Source: Revised Standard Version of the Bible at http://www.hti.umich.edu/relig/rsv/.
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Job.1
[1] There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil. [2] There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. [3] He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. [4] His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each on his day; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. [5] And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer 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 Job did continually. [6] Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. [7] The LORD said to Satan, "Whence have you come?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." [8] And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" [9] Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nought? [10] Hast thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. [11] But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face." [12] And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand." So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. [13] Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house; [14] and there came a messenger to Job, and said, "The oxen were plowing and the asses feeding beside them; [15] and the Sabe'ans fell upon them and took them, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you." [16] While he was yet speaking, there came another, 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 yet speaking, there came another, and said, "The Chalde'ans formed three companies, and made a raid upon 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 yet speaking, there came another, and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house; [19] and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you." [20] Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped. [21] And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." [22] In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Job.2
[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] And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence have you come?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." [3] And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause." [4] Then Satan answered the LORD, "Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. [5] But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face." [6] And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power; only spare his life." [7] So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. [8] And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat 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 would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. [11] Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eli'phaz the Te'manite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Na'amathite. They made an appointment together to come to condole with him and comfort him. [12] And when they saw him from afar, they did not recognize him; and they raised their voices and wept; and they rent their robes and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. [13] And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
Job.3
[1] After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. [2] And Job said: [3] "Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night which said, `A man-child is conceived.'
[4] Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it.
[5] Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
[6] That night -- let thick darkness seize it! let it not rejoice among the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.
[7] Yea, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry be heard in it.
[8] Let those curse it who curse the day, who are skilled to rouse up Levi'athan.
[9] Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none,
nor see the eyelids of the morning;
[10] because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, nor 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? Or why the breasts, that I should suck?
[13] For then I should have lain down and been quiet; I should have slept; then I should have been at rest,
[14] with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves,
[15] or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.
[16] Or why was I not as a hidden untimely birth, as infants that never see the light?
[17] There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest.
[18] There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not 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 that is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,
[21] who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hid treasures;
[22] who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they find the grave?
[23] Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, whom God has hedged in?
[24] For my sighing comes as my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water.
[25] For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.
[26] I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes."
Job.4
[1] Then Eli'phaz the Te'manite answered: [2] "If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
[3] Behold, you have instructed many,
and you have strengthened the weak hands.
[4] Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
and you have made firm the feeble knees.
[5] But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
it touches you, and you are dismayed.
[6] Is not your fear of God your confidence,
and the integrity of your ways your hope?
[7] "Think now, who that was innocent ever perished?
Or where were the upright cut off?
[8] As I have seen, those who plow iniquity
and sow trouble reap the same.
[9] By the breath of God they perish,
and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.
[10] The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,
the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
[11] The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,
and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
[12] "Now a word was brought to me stealthily,
my ear received the whisper of it.
[13] Amid thoughts from visions of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men,
[14] dread came upon me, and trembling,
which made all my bones shake.
[15] A spirit glided past my face;
the hair of my flesh stood up.
[16] It stood still,
but I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
there was silence, then I heard a voice:
[17] `Can mortal man be righteous before God?
Can a man be pure before his Maker?
[18] Even in his servants he puts no trust,
and his angels he charges with 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 destroyed;
they perish for ever without any regarding it.
[21] If their tent-cord is plucked up within them,
do they not die, and that without wisdom?'
Job.38
[1] Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: [2] "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
[3] Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
[4] "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
[5] Who determined its measurements -- surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
[6] On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
[7] when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
[8] "Or who shut in the sea with doors,
when it burst forth from the womb;
[9] when I made clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
[10] and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
[11] and said, `Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed'?
[12] "Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
[13] that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?
[14] It is changed like clay under the seal,
and it is dyed like a garment.
[15] From the wicked their light is withheld,
and their uplifted arm is broken.
[16] "Have you entered into the springs of the sea,
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
[17] Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
[18] Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.
[19] "Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness,
[20] that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home?
[21] You know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
[22] "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
[23] which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
[24] What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
[25] "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt,
[26] to bring rain on a land where no man is,
on the desert in which there is no man;
[27] to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground put forth grass?
[28] "Has the rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew?
[29] From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?
[30] The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is frozen.
[31] "Can you bind the chains of the Plei'ades,
or loose the cords of Orion?
[32] Can you lead forth the Maz'zaroth in their season,
or can you guide the Bear with its children?
[33] Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth?
[34] "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
that a flood of waters may cover you?
[35] Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
and say to you, `Here we are'?
[36] Who has put wisdom in the clouds,
or given understanding to the mists?
[37] Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
[38] when the dust runs into a mass
and the clods cleave fast together?
[39] "Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
[40] when they crouch in their dens,
or lie in wait in their covert?
[41] Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God,
and wander about for lack of food?
Job.39
[1] "Do you know when the mountain goats bring forth?
Do you observe the calving of the hinds?
[2] Can you number the months that they fulfil,
and do you know the time when they bring forth,
[3] when they crouch, bring forth their offspring,
and are delivered of their young?
[4] Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open;
they go forth, and do not return to them.
[5] "Who has let the wild ass go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
[6] to whom I have given the steppe for his home,
and the salt land for his dwelling place?
[7] He scorns the tumult of the city;
he hears not the shouts of the driver.
[8] He ranges the mountains as his pasture,
and he searches after every green thing.
[9] "Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he spend the night at your crib?
[10] Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes,
or will he harrow the valleys after you?
[11] Will you depend on him because his strength is great,
and will you leave to him your labor?
[12] Do you have faith in him that he will return,
and bring your grain to your threshing floor?
[13] "The wings of the ostrich wave proudly;
but are they the pinions and plumage of love?
[14] For she leaves her eggs to the earth,
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
[15] forgetting that a foot may crush them,
and that the wild beast may trample them.
[16] She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear;
[17] because God has made her forget wisdom,
and given her no share in understanding.
[18] When she rouses herself to flee,
she laughs at the horse and his rider.
[19] "Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with strength?
[20] Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic snorting is terrible.
[21] He paws in the valley, and exults in his strength;
he goes out to meet the weapons.
[22] He laughs at fear, and is not dismayed;
he does not turn back from the sword.
[23] Upon him rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear and the javelin.
[24] With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
[25] When the trumpet sounds, he says `Aha!'
He smells the battle from afar,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
[26] "Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars,
and spreads his wings toward the south?
[27] Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes his nest on high?
[28] On the rock he dwells and makes his home
in the fastness of the rocky crag.
[29] Thence he spies out the prey;
his eyes behold it afar off.
[30] His young ones suck up blood;
and where the slain are, there is he."
Job.40
[1] And the LORD said to Job: [2] "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it."
[3] Then Job answered the LORD: [4] "Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer thee?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
[5] I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further."
[6] Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: [7] "Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you declare to me.
[8] Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be justified?
[9] Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
[10] "Deck yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
[11] Pour forth the overflowings of your anger,
and look on every one that is proud, and abase him.
[12] Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low;
and tread down the wicked where they stand.
[13] Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.
[14] Then will I also acknowledge to you,
that your own right hand can give you victory.
[15] "Behold, Be'hemoth,
which I made as I made you;
he eats grass like an ox.
[16] Behold, his strength in his loins,
and his power in the muscles of his belly.
[17] He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
[18] His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like bars of iron.
[19] "He is the first of the works of God;
let him who made him bring near his sword!
[20] For the mountains yield food for him
where all the wild beasts play.
[21] Under the lotus plants he lies,
in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh.
[22] For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
the willows of the brook surround him.
[23] Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
[24] Can one take him with hooks,
or pierce his nose with a snare?
Job.41
[1] "Can you draw out Levi'athan with a fishhook,
or press down his tongue with a cord?
[2] Can you put a rope in his nose,
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
[3] Will he make many supplications to you?
Will he speak to you soft words?
[4] Will he make a covenant with you
to take him for your servant for ever?
[5] Will you play with him as with a bird,
or will you put him on leash for your maidens?
[6] Will traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him up among the merchants?
[7] Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
or his head with fishing spears?
[8] Lay hands on him;
think of the battle; you will not do it again!
[9] Behold, the hope of a man is disappointed;
he is laid low even at the sight of him.
[10] No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
Who then is he that can stand before me?
[11] Who has given to me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
[12] "I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
[13] Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who can penetrate his double coat of mail?
[14] Who can open the doors of his face?
Round about his teeth is terror.
[15] His back is made of rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal.
[16] One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
[17] They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
[18] His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
[19] Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
[20] Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
[21] His breath kindles coals,
and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
[22] In his neck abides strength,
and terror dances before him.
[23] The folds of his flesh cleave together,
firmly cast upon him and immovable.
[24] His heart is hard as a stone,
hard as the nether millstone.
[25] When he raises himself up the mighty are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
[26] Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail;
nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
[27] He counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
[28] The arrow cannot make him flee;
for him slingstones are turned to stubble.
[29] Clubs are counted as stubble;
he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
[30] His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
[31] He makes the deep boil like a pot;
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
[32] Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
one would think the deep to be hoary.
[33] Upon earth there is not his like,
a creature without fear.
[34] He beholds everything that is high;
he is king over all the sons of pride."
Job.42
[1] Then Job answered the LORD: [2] "I know that thou canst do all things,
and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted.
[3] `Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?'
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
[4] `Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you declare to me.'
[5] I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees thee;
[6] therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes."
[7] After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eli'phaz the Te'manite: "My wrath is kindled
against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. [8] Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt
offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly;
for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." [9] So Eli'phaz the Te'manite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Na'amathite went and did what the LORD had
told them; and the LORD accepted Job's prayer. [10] And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and the LORD gave Job twice as
much as he had before. [11] Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his
house; and they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; and
each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. [12] And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six
thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. [13] He had also seven sons and three daughters. [14] And he called the name of the first Jemi'mah; and the name of the second Kezi'ah; and the name of the third
Ker'en-hap'puch. [15] And in all the land there were no women so fair as Job's daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among
their brothers. [16] And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. [17] And Job died, an old man, and full of days.