King James Version
1 ¶ There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was
Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared
God, and eschewed evil.
2
And there were born unto him seven sons and three
daughters.
3
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three
thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and
five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the
greatest of all the men of the east.
4 ¶ And his sons went and feasted in
their houses, every one his day; and sent and called
for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
5
And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone
about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and
offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and
cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
6 ¶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to
present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
7
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence
comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the
earth, and from walking up and down in it.
8
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my
servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright
man, one that feareth God, and escheweth
evil?
9
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God
for nought?
10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that
he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his
substance is increased in the land.
11
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath,
and he will curse thee to thy face.
12 And the LORD said unto Satan,
Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine
hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the
LORD.
13 ¶ And there was a day when his sons and his daughters
were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:
14 And there came a messenger unto
Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses
feeding beside them:
15
And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea,
they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped
alone to tell thee.
16
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and
said, The fire of God is fallen from
heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and
I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
17
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and
said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have
carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and
I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
18
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and
said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and
drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:
19
And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness,
and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and
they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
20 ¶ Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his
head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
21
And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked
shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be
the name of the LORD.
22
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
1 ¶ Again there was a day when the sons of God came to
present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present
himself before the LORD.
2 And the LORD said unto Satan,
From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD,
and said, From going to and fro
in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
3
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my
servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright
man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth
fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against
him, to destroy him without cause.
4
And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea,
all that a man hath will he give for his life.
5
But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his
flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
6
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand;
but save his life.
7 ¶ So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD,
and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
8
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and
he sat down among the ashes.
9
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine
integrity? curse God, and die.
10
But he said unto her, Thou speakest
as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we
receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
11 ¶ Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil
that was come upon him, they came every one from his
own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite:
for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to
comfort him.
12 And when they lifted up their
eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they
rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon
their heads toward heaven.
13
So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and
seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for
they saw that his grief was very great.
1 ¶ After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
2
And Job spake, and said,
3
Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in
which it was said, There is a man child conceived.
4 Let that day be darkness; let
not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.
5
Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud
dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6
As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not
be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the
number of the months.
7
Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come
therein.
8
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to
raise up their mourning.
9
Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look
for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:
10 Because it shut not up the
doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine
eyes.
11 ¶ Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up
the ghost when I came out of the belly?
12
Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I
should suck?
13 For now should I have lain
still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
14
With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built
desolate places for themselves;
15
Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses
with silver:
16 Or as an
hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.
17
There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary
be at rest.
18
There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice
of the oppressor.
19
The small and great are there; and the servant is free
from his master.
20 ¶ Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery,
and life unto the bitter in soul;
21 Which long for death, but it
cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;
22
Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can
find the grave?
23
Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God
hath hedged in?
24
For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.
25
For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and
that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
26
I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I
quiet; yet trouble came.
1 ¶ Then Eliphaz the Temanite
answered and said,
2
If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved?
but who can withhold himself from speaking?
3
Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast
strengthened the weak hands.
4
Thy words have upholden him that
was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.
5
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
6
Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the
uprightness of thy ways?
7 ¶ Remember, I pray thee, who ever
perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
8
Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow
wickedness, reap the same.
9
By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his
nostrils are they consumed.
10
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion,
and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
11
The old lion perisheth for lack
of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.
12 ¶ Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear
received a little thereof.
13
In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep
falleth on men,
14 Fear came upon me, and
trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
15
Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh
stood up:
16
It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof:
an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
17
Shall mortal man be more just than
God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
18
Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he
charged with folly:
19
How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose
foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
20
They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.
21
Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they
die, even without wisdom.
1 ¶ Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and
to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
2
For wrath killeth the foolish
man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
3
I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed
his habitation.
4
His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in
the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the
robber swalloweth up their substance.
6 ¶ Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust,
neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7
Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
8 I would seek unto God, and unto
God would I commit my cause:
9
Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
10
Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth
waters upon the fields:
11
To set up on high those that be low; that those which
mourn may be exalted to safety.
12 He disappointeth
the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
13
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the
counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
14
They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the
noonday as in the night.
15
But he saveth the poor from the
sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
16
So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth
her mouth.
17 ¶ Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not
thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18
For he maketh sore, and bindeth
up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
19
He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there
shall no evil touch thee.
20
In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from
the power of the sword.
21 Thou shalt be
hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction
when it cometh.
22
At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt
thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23
For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field:
and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
24
And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace;
and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
25
Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and
thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in
a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.
27
Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know
thou it for thy good.
1 ¶ But Job answered and said,
2 Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my
calamity laid in the balances together!
3
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.
4
For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison
whereof drinketh up my spirit: the
terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.
5
Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?
6
Can that which is unsavoury be
eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
7
The things that my soul refused to touch are as my
sorrowful meat.
8 ¶ Oh that I might have my request; and
that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
9
Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would
let loose his hand, and cut me off!
10
Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself
in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the
words of the Holy One.
11
What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine
end, that I should prolong my life?
12
Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of
brass?
13
Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?
14 ¶ To him that is afflicted pity
should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh
the fear of the Almighty.
15
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the
stream of brooks they pass away;
16
Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the
snow is hid:
17 What time they wax warm, they
vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
18
The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to
nothing, and perish.
19
The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited
for them.
20
They were confounded because they had hoped; they came
thither, and were ashamed.
21
For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are
afraid.
22 ¶ Did I say, Bring unto me?
or, Give a reward for me of your substance?
23
Or, Deliver me from the enemy's
hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?
24 Teach me, and I will hold my
tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
25
How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?
26
Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one
that is desperate, which are as wind?
27 Yea, ye overwhelm the
fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.
28
Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident
unto you if I lie.
29
Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return
again, my righteousness is in it.
30
Is there iniquity in my tongue?
cannot my taste discern perverse things?
1 ¶ Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are
not his days also like the days of an hireling?
2
As a servant earnestly desireth
the shadow, and as an hireling looketh
for the reward of his work:
3 So am I made to possess months
of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
4
When I lie down, I say, When
shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings
to and fro unto the dawning of the day.
5
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods
of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
6
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent
without hope.
7 ¶ O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
8
The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more:
thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.
10
He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his
place know him any more.
11
Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the
anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that
thou settest a watch over me?
13
When I say, My bed shall comfort
me, my couch shall ease my complaint;
14
Then thou scarest me with
dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
15
So that my soul chooseth
strangling, and death rather than my life.
16
I loathe it; I would not live alway:
let me alone; for my days are vanity.
17 ¶ What is man, that thou shouldest
magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
18
And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try
him every moment?
19
How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone
till I swallow down my spittle?
20 I have sinned; what shall I do
unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against
thee, so that I am a burden to myself?
21
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take
away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust;
and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
1 ¶ Then answered Bildad the Shuhite,
and said,
2
How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall
the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?
3
Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert
justice?
4 If thy children have sinned
against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression;
5
If thou wouldest seek unto God
betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;
6
If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake
for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness
prosperous.
7
Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should
greatly increase.
8 ¶ For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and
prepare thyself to the search of their fathers:
9
(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because
our days upon earth are a shadow:)
10
Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words
out of their heart?
11
Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow
without water?
12
Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.
13 So are the paths of all that
forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish:
14
Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a
spider's web.
15
He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he
shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.
16
He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden.
17 His roots are wrapped about the
heap, and seeth the place of stones.
18
If he destroy him from his place,
then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.
19
Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth
shall others grow.
20 ¶ Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man,
neither will he help the evil doers:
21
Till he fill thy mouth with
laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.
22
They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the
dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.
1 ¶ Then Job answered and said,
2
I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just
with God?
3
If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a
thousand.
4
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath
hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?
5 Which removeth
the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth
them in his anger.
6
Which shaketh the earth out of
her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.
7
Which commandeth the sun, and it
riseth not; and sealeth up
the stars.
8
Which alone spreadeth out the
heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion,
and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
10
Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and
wonders without number.
11
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see
him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
12
Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say
unto him, What doest thou?
13 If God will not withdraw his
anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.
14 ¶ How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my
words to reason with him?
15
Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but
I would make supplication to my judge.
16 If I had called, and he had
answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.
17
For he breaketh
me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without
cause.
18
He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.
19
If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of
judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?
20
If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I
say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
21
Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I
would despise my life.
22 ¶ This is one thing,
therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and
the wicked.
23 If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.
24
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where,
and who is he?
25 ¶ Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away,
they see no good.
26
They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that
hasteth to the prey.
27 If I say, I will forget my
complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:
28
I am afraid of all my sorrows, I
know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
29
If I be wicked, why then labour
I in vain?
30
If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never
so clean;
31 Yet shalt thou plunge me in the
ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.
32
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him,
and we should come together in judgment.
33
Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay
his hand upon us both.
34
Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear
terrify me:
35 Then would I speak, and not
fear him; but it is not so with me.
1 ¶ My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my
complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2
I will say unto God, Do not
condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
3
Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that
thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of
the wicked?
4
Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?
5
Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's
days,
6 That thou enquirest
after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?
7
Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that
can deliver out of thine hand.
8 ¶ Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together
round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
9 Remember, I beseech thee, that
thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?
10
Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like
cheese?
11
Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced
me with bones and sinews.
12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.
13
And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that
this is with thee.
14 ¶ If I sin, then thou markest
me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
15
If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet
will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;
16
For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again
thou shewest thyself marvellous
upon me.
17
Thou renewest thy witnesses
against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me;
changes and war are against me.
18 Wherefore then hast thou
brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given
up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!
19
I should have been as though I had not been; I should have
been carried from the womb to the grave.
20
Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I
may take comfort a little,
21
Before I go whence I shall not
return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
22
A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow
of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.