From the city the dying groan, and the wounded cry out for help, but God charges no one with wrongdoing.

“Why does God give light to one who is in misery, and life to those whose soul is bitter,

“To the one in despair, kindness should come from his friend even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

What is man that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

He tears me down on every side until I perish; he uproots my hope like one uproots a tree.

It ranks first among the works of God, the One who made it has furnished it with a sword.

“You say, ‘He is foam on the face of the waters; their portion of the land is cursed so that no one goes to their vineyard.

‘Surely such is the residence of an evil man; and this is the place of one who has not known God.’”

But the eyes of the wicked fail, and escape eludes them; their one hope is to breathe their last.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly to his integrity, so that you stirred me up to destroy him without reason.”

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And that man was pure and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

Now his sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one in turn, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

As a cloud is dispersed and then disappears, so the one who goes down to the grave does not come up again.

If it is a matter of strength, most certainly he is the strong one! And if it is a matter of justice, he will say, ‘Who will summon me?’

But he replied, “You’re talking like one of the godless women would do! Should we receive what is good from God, and not also receive what is evil?” In all this Job did not sin by what he said.

While this one was still speaking, another messenger arrived and said, “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and has burned up the sheep and the servants – it has consumed them! And I – only I alone – escaped to tell you!”

So they came to him, all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they dined with him in his house. They comforted him and consoled him for all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! And I – only I alone – escaped to tell you!”