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“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.

“May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it; may the blackness of the day overwhelm it.

Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, like an infant who never sees daylight?

Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?

“If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied? Yet who can keep from speaking?

Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it.

Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it.

Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled.

It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice:

It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice:

‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker?

‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker?

…how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!

For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.

I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.

His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.

For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.

Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass, or an ox low over its fodder?

A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

Have I ever said, ‘Give me something; offer me a bribe from your wealth;

“Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand?

Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hireling he waits for his wages.

Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hireling he waits for his wages.

My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.

Remember that my life is but a breath. My eyes will never again see happiness.

As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back up.

I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I am a burden to You?

“How long will you go on saying such things? The words of your mouth are a blustering wind.

For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.

His confidence is fragile; his security is in a spider’s web.

He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden.

His roots wrap around the rock heap; he looks for a home among the stones.

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with a shout of joy.

“Yes, I know that it is so, but how can a mortal be righteous before God?

If one wished to contend with God, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.

If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good.

For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.

Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both.

Are Your days like those of a mortal, or Your years like those of a man,

Are Your days like those of a mortal, or Your years like those of a man,

Should I hold my head high, You would hunt me like a lion, and again display Your power against me.

Are my days not few? Withdraw from me, that I may have a little comfort,

…before I go—never to return—to a land of darkness and gloom,

…to a land of utter darkness, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.”

“Should this stream of words go unanswered and such a speaker be vindicated?

If He comes along to imprison you, or convenes a court, who can stop Him?

But a witless man can no more become wise than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!

But a witless man can no more become wise than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!

But a witless man can no more become wise than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!

But I also have a mind; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?

I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

He loosens the bonds placed by kings and fastens a belt around their waists.

He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

Would it be well when He examined you? Could you deceive Him as you would deceive a man?

Would You frighten a windblown leaf? Would You chase after dry chaff?

You put my feet in the stocks and stand watch over all my paths; You set a limit for the soles of my feet.

So man wastes away like something rotten, like a moth-eaten garment.

Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

…look away from him and let him rest, so he can enjoy his day as a hired hand.

For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail.

…at the scent of water it will bud and put forth twigs like a sapling.

But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?

As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry,

…so a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.

If only You would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until Your anger has passed! If only You would appoint a time for me and then remember me!

When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes.

My transgression would be sealed in a bag, and You would cover over my iniquity.

But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place,

But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place,

…as water wears away the stones and torrents wash away the soil, so You destroy a man’s hope.

“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?

A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.

…rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield.

He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.

You have bound me, and it has become a witness; my frailty rises up and testifies against me.

He breaks me with wound upon wound; He rushes me like a mighty warrior.

Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!

For when only a few years are past I will go the way of no return.

If a man denounces his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail.

If a man denounces his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail.

He has made me a byword among the people, a man in whose face they spit.

He has made me a byword among the people, a man in whose face they spit.

My eyes have grown dim with grief, and my whole body is but a shadow.

Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

But come back and try again, all of you. For I will not find a wise man among you.

For his own feet lead him into a net, and he wanders into its mesh.

A trap seizes his heel; a snare grips him.

A trap seizes his heel; a snare grips him.

A noose is hidden in the ground, and a trap lies in his path.