men ¹  who were carried off ²  before their time, ³  when the flood ⁴  was poured out ⁵  on their foundations? ⁶ 

And you put my feet in the stocks ¹  and you watch all my movements; ²  you put marks ³  on the soles of my feet.

Is it good for you ¹  to oppress, ²  to ³  despise the work of your hands, while ⁴  you smile ⁵  on the schemes of the wicked?

The womb ¹  forgets him, the worm feasts on him, no longer will he be remembered. Like a tree, wickedness will be broken down.

Let darkness and the deepest shadow ¹  claim it; ²  let a cloud settle on it; let whatever blackens the day ³  terrify it!

I am ¹  a laughingstock ²  to my friends, ³  I, who called on God and whom he answered ⁴  – a righteous and blameless ⁵  man is a laughingstock!

His ¹  anger has torn me ²  and persecuted ³  me; he has gnashed at me with his teeth; my adversary locks ⁴  his eyes on me.

If I lie down, I say, ¹  ‘When will I arise?’, and the night stretches on ²  and I toss and turn restlessly ³  until the day dawns.

because it ¹  did not shut the doors ²  of my mother’s womb on me, ³  nor did it hide trouble ⁴  from my eyes!

Terrors are turned loose ¹  on me; they drive away ²  my honor like the wind, and like a cloud my deliverance has passed away.

So the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered ¹  my servant Job? There ²  is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away ³  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 ¹  was very great. ² 

Have you ¹  not made a hedge ²  around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed ³  the work of his hands, and his livestock ⁴  have increased ⁵  in the land.

There are those ¹  who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways and they do not stay on its paths.

I will teach you ¹  about the power ²  of God; What is on the Almighty’s mind ³  I will not conceal.

and suddenly ¹  a great wind ²  swept across ³  the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they died! And I – only I alone – escaped to tell you!”

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 ¹  to his integrity, ²  so that ³  you stirred me up to destroy him ⁴  without reason.” ⁵ 

While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “The Chaldeans ¹  formed three bands and made a raid ²  on the camels and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! ³  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 ¹  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 ²  and a gold ring. ³ 

the chief men refrained from talking and covered their mouths with their hands;