New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Job’s Character and Wealth

1 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.

2 Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

3 His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

4 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.

5 When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offeringsaccording tothe number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, andSatan also came among them.

7 The Lordsaid to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lordand said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

8 The Lordsaid to Satan, “Have you considered 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.”

9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

10 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.

11 But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.”

12 Then the Lordsaid to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

Satan Allowed to Test Job

13 Now on the day when his sons and his 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 feeding beside them,

15 and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

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

20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped.

21 He said,

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

And naked I shall return there.

The Lordgave and the Lordhas taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

22 Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JOB/1-4af734dc325b2d1d323b6e67826de65d.mp3?version_id=100—

Job Loses His Health

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

2 The Lordsaid to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the Lordand said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

3 The Lordsaid to Satan, “Have you considered 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, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”

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

5 However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.”

6 So the Lordsaid to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”

7 Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lordand smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

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

9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”

10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him.

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

13 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 thathispain was very great.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JOB/2-7a1389ccc3f028ceab201f014de13f3c.mp3?version_id=100—

Job’s Lament

1 Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of hisbirth.

2 And Job said,

3 “Let the day perish on which I was to be born,

And the nightwhichsaid, ‘A boy is conceived.’

4 “May that day be darkness;

Let not God above care for it,

Nor light shine on it.

5 “Let darkness and black gloom claim it;

Let a cloud settle on it;

Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

6 “As forthat night, let darkness seize it;

Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;

Let it not come into the number of the months.

7 “Behold, let that night be barren;

Let no joyful shout enter it.

8 “Let those curse it who curse the day,

Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.

9 “Let the stars of its twilight be darkened;

Let it wait for light but have none,

And let it not see the breaking dawn;

10 Because it did not shut the opening of mymother’swomb,

Or hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “Why did I not die at birth,

Come forth from the womb and expire?

12 “Why did the knees receive me,

And why the breasts, that I should suck?

13 “For now I would have lain down and been quiet;

I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,

14 With kings andwithcounselors of the earth,

Who rebuilt ruins for themselves;

15 Or with princes who had gold,

Who were filling their houseswithsilver.

16 “Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be,

As infants that never saw light.

17 “There the wicked cease from raging,

And there the weary are at rest.

18 “The prisoners are at ease together;

They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.

19 “The small and the great are there,

And the slave is free from his master.

20 “Why is light given to him who suffers,

And life to the bitter of soul,

21 Who long for death, but there is none,

And dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

22 Who rejoice greatly,

Andexult when they find the grave?

23 “Why is light givento a man whose way is hidden,

And whom God has hedged in?

24 “For my groaning comes at the sight of my food,

And my cries pour out like water.

25 “For what I fear comes upon me,

And what I dread befalls me.

26 “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet,

And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JOB/3-3fd4bacaa45219f73341005b6a8b4a4b.mp3?version_id=100—

Eliphaz: Innocent Do Not Suffer

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,

2 “If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient?

But who can refrain from speaking?

3 “Behold you have admonished many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

4 “Your words have helped the tottering to stand,

And you have strengthened feeble knees.

5 “But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;

It touches you, and you are dismayed.

6 “Is not yourfearof Godyour confidence,

And the integrity of your ways your hope?

7 “Remember now, whoeverperished being innocent?

Or where were the upright destroyed?

8 “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity

And those who sow trouble harvest it.

9 “By the breath of God they perish,

And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.

10 “The roaring of the lion and the voice of thefiercelion,

And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

11 “The lion perishes for lack of prey,

And the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

12 “Now a word was brought to me stealthily,

And my ear received a whisper of it.

13 “Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

14 Dread came upon me, and trembling,

And made all my bones shake.

15 “Then aspirit passed by my face;

The hair of my flesh bristled up.

16 “It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance;

A formwasbefore my eyes;

There wassilence, then I heard a voice:

17 ‘Can mankind be just before God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?

18 ‘He puts no trust even in His servants;

And against His angels He charges error.

19 ‘How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before the moth!

20 ‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces;

Unobserved, they perish forever.

21 ‘Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them?

They die, yet without wisdom.’

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JOB/4-c0864cd1f8d244f5d484df1cbc7f25c6.mp3?version_id=100—

God Is Just

1 “Call now, is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 “For anger slays the foolish man,

And jealousy kills the simple.

3 “I have seen the foolish taking root,

And I cursed his abode immediately.

4 “His sons are far from safety,

# They are evenoppressed in the gate,

And there is no deliverer.

5 “His harvest the hungry devour

And take it to aplace ofthorns,

And the schemer is eager for their wealth.

6 “For affliction does not come from the dust,

Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

7 For man is born for trouble,

As sparks fly upward.

8 “But as for me, I would seek God,

And I would place my cause before God;

9 Who does great and unsearchable things,

Wonders without number.

10 “He gives rain on the earth

And sends water on the fields,

11 So that He sets on high those who are lowly,

And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

12 “He frustrates the plotting of the shrewd,

So that their hands cannot attain success.

13 “He captures the wise by their own shrewdness,

And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

14 “By day they meet with darkness,

And grope at noon as in the night.

15 “But He saves from the sword of their mouth,

And the poor from the hand of the mighty.

16 “So the helpless has hope,

And unrighteousness must shut its mouth.

17 “Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves,

So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

18 “For He inflicts pain, and gives relief;

He wounds, and His handsalsoheal.

19 “From six troubles He will deliver you,

Even in seven evil will not touch you.

20 “In famine He will redeem you from death,

And in war from the power of the sword.

21 “You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,

And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

22 “You will laugh at violence and famine,

And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.

23 “For you will be in league 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,

For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.

25 “You will know also that your descendants will be many,

And your offspring as the grass of the earth.

26 “You will come to the grave in full vigor,

Like the stacking of grain in its season.

27 “Behold this; we have investigated it,andso it is.

Hear it, and know for yourself.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JOB/5-111934987d077c608c8d91e9e90f7358.mp3?version_id=100—

Job’s Friends Are No Help

1 Then Job answered,

2 “Oh that my grief were actually weighed

And laid in the balances together with my calamity!

3 “For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;

Therefore my words have been rash.

4 “For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,

Their poison my spirit drinks;

The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

5 “Does the wild donkey bray overhisgrass,

Or does the ox low over his fodder?

6 “Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

7 “My soul refuses to touchthem;

They are like loathsome food to me.

8 “Oh that my request might come to pass,

And that God would grant my longing!

9 “Would that God were willing to crush me,

That He would loose His hand and cut me off!

10 “But it is still my consolation,

And I rejoice in unsparing pain,

That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 “What is my strength, that I should wait?

And what is my end, that I should endure?

12 “Is my strength the strength of stones,

Or is my flesh bronze?

13 “Is it that my help is not within me,

And that deliverance is driven from me?

14 “For the despairing manthere should bekindness from his friend;

So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty.

15 “My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi,

Like the torrents of wadis which vanish,

16 Which are turbid because of ice

Andinto which the snow melts.

17 “When they become waterless, they are silent,

When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

18 “The paths of their course wind along,

They go up into nothing and perish.

19 “The caravans of Tema looked,

The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.

20 “They were disappointed for they had trusted,

They came there and were confounded.

21 “Indeed, you have now become such,

You see a terror and are afraid.

22 “Have I said, ‘Give mesomething,’

Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’

23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,’

Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

24 “Teach me, and I will be silent;

And show me how I have erred.

25 “How painful are honest words!

But what does your argument prove?

26 “Do you intend to reprovemywords,

When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?

27 “You would even castlotsfor the orphans

And barter over your friend.

28 “Now please look at me,

Andseeif I lie to your face.

29 “Desist now, let there be no injustice;

Even desist, my righteousness is yet in it.

30 “Is there injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my palate discern calamities?

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JOB/6-42046ec7fb017fb2ffec3852e3c2cedd.mp3?version_id=100—

Job’s Life Seems Futile

1 “Is not man forced to labor on earth,

Andare nothis days like the days of a hired man?

2 “As a slave who pants for the shade,

And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,

3 So am I allotted months of vanity,

And nights of trouble are appointed me.

4 “When I lie down I say,

‘When shall I arise?’

But the night continues,

And I am continually tossing until dawn.

5 “My flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt,

My skin hardens and runs.

6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

And come to an end without hope.

7 “Remember that my life isbutbreath;

My eye will not again see good.

8 “The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;

Your eyeswill beon me, but I will not be.

9 “When a cloud vanishes, it is gone,

So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

10 “He will not return again to his house,

Nor will his place know him anymore.

11 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12 “Am I the sea, or the sea monster,

That You set a guard over me?

13 “If I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,

My couch will ease my complaint,’

14 Then You frighten me with dreams

And terrify me by visions;

15 So that my soul would choose suffocation,

Death rather than my pains.

16 “I waste away; I will not live forever.

Leave me alone, for my days arebuta breath.

17 “What is man that You magnify him,

And that You are concerned about him,

18 That You examine him every morning

And try him every moment?

19 “Will You never turn Your gaze away from me,

Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?

20 “Have I sinned? What have I done to You,

O watcher of men?

Why have You set me as Your target,

So that I am a burden to myself?

21 “Why then do You not pardon my transgression

And take away my iniquity?

For now I will lie down in the dust;

And You will seek me, but I will not be.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JOB/7-ed9f56d67c1a14efba52e3e77c534911.mp3?version_id=100—

Bildad Says God Rewards the Good

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,

2 “How long will you say these things,

And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

3 “Does God pervert justice?

Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?

4 “If your sons sinned against Him,

Then He delivered them into the power of their transgression.

5 “If you would seek God

And implore the compassion of the Almighty,

6 If you are pure and upright,

Surely now He would rouse Himself for you

And restore your righteous estate.

7 “Though your beginning was insignificant,

Yet your end will increase greatly.

8 “Please inquire of past generations,

And consider the things searched out by their fathers.

9 “For we areonlyof yesterday and know nothing,

Because our days on earth are as a shadow.

10 “Will they not teach youandtell you,

And bring forth words from their minds?

11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?

Can the rushes grow without water?

12 “While it is still greenandnot cut down,

Yet it withers before anyotherplant.

13 “So are the paths of all who forget God;

And the hope of the godless will perish,

14 Whose confidence is fragile,

And whose trust a spider’s web.

15 “He trusts in his house, but it does not stand;

He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.

16 “He thrives before the sun,

And his shoots spread out over his garden.

17 “His roots wrap around a rock pile,

He grasps a house of stones.

18 “If he is removed from his place,

Then it will deny him,saying,’I never saw you.’

19 “Behold, this is the joy of His way;

And out of the dust others will spring.

20 “Lo, God will not rejecta man ofintegrity,

Nor will He support the evildoers.

21 “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter

And your lips with shouting.

22 “Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

And the tent of the wicked will be no longer.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JOB/8-0e18dfe78bc42307a8c0416089675c9c.mp3?version_id=100—