Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)

1 But it happened that, on a certain day, when the sons of God had arrived and they stood before the Lord, Satan likewise arrived among them, and he stood in his sight.

2 So the Lord said to Satan, “Where do you come from?” Answering, he said, “I have circled the land, and walked around in it.”

3 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you not considered my servant, Job, that there is no one like him in the land, a simple and honest man, fearing God and withdrawing from evil, and still retaining his innocence? Yet you have stirred me against him, so that I would afflict him to no purpose.”

4 Answering him, Satan said, “Skin for skin; and everything that a man has, he will give for his life.

5 Yet send your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and then you will see whether or not he blesses you to your face.”

6 Therefore, the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but even so, spare his life.”

7 And so, Satan departed from the face of the Lord and he struck Job with a very serious ulcer from the sole of the foot all the way to the crown of his head.

8 So he took a shard of earthenware and scraped the discharge, while sitting on a heap of refuse.

9 But his wife said to him, “Do you still continue in your simplicity? Bless God and die.”

10 He said to her, “You have spoken like one of the foolish wives. If we accepted good things from the hand of God, why should we not accept bad things?” In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

11 And so, three friends of Job, hearing about all the evil that had befallen him, arrived, each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Themanite, and Baldad the Suhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had agreed to come together to visit and console him.

12 And when they had raised up their eyes from a distance, they did not recognize him, and, crying out, they wept, and, tearing their garments, they scattered dust over their heads into the sky.

13 And they sat with him on the ground for seven day and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his sorrow was very great.

1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day,

2 and this is what he said:

3 May the day perish on which I was born, and the night, in which it was said, “A man has been conceived.”

4 May that day be turned into darkness, may God not seek it from above, and may light not illuminate it.

5 Let darkness and the shadow of death obscure it, let a fog overtake it, and let it be enveloped in bitterness.

6 Let a whirlwind of darkness take hold of that night, let it not be counted in the days of the year, nor numbered in the months.

7 May that night be alone and unworthy of praise.

8 May they curse it, who curse the day, who are prepared to awaken a leviathan.

9 Let the stars be concealed with its darkness. Let it expect light, and not see it, nor the rising of the dawn in the East.

10 For it did not close the doors of the womb that bore me, nor take away evils from my eyes.

11 Why did I not die in the womb? Having left the womb, why did I not immediately perish?

12 Why was I received upon the knees? Why was I suckled at the breasts?

13 For by now, I should have been sleeping silently, and taking rest in my sleep

14 with the kings and consuls of the earth, who build themselves solitudes,

15 either with princes, who possess gold and fill their houses with silver,

16 or, like a hidden miscarriage, I should not have continued, just like those who, being conceived, have not seen the light.

17 There the impious cease from rebellion, and there the wearied in strength take rest.

18 And at such times, having been bound together without difficulty, they have not heard the voice of the bailiff.

19 The small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master.

20 Why is light given to the miserable, and life to those who are in bitterness of soul,

21 who expect death, and it does not arrive, like those who dig for treasure

22 and who rejoice greatly when they have found the grave,

23 to a man whose way is hidden and whom God has surrounded with darkness?

24 Before I eat, I sigh; and like overflowing waters, so is my howl,

25 for the terror that I feared has happened to me, and so has the dread befallen me.

26 Have I not remained hidden? Have I not kept silence? Have I not remained calm? Yet indignation has overcome me.

1 But Eliphaz the Themanite, answering, said:

2 If we start to speak to you, perhaps you will take it badly, but who can hold back the words he has conceived?

3 Behold, you have taught many, and you have strengthened weary hands.

4 Your words have reassured the wavering, and you have fortified the trembling knees.

5 But now the scourge has overcome you, and you falter. It has touched you, and you are disturbed.

6 Where is your reverence, your fortitude, your patience, and the perfection of your ways?

7 Consider this, I beg you: who ever perished being innocent? Or when have the righteous been destroyed?

8 In fact, I have instead seen those who work iniquity and who sow resentments, reap them,

9 perishing by the breath of God, and being consumed by the wrath of his spirit.

10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the teeth of young lions have been worn away.

11 The tiger has perished because it does not have prey, and the young lions have been scattered.

12 Furthermore, a word was spoken to me in secret, and, as if by theft, my ears received the pulse of its whisper.

13 In the horror of a vision by night, when men are accustomed to be overtaken by a deep sleep,

14 fear and trembling seized me and all my bones were terrified.

15 And when a spirit passed before me, the hair on my body stood up.

16 There appeared an image before my eyes, someone whose face I did not recognize, and I heard a voice like a gentle breeze.

17 Should man be justified in relation to God, or will a man be more pure than his Maker?

18 Behold, those who serve him are not steadfast, and in his angels he finds imperfection.

19 How much more will those who live in houses of clay, which have an earthly foundation, be consumed like the moth?

20 From morning all the way to evening, they will be cut down, and because no one understands, they will be destroyed without ceasing.

21 But those who are left behind will be taken away from them; they will die, and not in wisdom.

1 Therefore call, if there are any who will respond to you, and turn to one or another of the saints.

2 Truly, anger condemns the foolish to death, and envy kills the petty.

3 I have seen a fool with a strong root, and I have cursed his excellence without hesitation.

4 His sons will be far from prosperity and will be crushed at the gate, and there will be none who can rescue them.

5 Their harvest, the starving will eat. The armed man will rob him, and the thirsty will drink his resources.

6 Nothing on earth occurs without a reason, and sorrow does not rise from the earth.

7 Man is born to labor, and the bird to fly.

8 Therefore, because of this, I will beg the Lord, and place my eloquence before God.

9 He does great and unfathomable and miraculous things without number.

10 He gives rain over the face of the earth and irrigates all things with the waters.

11 He places the humble on high and encourages the grieving towards health.

12 He dispels the thoughts of the spiteful, lest their hands be able to complete what they had begun.

13 He catches the wise in their cleverness and dissipates the counsel of the perverse.

14 They will encounter darkness in the daytime, and they will grope at midday just as in the night.

15 Thereafter, he will act to save the needy from the sword of their mouth, and the poor from the hand of the violent.

16 And there will be hope for those in need, for iniquity will diminish its speech.

17 Blessed is the man whom God corrects; therefore, do not reject the chastisement of the Lord.

18 For he wounds and he cures; he strikes and his hands will heal.

19 He will deliver you into six tribulations, and in the seventh, evil will not touch you.

20 During famine, he will rescue you from death, and during war, from the hand of the sword.

21 You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you will not fear calamity when it arrives.

22 In desolation and in famine, you will laugh, and you will not dread the beasts of the earth.

23 For you are in harmony with the stones of the land, and the beasts of the earth will make peace with you.

24 And you will know that your home has peace, and, concerning your appearance, you will not sin.

25 Likewise, you will know that your offspring will be manifold and your progeny will be like the grass of the earth.

26 You will enter the grave with abundance, just as a crop of wheat is gathered in its time.

27 Behold, this is just as we have found it, which you have heard; walk it through your mind.

1 But Job, responding, said:

2 I wish that my sins, for which I deserve wrath, and the calamity that I endure, were weighed out on a balance.

3 Compared to the sand of the sea, they would appear heavier, and so my words are full of sorrow.

4 For the arrows of the Lord are in me, my spirit drinks of their indignation, and the terrors of the Lord are soldiers against me.

5 Will the wild ass bray when he has grass? Or will the ox bellow when he stands before a full manger?

6 Or can one eat bland food, which is not seasoned with salt? Or can anyone taste that which, if tasted, causes death?

7 The things that my soul was unwilling to touch before, now, because of anguish, are my foods.

8 Who will grant that my petition may arrive and that God may bestow on me what I expect,

9 and that he who, at first, had crushed me, will let loose his hand and cut me down?

10 And may this be my consolation, that in afflicting me with sorrow, although he might not be lenient with me, I still do not contradict the words of the Holy One.

11 For what is my strength, that I may continue? Or what is my goal, so that I may act patiently?

12 My strength is not the strength of stones, nor is my flesh made of bronze.

13 Behold, there is no help for me in myself, and my loved ones also have withdrawn from me.

14 He who takes away mercy from his friend, abandons the fear of the Lord.

15 My brethren have disregarded me, like a torrent that passes swiftly through the steep valleys.

16 Those who fear frost, snow will rush over them.

17 At that time, when they are scattered, they will perish, and when it becomes hot, they will be freed from their place.

18 The paths of their steps are entangled; they will walk in vain and will perish.

19 Consider the paths of Thema, the ways of Saba, and wait a little while.

20 They have been thrown into confusion, just as I had hoped; they have even come to me and are overwhelmed with shame.

21 Now you have arrived, and merely by seeing my affliction, you are afraid.

22 Did I say: “Bring to me and give to me from your necessities?”

23 or, “Free me from the hand of the enemy and rescue me from the hand of the strong?”

24 Teach me, and I will be silent, and if by chance I have been ignorant of anything, instruct me.

25 Why have you diminished the words of truth, when there is none of you who is able to offer proof against me?

26 You prepare speeches as so much noise, and you offer words into the wind.

27 You encroach upon the orphan, and you strive to undermine your friend.

28 Such is true, so finish what you have begun. Listen closely, and see if I lie.

29 Respond, I beg you, without contention, and, speaking what is just, pass judgment.

30 And you will not find iniquity on my tongue, nor will foolishness resound in my throat.

1 The life of a man on the earth is a battle, and his days are like the days of a hired hand.

2 Just as a servant desires the shade, and just as the hired hand looks forward to the end of his work,

3 so also have I had empty months and have counted my burdensome nights.

4 If I lie down to sleep, I will say, “When will I rise?” And next I will hope for the evening and will be filled with sorrows even until darkness.

5 My flesh is clothed with particles of rottenness and filth; my skin is dried up and tightened.

6 My days have passed by more quickly than threads are cut by a weaver, and they have been consumed without any hope.

7 Remember that my life is wind, and my eye will not return to see good things.

8 Neither will the sight of man gaze upon me; your eyes are upon me, and I will not endure.

9 Just as a cloud is consumed and passes away, so he who descends to hell will not ascend.

10 He will not return again to his house, nor will his own place know him any longer.

11 And because of this, I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the affliction of my spirit. I will converse from the bitterness of my soul.

12 Am I an ocean or a whale, that you have encircled me in a prison?

13 If I say, “My bed will comfort me, and I will find rest, speaking with myself on my blanket,”

14 then you will frighten me with dreams, and strike dread through visions,

15 so that, because of these things, my soul would choose hanging, and my bones, death.

16 I despair; by no means will I live any longer. Spare me, for my days are nothing.

17 What is man, that you should praise him? Or why do you place your heart near him?

18 You visit him at dawn, and you test him unexpectedly.

19 How long will you not spare me, nor release me to ingest my saliva?

20 I have sinned; what should I do for you, O keeper of men? Why have you set me against you, so that I have become burdensome even to myself?

21 Why do you not steal away my sin, and why do you not sweep away my iniquity? Behold, now I will sleep in the dust, and if you seek me in the morning, I will not remain.

1 But Baldad the Suhite, responding, said:

2 How long will you speak this way, so that the words of your mouth are like a changeable wind?

3 Does God supplant judgment, or does the Almighty subvert that which is just?

4 And if now your children have sinned against him, and he has dismissed them into the power of their iniquity,

5 even so, you should arise early to God, so as to beseech the Almighty.

6 If you approach with purity and honesty, he will quickly be attentive to you, and a peaceful life will repay your righteousness,

7 so much so that, if your former things were small, your latter things would be multiplied greatly.

8 For inquire of the earliest generation, and investigate diligently the history of the fathers,

9 (of course, we are but of yesterday and are ignorant that our days on earth are like a shadow,)

10 and they will teach you; they will speak with you and will offer you the eloquence of their hearts.

11 Can the marsh plant live without moisture? Or can sedges grow without water?

12 When it is still in flower, and has not been pulled up by hand, it withers before all other plants.

13 Just so are the ways of all who forget God, and the hope of the hypocrite will perish.

14 His frenzy will not please him, and his faith will be like a spider’s web.

15 He will lean on his house, and it will not stand; he will prop it up, but it will not rise.

16 He seems to have moisture before the sun arrives; and at sunrise, his sprout shoots forth.

17 His roots will crowd together over a heap of stones, and among the stones he will remain.

18 If someone is devoured right beside him, he will deny him and will say: “I do not know you.”

19 For this is the benefit of his way, that others in turn may spring up from the earth.

20 God will not discard the simple, nor will he extend his hand to the spiteful,

21 even until your mouth is filled with laughter and your lips with rejoicing.

22 Those who hate you, will be clothed with confusion, and the tabernacle of the impious will not continue.

1 And Job, responding, said:

2 Truly, I know that it is so, and that man cannot be justified compared with God.

3 If he chooses to contend with him, he is not able to respond to him once out of a thousand times.

4 He is understanding in heart and mighty in strength; who has resisted him and yet had peace?

5 He has moved mountains, and those whom he overthrew in his fury did not know it.

6 He shakes the earth out of its place and its pillars tremble.

7 He commands the sun and it does not rise, and he closes the stars as if under a seal.

8 He alone extends the heavens, and he walks upon the waves of the sea.

9 He fashions Arcturus, and Orion, and Hyades, and the interior of the south.

10 He accomplishes great and incomprehensible and miraculous things, which cannot be numbered.

11 If he approaches me, I will not see him; if he departs, I will not understand.

12 If he suddenly should question, who will answer him? Or who can say, “Why did you do so?”

13 God, whose wrath no one is able to resist, and under whom they bend who carry the world,

14 what am I then, that I should answer him and exchange words with him?

15 And if I now have any justice, I will not respond, but will beseech my judge.

16 And if he should listen to me when I call, I would not believe that he had heard my voice.

17 For he will crush me in a whirlwind and multiply my wounds, even without cause.

18 He does not permit my spirit to rest, and he fills me with bitterness.

19 If strength is sought, he is most strong; if equity in judgment, no one would dare to give testimony for me.

20 If I wanted to justify myself, my own mouth will condemn me; if I would reveal my innocence, he would prove me depraved.

21 And if I now became simple, my soul would be ignorant even of this, and my life would weary me.

22 There is one thing that I have said: both the innocent and the impious he consumes.

23 If he scourges, let him kill all at once, and not laugh at the punishment of the innocent.

24 Since the earth has been given into the hand of the impious, he covers the face of its judges; for if it is not him, then who is it?

25 My days have been swifter than a messenger; they have fled and have not seen goodness.

26 They have passed by like ships carrying fruits, just like an eagle flying to food.

27 If I say: “By no means will I speak this way.” I change my face and I am tortured with sorrow.

28 I have dreaded all my works, knowing that you did not spare the offender.

29 Yet, if I am also just as impious, why have I labored in vain?

30 If I had been washed with snow-like waters, and my hands were shining like the cleanest thing,

31 yet you would plunge me in filth, and my own garments would abhor me.

32 For even I would not answer a man who were like myself, nor one who could be heard with me equally in judgment.

33 There is no one who could both prevail in argument and in placing his hand between the two.

34 Let him take his staff away from me, and let not the fear of him terrify me.

35 I will speak and I will not fear him, for in fearfulness I am not able to respond.

1 My soul is weary of my life. I will release my words against myself. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

2 I will say to God: Do not be willing to condemn me. Reveal to me why you judge me this way.

3 Does it seem good to you, if you find fault with me and oppress me, the work of your own hands, and assist the counsel of the impious?

4 Do you have bodily eyes? Or, just as man sees, will you see?

5 Are your days just like the days of man, and are your years as the times of humans,

6 so that you would inquire about my iniquity and examine my sin?

7 And you know that I have done nothing impious, yet there is no one who can deliver from your hand.

8 Your hands have made me and formed me all around, and, in this way, do you suddenly throw me away?

9 Remember, I ask you, that you have fashioned me like clay, and you will reduce me to dust.

10 Have you not extracted me like milk and curdled me like cheese?

11 You have clothed me with skin and flesh. You have put me together with bones and nerves.

12 You have assigned to me life and mercy, and your visitation has preserved my spirit.

13 Though you may conceal this in your heart, yet I know that you remember everything.

14 If I have sinned, and you have spared me for an hour, why do you not endure me to be clean from my iniquity?

15 And if I should be impious, woe to me, and if I should be just, I will not lift up my head, being drenched with affliction and misery.

16 And because of pride, you will seize me like a lioness, and having returned, you torment me to an extraordinary degree.

17 You renew your testimony against me, and you multiply your wrath against me, and these punishments make war within me.

18 Why did you lead me out of the womb? If only I had been consumed, so that no eye would ever see me!

19 I should have been as if I had not been: transferred from the womb to the tomb.

20 Will not my few days be completed soon? Release me, therefore, so that I may lament my sorrows a little,

21 before I depart and return no more to a land that is dark and covered with the fog of death,

22 a land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of death, and nothing else but everlasting horror, dwells.

1 But Zophar the Naamathite, responding, said:

2 Will he who speaks much, not also listen? Or will a talkative man be justified?

3 Will men be silent only for you? And when you have mocked others, will no one refute you?

4 For you said: “My word is pure, and I am clean in your sight.”

5 Yet I wish that God would speak with you, and would open his lips to you,

6 so that he might reveal to you the secrets of wisdom, and how intricate his law is, and that you would understand how much less he requires of you than your iniquity deserves.

7 By chance, will you comprehend the footsteps of God and reach all the way to the perfection of the Almighty?

8 He is higher than heaven, and what will you do? He is deeper than hell, but how will you know?

9 His measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.

10 If he overturns all things, or packs them together, who will contradict him?

11 For he knows the vanity of men, and when he sees iniquity, does he not evaluate it?

12 A vain man is lifted up in arrogance, and he thinks that he is born free like a wild ass’s colt.

13 But you have fortified your heart and extended your hands to him.

14 If you would send away from you the iniquity that is in your hand, and not let injustice remain in your tabernacle,

15 then you would be able to lift up your face without blemish, and you would be steadfast and unafraid.

16 Misery, likewise, you would forget, or would remember only like waters that have passed by.

17 And brightness, like that of midday, will rise upon you until evening, and when you would think yourself consumed, you will rise up like the morning star.

18 And, when hope has been set before you, you will have faith, and, when buried, you will sleep secure.

19 You will rest, and there will be nothing to make you afraid, and many will make requests before your face.

20 But the eyes of the impious will fade away, and the path to escape will perish before them, for the abomination of the soul is their hope.