Job 1-5
Common English Bible
Job’s piety and life of bliss
1 A man in the land of Uz was named Job. That man was honest, a person of absolute integrity; he feared God and avoided evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred pairs of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a vast number of servants, so that he was greater than all the people of the east. 4 Each of his sons hosted a feast in his own house on his birthday. They invited their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When the days of the feast had been completed, Job would send word[a] and purify his children.[b] Getting up early in the morning, he prepared entirely burned offerings for each one of them, for Job thought, Perhaps my children have sinned and then cursed[c] God in their hearts. Job did this regularly.
Job’s motives questioned
6 One day the divine beings[d] came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Adversary[e] also came among them. 7 The Lord said to the Adversary, “Where did you come from?”
The Adversary answered the Lord, “From wandering throughout the earth.”
8 The Lord said to the Adversary, “Have you thought about my servant Job; surely there is no one like him on earth, a man who is honest, who is of absolute integrity, who reveres God and avoids evil?”
9 The Adversary answered the Lord, “Does Job revere God for nothing? 10 Haven’t you fenced him in—his house and all he has—and blessed the work of his hands so that his possessions extend throughout the earth? 11 But stretch out your hand and strike all he has. He will certainly curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord said to the Adversary, “Look, all he has is within your power; only don’t stretch out your hand against him.” So the Adversary left the Lord’s presence.
Job passes the test
13 One day Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. 14 A messenger came to Job and said: “The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys were grazing nearby 15 when the Sabeans took them and killed the young men with swords. I alone escaped to tell you.”
16 While this messenger was speaking, another arrived and said: “A raging fire fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and devoured the young men. I alone escaped to tell you.”
17 While this messenger was speaking, another arrived and said: “Chaldeans set up three companies, raided the camels and took them, killing the young men with swords. I alone escaped to tell you.”
18 While this messenger was speaking, another arrived and said: “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19 when a strong wind came from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It fell upon the young people, and they died. I alone escaped to tell you.”
20 Job arose, tore his clothes, shaved his head, fell to the ground, and worshipped. 21 He said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb; naked I will return there. The Lord has given; the Lord has taken; bless the Lord’s name.” 22 In all this, Job didn’t sin or blame God.
Job’s Adversary refuses to give up
2 One day the divine beings came to present themselves before the Lord. The Adversary also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to the Adversary, “Where have you come from?”
The Adversary answered the Lord, “From wandering throughout the earth.”
3 The Lord said to the Adversary, “Have you thought about my servant Job, for there is no one like him on earth, a man who is honest, who is of absolute integrity, who reveres God and avoids evil? He still holds on to his integrity, even though you incited me to ruin him for no reason.”
4 The Adversary responded to the Lord, “Skin for skin—people will give up everything they have in exchange for their lives. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his bones and flesh. Then he will definitely curse[f] you to your face.”
6 The Lord answered the Adversary, “There he is—within your power; only preserve his life.”
The test intensifies
7 The Adversary departed from the Lord’s presence and struck Job with severe sores from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. 8 Job took a piece of broken pottery to scratch himself and sat down on a mound of ashes. 9 Job’s wife said to him, “Are you still clinging to your integrity? Curse[g] God, and die.”
10 Job said to her, “You’re talking like a foolish woman. Will we receive good from God but not also receive bad?” In all this, Job didn’t sin with his lips.
Job’s three friends come to comfort him
11 When Job’s three friends heard about all this disaster that had happened to him, they came, each one from his home—Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah. They agreed to come so they could console and comfort him. 12 When they looked up from a distance and didn’t recognize him, they wept loudly. Each one tore his garment and scattered dust above his head toward the sky. 13 They sat with Job on the ground seven days and seven nights, not speaking a word to him, for they saw that he was in excruciating pain.
Job responds differently
3 Afterward, Job spoke up and cursed the day he was born.
2 Job said:
3 Perish the day I was born,
the night someone said,
“A boy has been conceived.”
4 That day—let it be darkness;
may God above ignore it,
and light not shine on it.
5 May deepest darkness claim it
and a cloud linger over it;
may all that darkens the day terrify it.
6 May gloom seize that night;
may it not be counted in the days of a year;
may it not appear in the months.
7 May that night be childless;
may no happy singing come in it.
8 May those who curse the day curse it,
those with enough skill to awaken Leviathan.
9 May its evening stars stay dark;
may it wait in vain for light;
may it not see dawn’s gleam,
10 because it didn’t close the doors of my mother’s womb,[h]
didn’t hide trouble from my eyes.
Job laments his misfortune
11 Why didn’t I die at birth,
come forth from the womb and die?
12 Why did knees receive me
and breasts let me nurse?
13 For now I would be lying down quietly;
I’d sleep; rest would be mine
14 with kings and earth’s advisors,
who rebuild ruins for themselves,
15 or with princes who have gold,
who fill their houses with silver.
16 Or why wasn’t I like a buried miscarried infant,
like babies who never see light?
17 There the wicked rage no more;
there the weak rest.
18 Prisoners are entirely at ease;
they don’t hear a boss’s voice.
19 Both small and great are there;
a servant is free from his masters.
20 Why is light given to the hard worker,
life to those bitter of soul,
21 those waiting in vain for death,
who search for it more than for treasure,
22 who rejoice excitedly,
who are thrilled when they find a grave?
23 Why is light given[i] to the person whose way is hidden,
whom God has fenced in?
24 My groans become my bread;
my roars pour out like water.
25 Because I was afraid of something awful,
and it arrived;
what I dreaded came to me.
26 I had no ease, quiet, or rest,
and trembling came.
Eliphaz tries to comfort Job
4 Then Eliphaz, a native of Teman, responded:
2 If one tries to answer you, will you be annoyed?
But who can hold words back?
3 Look, you’ve instructed many
and given strength to drooping hands.
4 Your words have raised up the falling;
you’ve steadied failing knees.
5 But now it comes to you, and you are dismayed;
it has struck you, and you are frightened.
6 Isn’t your religion the source of[j] your confidence;
the integrity of your conduct, the source of your hope?
Sinners don’t live long
7 Think! What innocent person has ever perished?
When have those who do the right thing been destroyed?
8 As I’ve observed, those who plow sin
and sow trouble will harvest it.
9 When God breathes deeply, they perish;
by a breath of his nostril they are annihilated.
10 The roar of a lion and snarl of the king of beasts—
yet the teeth of lions are shattered;
11 the lion perishes without prey,
and its cubs are scattered.
A frightening dream
12 But a word sneaked up on me;
my ears caught a hint of it.
13 In profound thoughts, visions of night,
when deep sleep falls on people,
14 fear and dread struck me;
all of my bones shook.
15 A breeze swept by my face;
the hair of my skin bristled.
16 It stopped. I didn’t recognize its visible form,
although a figure was in front of my eyes.
Silence! Then I heard a voice:
17 “Can a human be more righteous than God,
a person purer than their maker?”
Its interpretation
18 If he doesn’t trust his servants
and levels a charge against his messengers,
19 how much less those who dwell in houses of clay,
whose foundations are in dust,
and who are crushed like a moth?
20 They are smashed between morning and evening;
they perish forever without anyone knowing.
21 Isn’t their tent cord pulled up?
They die without wisdom.[k]
Life’s problems
5 Call out. Will anyone answer you?
To which holy one will you turn?
2 Surely anger can kill the foolish;
fury can kill the simple.
3 I’ve seen the foolish take root
and promptly curse their house.
4 Their children are far[l] from safety,
crushed in the gate without a deliverer.
5 The hungry devour[m] their crops;
it’s taken even from the thorns,[n]
and the thirsty pant after their yield.
6 Surely trouble doesn’t come from dust,
nor does distress sprout from the ground.
7 Surely humans are born to distress,
just as sparks rise up.
The answer is God
8 But I would seek God,
put my case to God,
9 who does great things beyond comprehension,
wonderful things without number;
10 who provides rain over the earth’s surface,
sends water to the open country,
11 exalts the lowly,
raises mourners to victory;
12 who frustrates the schemes of the clever
so that their hands achieve no success,
13 trapping the wise in their cleverness
so that the plans of the devious don’t succeed.
14 They encounter darkness during the day,
and at noon they fumble about as at night.
15 Yet he rescues the orphan[o] from the sword of their mouth,
the needy from the grip of the strong;
16 so the poor have hope
and violence shuts its mouth.
Divine favor
17 Look, happy is the person whom God corrects;
so don’t reject the Almighty’s instruction.
18 He injures, but he binds up;
he strikes, but his hands heal.
19 From six adversities he will deliver you;
from seven harm won’t touch you.
20 In famine he will ransom you from death;
in war, from the power of the sword.
21 You will be hidden from the tongue’s sting,
and you won’t fear destruction when it comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and hunger;
you won’t be afraid of wild beasts;
23 for you will make an agreement with the stones of the field;
and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is secure.
You will examine your home and miss nothing.
25 You will know that you’ll have many children.
Your offspring will be like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to your grave in old age
as bundles of grain stacked up at harvesttime.
27 Look, we’ve searched this out, and so it is;
listen and find out for yourself.
Footnotes
- Job 1:5 Heb lacks word.
- Job 1:5 Or them
- Job 1:5 Or blessed. The verb for bless is a euphemism for curse in 1:11; 2:5, 9; whereas in 1:10, 21 and 42:12 it has its usual meaning.
- Job 1:6 Or children of God
- Job 1:6 Heb hassatan
- Job 2:5 Or bless
- Job 2:9 Or bless
- Job 3:10 Heb lacks mother’s.
- Job 3:23 Heb lacks is light given.
- Job 4:6 Heb lacks the source.
- Job 4:21 Some interpreters end the quotation here rather than 4:17.
- Job 5:4 Or May their children be far from safety.
- Job 5:5 or May the hungry devour their crops.
- Job 5:5 Heb uncertain
- Job 5:15 Heb lacks orphan.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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