<t /><p class="poetry">&#8220;I<n id="1" /> am weary<n id="2" /> of my life;p> <p class="poetry">I will complain without restraint;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.p>

<p class="poetry">But I wish to speak<n id="1" /> to the Almighty,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and I desire to argue<n id="3" /> my case<n id="4" /> with God.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">&#8220;But<n id="1" /> if I speak, my pain is not relieved,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and if I refrain from speakingp> <p class="poetry">&#8211; how<n id="3" /> much of it goes away?p>

<p class="poetry">And I have waited.<n id="1" /> But because they do not speak,p> <p class="poetry">because they stand there and answer no more,p>

<p class="poetry">Is it your opinion<n id="1" /> that God<n id="2" /> should recompense it,p> <p class="poetry">because you reject this?<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">But you must choose, and not I,p> <p class="poetry">so tell us what you know.p>

<p class="poetry">Should he be informed that I want<n id="1" /> to speak?p> <p class="poetry">If a man speaks, surely he would be swallowed up!p>

But he replied,<n id="1" /> &#8220;You&#8217;re talking like one of the godless<n id="2" /> women would do! Should we receive<n id="3" /> what is good from God, and not also<n id="4" /> receive<n id="5" /> what is evil?&#8221;<n id="6" /> In all this Job did not sin by what he said.<n id="7" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">After the <sc>Lordsc> had spoken these things to Job, he<n id="1" /> said to Eliphaz the Temanite, &#8220;My anger is stirred up<n id="2" /> against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right,<n id="3" /> as my servant Job has.

<p class="bodytext">While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, &#8220;Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother&#8217;s house,

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<n id="1" /> was very great.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">I also could speak<n id="1" /> like you,p> <p class="poetry">if<n id="2" /> you were in my place;p> <p class="poetry">I could pile up<n id="3" /> words against youp> <p class="poetry">and I could shake my head at you.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="bodytext">So they went, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and did just as the <sc>Lordsc> had told them; and the <sc>Lordsc> had respect for Job.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="bodytext">While this one was still speaking,<n id="1" /> another messenger arrived<n id="2" /> and said, &#8220;The fire of God<n id="3" /> has fallen from heaven<n id="4" /> and has burned up the sheep and the servants &#8211; it has consumed them! And I &#8211; only I alone &#8211; escaped to tell you!&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, &#8220;The Chaldeans<n id="1" /> formed three bands and made a raid<n id="2" /> on the camels and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword!<n id="3" /> And I &#8211; only I alone &#8211; escaped to tell you!&#8221;p>

So now take<n id="1" /> seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede<n id="2" /> for you, and I will respect him,<n id="3" /> so that I do not deal with you<n id="4" /> according to your folly,<n id="5" /> because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.&#8221;<n id="6" />p>