1 Many years ago, a man lived in a place called Uz. His name was Job and he was a very good man. He was fair to everybody and he did the right things. He was afraid to make God angry. And he refused to do wrong things.
2 Job had seven sons and three daughters.
3 He had 7000 sheep and 3000 camels. He had 500 pairs of oxen and 500 donkeys. And he had many servants. There was no one richer than Job for many miles. 4 Each year, Job’s sons had birthday parties in their homes. They had lots to eat and lots to drink. And they always asked their three sisters to come.
5 After each party, Job would ask his children to visit him. He thought that they might have done wrong things. Or perhaps they had had wrong thoughts about God. So he would get up early the next morning and sacrifice an animal to God for each of them. They might have done wrong things. So he would ask God to forgive them for those things.
6 One day, the LORD’s angels came to him in heaven. And Satan came with them.
7 The LORD asked Satan where he had been. Satan replied, ‘I have been going all over the earth. I have been watching the things that happen there.’
8 Then the LORD asked Satan, ‘You have seen Job, who is my servant. What do you think about him? There is no one on earth that is like him. He is a very good person. He is afraid to make me angry and he obeys me. He refuses to do things that are wrong.’
9 ‘He may be afraid to make you angry and he may obey you’, Satan replied. ‘There are good reasons why he does that.
10 You do not let any bad things happen to him. So he knows that he will be safe. You do this for all his family. You make sure that all his things are safe. You have helped his business so that he has become very rich. He has many sheep and lots of cows.
11 But take away the things that he has. Then he will certainly let you know that he is cursing you.’
12 So the LORD told Satan, ‘Job has many things. Do what you want with any of them. But do not hurt Job’s body.’ Then Satan left God. Satan destroys everything that Job owns
13 Job’s sons and daughters were at a party in the home of his oldest son.
14 A servant rushed up to Job. He told him about things that had just happened. This is what the servant told Job. ‘We were using your oxen to plough the fields. Near where we worked, your donkeys were eating grass in a field.
15 Some bad men from the south came and they attacked us. They took the oxen and the donkeys. And they killed all your servants except me. Instead, I ran away. And I have come to tell you what has happened.’
16 That servant was still speaking, when a second servant ran up to Job. He said, ‘God has sent a fire that has killed your sheep and all your servants except me. And I have come to tell you what has happened.’
17 Before that servant had finished speaking, a third servant ran up to Job. He said, ‘Bad men from the north have attacked your camels and they have taken them away. They killed all your servants except me. Instead, I ran away. And I have come to tell you what has happened.’ Satan kills Job’s children
18 That servant was still speaking, when a fourth servant ran up to Job. He said, ‘Your children were at a party. They were drinking wine at the home of your oldest son.
19 There was a bad storm and the wind destroyed the house. The house fell on all your children and it killed them. But I am still alive. And I have come to tell you what has happened.’ What Job did
20 When Job heard all this he was very sad. He tore his clothes and he cut off all his hair. He did this because he was so sad. Then he bent his body to the ground and he worshipped God.
21 And he said, ‘When we are born we have nothing. When we die, we take nothing with us. God has given to us all the things that we have. Sometimes he takes away the things that we have. Only the LORD gives us things. It is only the LORD that takes them away again. But I will still praise the name of the LORD!’
22 Even after all the things that had happened, Job still did not do wrong things. Nor did he say that God had done anything wrong.
1 The next time that the angels came to the LORD, Satan came with them.
2 The LORD asked Satan where he had been. Satan replied, ‘I have been going all over the earth.’
3 Then the LORD asked Satan, ‘You have seen Job, who is my servant. What do you think about him? There is no one on earth that is like him. He is a very good person. He is afraid to make me angry. He refuses to do things that are wrong. Job had not done anything wrong. But because of what you said I have been against him. And so he has lost everything for no reason. Even then, he did not change. He is still the same good man.’
4 Satan answered, ‘A man will only feel pain if he, himself, is hurting. A man will do anything to save his own life.
5 But if you cause Job to have great pain in his own body, it will be different. And then he will certainly let you know that he is cursing you.’
6 So the LORD agreed that Satan could cause Job pain. He could cause him as much pain as he wanted. But the LORD told Satan not to kill him.
7 So Satan left. And he caused Job to have very painful skin all over his body, from his head to his feet.
8 Then Job sat down among the ashes. He did this to show how sad he was. He sat there and removed bad bits of skin with a piece of a broken pot.
9 His wife said, ‘You cannot still believe that God is good. You should curse God and die.’
10 Job replied, ‘Do not talk like a fool! We take the good things that God gives us. So we should not be surprised if he sends us trouble as well.’ Many bad things had happened to Job but he never said any wrong things about God. Job’s friends come to try to help him
11 Three of Job’s friends heard about his troubles and so they decided to visit him. The first friend was called Eliphaz. He lived in a place called Teman. The second friend was called Bildad. He lived in a place called Shuah. The third friend was called Zophar. He lived in a place called Naamah. They came because they wanted to help Job.
12 When they came near enough to see Job, they did not recognise him. He looked so ill. They were so sad that they tore their clothes. Then they put ash on their heads and cried a lot.
13 For a whole week, they sat on the ground near Job. All that time, they knew how bad his pain was. So they did not say anything to him.
1 In the end, Job cursed the day when he was born.
2 He said,
3 ‘Forget the day of my birth. 4 Forget about that day because it was a bad day.
5 I want people to think about that day as a dark day. 6 Make it a date that no one remembers. 7 Do not let children be born on that date. 8 Some people know how to cause monsters to attack. 9 On that date, make dark the stars that shine in the morning. 10 I ask all this because on that day I was born into a world full of trouble.
11 It would have been better if I had died at birth. 12 Instead, she put me on her knee and I drank from her breast.
13 If I had died at birth, I would now be with all the other dead people.
14 Kings and rulers are there, too. 15 I would be with rulers who once were rich with gold and silver.
16 If I had been born dead, my friends would have buried me. 17 After death, no one causes any more troubles. 18 It is a place where no one is in prison. 19 Important people and people who are not important are there. 20 My life is so difficult that I always feel sad. 21 They want to die. But they are still alive. 22 When, in the end, they are dying, they are very happy.
23 They want to know why they should go on living. 24 I cannot eat because I am crying so much. 25 The things that frighten me most have happened to me.
26 I cannot rest because of all the troubles that I have.’
1 Job’s friend Eliphaz lived in a place called Teman. He spoke with Job. And this is what he said.
2 ‘You might not like the things that I want to say. 3 Think about this: 4 By your words, you have saved people from great dangers. 5 But now you have many troubles. 6 But you can still hope that your troubles will stop. 7 Think about this: 8 I will tell you what I have seen. 9 God is angry with people who are like that. 10 Think about lions. They are strong animals. 11 So it is hungry and, in the end, it dies. 12 One night I heard a quiet voice. 13 I was asleep, but my dreams woke me.
14 I was very afraid. 15 Then a spirit passed my face. 16 The spirit did not have a shape that I recognised. 17 “God made us all. And he sees the things that we do. 18 He says that even his servants and his angels do wrong things.
19 God made us all from clay. 20 All our lives are very short. 21 Our lives are like tents. 1 Eliphaz continued to speak. 2 A fool may be so angry with other people that he dies. 3 I myself have seen the way that a fool lives. He seems to be happy. 4 His children are not safe any more. People will say that they have done wrong things. 5 Hungry people take plants from his fields. They even take them from among the weeds. 6 But difficulties do not grow like plants. 7 You know that from every fire smoke rises into the air. 8 I suggest that you ask God to help you. 9 He does great things that nobody can understand. 10 He gives rain for the earth. 11 He makes humble people important. 12 Clever people may try to do wrong things. 13 He sees the things that clever people are doing. 14 They find that it is dark at midday. 15 He saves poor people from death. 16 God helps poor people. So they can hope that their future lives will be good. 17 If God teaches you the right way to live, you should be happy. 18 He may cause you to have pain. But he will make you well again. 19 Often he will save you from trouble. 20 He will keep you alive if there is a famine. 21 He will not let people say bad things about you. 22 You will laugh if there is a famine. You will smile if there is danger. 23 They will not be wild any more when you are near them. 24 You will know that your home is safe. You will check all the things you have. 25 You will know that you will have a large family. You will have many children and grandchildren. 26 You will live for many years. Plants grow until the right time to pick them. 27 We have checked all this. And we have found that it is true. 1 Then Job replied:
2 ‘It is not possible to measure my troubles 3 If it were possible to weigh them, they would be heavier than all the sand on the shore. 4 The Almighty has shot his arrows at me. 5 A wild donkey is quiet when it has grass to eat. 6 You cannot enjoy food that has no salt in it. 7 I refuse to eat food like that. 8 God will not give me what I ask for. I want to know why this is. 9 I want to die. And I have prayed that God would kill me.
10 I have had much pain. But I know that God is holy. 11 I am not strong enough to hope for a better life. 12 I am not as strong as stone. 13 I am not strong enough to help myself. 14 When a man has many troubles, his friends should be kind to him. 15 But, my friends, you are not here to help me when I need you. 16 In the spring, the sun warms the ice and the snow and there is a lot of water.
17 But in the summer, there may be no rain. And the sun is so hot that there is no water.
18 Travellers get lost when they go to look for water. 19 Travellers from Tema look for water. People on business from Sheba look for water. 20 They are sad, because they had hoped to find water. 21 You are like those streams. 22 I have never asked you to send me a gift. 23 I have not asked you to save me from my enemy. 24 Tell me things that are true. Then I will be quiet. 25 The true words that an honest man speaks will make the listener sad. 26 You do not believe me when I speak to you. So you should not try to argue with me. 27 But you would sell to be slaves, children who had no parents. 28 But now, please look at me. 29 Please think again about what you say. 30 The things that I say are true. 1 Men always have a lot of work to do on this earth. 2 A slave waits for the end of the day so that he can stop his work. 3 But I have nothing to wait for. 4 When I lie down I want the night to end. 5 There are insects all over my body. 6 My life is passing very fast. It is passing as fast as the shuttle of a weaver. 7 ‘Remember, God, that my life is as short as a breath. 8 You see me now but soon you will not see me. 9 A cloud passes across the sky and then it is gone. You never see it again. 10 He will never come back to his house again. 11 So I will not be quiet. I will speak to tell you how angry I am. 12 Perhaps you have to watch the animals that live in the sea. 13 I lie down and try to rest. 14 But even then you cause me to dream and that frightens me. 15 I would rather die than continue a life like this.
16 I hate my life and I do not want to live any more. 17 You seem to think that men are very important. 18 You seem to watch them every morning. 19 It seems that you never stop watching me. 20 You seem to think that I have done wrong things. 21 I do not know why you do not excuse me. 1 Job’s friend Bildad lived in a place called Shuah.2
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