Old Testament · Poetry and wisdom

Job chapter 1

There was a man in the land of named Job. He was a man of , , someone who and kept clear of evil.He had .He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred pairs of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and he had a very large household of servants. This man was the among all .His sons used to hold a feast at each of their houses in turn, every one on his own day, and they would send for their three sisters to come eat and drink with them.When a round of feast days had run its course, Job would send for his children and have them . He would get up early in the morning and offer a for each of them, because he thought, “Maybe my children have somehow and in their own hearts.” Job did this every single time.One day came to take their places before , and came in among them.Yahweh said to the Accuser, “Where have you come from?” The Accuser answered Yahweh, “From the earth, from walking up and down in it.”Yahweh said to the Accuser, “ Job? There is no one like him on earth — a man of complete integrity, straight in everything he does, who takes God seriously and keeps clear of evil.”The Accuser answered Yahweh, “Does Job take God seriously ?”“Haven’t you put a around him and his household and everything he owns, on every side? You have made the work of his hands pay off, and his herds have spread out across the land.“But reach out your hand and hit everything he has, and he will you to your face.”Yahweh said to the Accuser, “All right. Everything he has is . Only do not lay a hand on the man himself.” So the Accuser left Yahweh’s presence.One day, while Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine at their oldest brother’s house,a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing beside them,when swept in and took them, and put the farmhands to the sword. I am the only one who got away to tell you.”He was still speaking when another one came and said, “ fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the shepherds and finished them off. I am the only one who got away to tell you.”He was still speaking when another one came and said, “ formed three raiding parties, swept down on the camels and carried them off, and put the herdsmen to the sword. I am the only one who got away to tell you.”He was still speaking when another one came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine at their oldest brother’s house,and came in off the desert and struck of the house. It came down on the young people and they are dead. I am the only one who got away to tell you.”Then Job stood up, . He fell to the ground and .He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, . Yahweh gave and Yahweh took away. May .”Through all of this Job , and he .