Job
1
- In the land of Uz there lived a man whose
name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned
evil.
- He had seven sons and three daughters,
- and he owned seven thousand sheep, three
thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had
a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of
the East.
- His sons used to take turns holding feasts
in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink
with them.
- When a period of feasting had run its course,
Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice
a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have
sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
- One day the angels came to present themselves
before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
- The LORD said to Satan, "Where have
you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the
earth and going back and forth in it."
- Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have
you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless
and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
- "Does Job fear God for nothing?"
Satan replied.
- "Have you not put a hedge around him
and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his
hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.
- But stretch out your hand and strike everything
he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
- The LORD said to Satan, "Very well,
then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay
a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
- One day when Job's sons and daughters were
feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house,
- a messenger came to Job and said, "The
oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,
- and the Sabeans attacked and carried them
off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped
to tell you !"
- While he was still speaking, another messenger
came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep
and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you !"
- While he was still speaking, another messenger
came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept
down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword,
and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
- While he was still speaking, yet another
messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking
wine at the oldest brother's house,
- when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from
the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them
and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you !"
- At this, Job got up and tore his robe and
shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship
- and said: "Naked I came from my mother's
womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."
- In all this, Job did not sin by charging
God with wrongdoing.
Back |
Home |
Next