the black night take it for themselves; let it be covered with a cloud; let the dark shades of day send fear on it.

That night--let the thick dark take it; let it not have joy among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months.

As for that night, let it have no fruit; let no voice of joy be sounded in it;

Let it be cursed by those who put a curse on the day; who are ready to make Leviathan awake.

Let its morning stars be dark; let it be looking for light, but may it not have any; let it not see the eyes of the dawn.

Because it did not keep the doors of my mother's body shut, so that trouble might be veiled from my eyes.

Why did death not take me when I came out of my mother's body, why did I not, when I came out, give up my last breath?

Why did the knees take me, or why the breasts that they might give me milk?

For then I might have gone to my rest in quiet, and in sleep have been in peace,

With kings and the wise ones of the earth, who put up great houses for themselves;

Or with rulers who had gold, and whose houses were full of silver;

Or as a child dead at birth I might never have come into existence; like young children who have not seen the light.

There the passions of the evil are over, and those whose strength has come to an end have rest.

There the prisoners are at peace together; the voice of the overseer comes not again to their ears.

The small and the great are there, and the servant is free from his master.

Why does he give light to him who is in trouble, and life to the bitter in soul;

To those whose desire is for death, but it comes not; who are searching for it more than for secret wealth;

Who are glad with great joy, and full of delight when they come to their last resting-place;

To a man whose way is veiled, and who is shut in by God?

In place of my food I have grief, and cries of sorrow come from me like water.

For I have a fear and it comes on me, and my heart is greatly troubled.

I have no peace, no quiet, and no rest; nothing but pain comes on me.

And Eliphaz the Temanite made answer and said,

If one says a word, will it be a weariness to you? but who is able to keep from saying what is in his mind?

Truly, you have been a helper to others, and you have made feeble hands strong;

He who was near to falling has been lifted up by your words, and you have given strength to bent knees.

But now it has come on you and it is a weariness to you; you are touched by it and your mind is troubled.

Is not your fear of God your support, and your upright way of life your hope?

Have you ever seen destruction come to an upright man? or when were the god-fearing ever cut off?

By the breath of God destruction takes them, and by the wind of his wrath they are cut off.

What I have seen is that those by whom trouble has been ploughed, and evil planted, get the same for themselves.

Though the noise of the lion and the sounding of his voice, may be loud, the teeth of the young lions are broken.

The old lion comes to his end for need of food, and the young of the she-lion go wandering in all directions.

A word was given to me secretly, and the low sound of it came to my ears.

In troubled thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep comes on men,

Fear came on me and shaking, and my bones were full of trouble;

And a breath was moving over my face; the hair of my flesh became stiff:

Something was present before me, but I was not able to see it clearly; there was a form before my eyes: a quiet voice came to my ears, saying:

May a man be upright before God? or a man be clean before his Maker?

Truly, he puts no faith in his servants, and he sees error in his angels;

How much more those living in houses of earth, whose bases are in the dust! They are crushed more quickly than an insect;

If their tent-cord is pulled up, do they not come to an end, and without wisdom?

Between morning and evening they are completely broken; they come to an end for ever, and no one takes note.

Give now a cry for help; is there anyone who will give you an answer? and to which of the holy ones will you make your prayer?

For wrath is the cause of death to the foolish, and he who has no wisdom comes to his end through passion.

I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly the curse came on his house.

Now his children have no safe place, and they are crushed before the judges, for no one takes up their cause.

Their produce is taken by him who has no food, and their grain goes to the poor, and he who is in need of water gets it from their spring.