Day 1 The Wisdom Books in a Month

Job 1

1 There was a certain man in the land of Ausis, whose name [was] Job; and that man was true, blameless, righteous, [and] godly, abstaining from everything evil. 2 And he had seven sons and three daughters. 3 And his cattle consisted of seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses in the pastures, and a very great household, and he had a great husbandry on the earth; and that man was [most] noble of the [men] of the east. 4 And his sons visiting one another prepared a banquet every day, taking with them also their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the banquet were completed, Job sent and purified them, having risen up in the morning, and offered sacrifices for them, according to their number, and one calf for a sin-offering for their souls: for Job said, Lest peradventure my sons have thought evil in their minds against God. Thus then Job did continually. 6 And it came to pass on a day, that, behold, the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them. 7 And the Lord said to the devil, Whence art thou come? And the devil answered the Lord, and said, I am come from compassing the earth, and walking up and down in the world. 8 And the Lord said to him, Hast thou diligently considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a man blameless, true, godly, abstaining from everything evil? 9 Then the devil answered, and said before the Lord, Does Job worship the Lord for nothing? 10 Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about his household, and all his possessions round about? and hast thou not blessed the works of his hands, and multiplied his cattle upon the land? 11 But put forth thine hand, and touch all that he has: verily he will bless thee to [thy] face. 12 Then the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I give into thine hand all that he has, but touch not himself. So the devil went out from the presence of the Lord. 13 And it came to pass on a certain day, that Job's sons and his daughters were drinking wine in the house of their elder brother. 14 And, behold, there came a messenger to Job, and said to him, The yokes of oxen were ploughing, and the she-asses were feeding near them; 15 and the spoilers came and took them for a prey, and slew the servants with the sword; and I having escaped alone am come to tell thee. 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another messenger, and said to Job, Fire has fallen from heaven, and burnt up the sheep, and devoured the shepherds likewise; and I having escaped alone am come to tell thee. 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another messenger, and said to Job, The horsemen formed three companies against us, and surrounded the camels, and took them for a prey, and slew the servants with the sword; and I only escaped, and am come to tell thee. 18 While he is yet speaking, another messenger comes, saying to Job, While thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking with their elder brother, 19 suddenly a great wind came on from the desert, and caught the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon thy children, and they are dead; and I have escaped alone, and am come to tell thee. 20 So Job arose, and rent his garments, and shaved the hair of his head, and fell on the earth, and worshipped, 21 and said, I myself came forth naked from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away: as it seemed good to the Lord, so has it come to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord. 22 In all these events that befel him Job sinned not at all before the Lord, and did not impute folly to God.

Job 2

1 And it came to pass on a certain day, that the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came among them to stand before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to the devil, Whence comest thou? Then the devil said before the Lord, I am come from going through the world, and walking about the whole earth. 3 And the Lord said to the devil, Hast thou then observed my servant Job, that there is none of [men] upon the earth like him, a harmless, true, blameless, godly man, abstaining from all evil? and he yet cleaves to innocence, whereas thou hast told [me] to destroy his substance without cause? 4 And the devil answered and said to the Lord, Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give as a ransom for his life. 5 Nay, but put forth thine hand, and touch his bones and his flesh: verily he will bless thee to [thy] face. 6 And the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I deliver him up to thee; only save his life. 7 So the devil went out from the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from [his] feet to [his] head. 8 And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge, and sat upon a dung-heap outside the city. 9 And when much time had passed, his wife said to him, How long wilt thou hold out, saying, 9a Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my deliverance? 9b for, behold, thy memorial is abolished from the earth, [even thy] sons and daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb which I bore in vain with sorrows; 9c and thou thyself sittest down to spend the nights in the open air among the corruption of worms, 9d and I am a wanderer and a servant from place to place and house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labours and my pangs which now beset me: 9e but say some word against the Lord, and die. 10 But he looked on her, and said to her, Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things of the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things? In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned not at all with his lips before God. 11 Now his three friends having heard of all the evil that was come upon him, came to him each from his own country: Eliphaz the king of the Thæmans, Baldad sovereign of the Saucheans, Sophar king of the Minæans: and they came to him with one accord, to comfort and to visit him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance they did not know him; and they cried with a loud voice, and wept, and rent every one his garment, and sprinkled dust upon [their heads], 13 and they sat down beside him seven days and seven nights, and no one of them spoke; for they saw that [his] affliction was dreadful and very great.

Job 3

1 After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day, 2 saying, 3 Let the day perish in which I was born, and that night in which they said, Behold a man-child! 4 Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above, neither let light come upon it. 5 But let darkness and the shadow of death seize it; let blackness come upon it; 6 let that day and night be cursed, let darkness carry them away; let it not come into the days of the year, neither let it be numbered with the days of the months. 7 But let that night be pain, and let not mirth come upon it, nor joy. 8 But let him that curses that day curse it, [even] he that is ready to attack the great whale. 9 Let the stars of that night be darkened; let it remain [dark], and not come into light; and let it not see the morning star arise: 10 because it shut not up the gates of my mother's womb, for [so] it would have removed sorrow from my eyes. 11 For why died I not in the belly? and [why] did I not come forth from the womb and die immediately? 12 And why did the knees support me? and why did I suck the breasts? 13 Now I should have lain down and been quiet, I should have slept and been at rest, 14 with kings [and] councillors of the earth, who gloried in [their] swords; 15 or with rulers, whose gold was abundant, who filled their houses with silver: 16 or [I should have been] as an untimely birth proceeding from his mother's womb, or as infants who never saw light. 17 There the ungodly have burnt out the fury of rage; there the wearied in body rest. 18 And the men of old time have together ceased to hear the exactor's voice. 19 The small and great are there, and the servant that feared his lord. 20 For why is light given to those who are in bitterness, and life to the souls which are in griefs? 21 who desire death, and obtain it not, digging [for it] as [for] treasures; 22 and would be very joyful if they should gain it? 23 Death [is] rest to [such] a man, for God has hedged him in. 24 For my groaning comes before my food, and I weep being beset with terror. 25 For the terror of which I meditated has come upon me, and that which I had feared has befallen me. 26 I was not at peace, nor quiet, nor had I rest; yet wrath came upon me.

Job 4

1 Then Eliphaz the Thæmanite answered and said, 2 Hast thou been often spoken to in distress? but who shall endure the force of thy words? 3 For whereas thou hast instructed many, and hast strengthened the hands of the weak one, 4 and hast supported the failing with words, and hast imparted courage to feeble knees. 5 Yet now [that] pain has come upon thee, and touched thee, thou art troubled. 6 Is not thy fear [founded] in folly, thy hope also, and the mischief of thy way? 7 Remember then who has perished, being pure? or when were the true-hearted utterly destroyed? 8 Accordingly as I have seen men ploughing barren places, and they that sow them will reap sorrows for themselves. 9 They shall perish by the command of the Lord, and shall be utterly consumed by the breath of his wrath. 10 The strength of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the exulting cry of serpents are quenched. 11 The old lion has perished for want of food, and the lions' whelps have forsaken one another. 12 But if there had been any truth in thy words, none of these evils would have befallen thee. Shall not mine ear receive excellent [revelations] from him? 13 But [as when] terror falls upon men, with dread and a sound in the night, 14 horror and trembling seized me, and caused all my bones greatly to shake. 15 And a spirit came before my face; and my hair and flesh quivered. 16 I arose and perceived it not: I looked, and there was no form before my eyes: but I only heard a breath and a voice, [saying], 17 What, shall a mortal be pure before the Lord? or a man be blameless in regard to his works? 18 Whereas he trusts not in his servants, and perceives perverseness in his angels. 19 But [as for] them that dwell in houses of clay, of whom we also are formed of the same clay, he smites them like a moth. 20 And from morning to evening they no longer exist: they have perished, because they cannot help themselves. 21 For he blows upon them, and they are withered: they have perished for lack of wisdom.

Job 5

1 But call, if any one will hearken to thee, or if thou shalt see any of the holy angels. 2 For wrath destroys the foolish one, and envy slays him that has gone astray. 3 And I have seen foolish ones taking root: but suddenly their habitation was devoured. 4 Let their children be far from safety, and let them be crushed at the doors of vile men, and let there be no deliverer. 5 For what they have collected, the just shall eat; but they shall not be delivered out of calamities: let their strength be utterly exhausted. 6 For labour cannot by any means come out of the earth, nor shall trouble spring out of the mountains: 7 yet man is born to labour, and [even so] the vulture's young seek the high places. 8 Nevertheless I will beseech the Lord, and will call upon the Lord, the sovereign of all; 9 who does great things and untraceable, glorious things also, and marvellous, of which there is no number: 10 who gives rain upon the earth, sending water on the earth: 11 who exalts the lowly, and raises up them that are lost: 12 frustrating the counsels of the crafty, and their hands shall not perform the truth: 13 who takes the wise in their wisdom, and subverts the counsel of the crafty. 14 In the day darkness shall come upon them, and let them grope in the noon-day even as in the night: 15 and let them perish in war, and let the weak escape from the hand of the mighty. 16 And let the weak have hope, but the mouth of the unjust be stopped. 17 But blessed [is] the man whom the Lord has reproved; and reject not thou the chastening of the Almighty. 18 For he causes [a man] to be in pain, and restores [him] again: he smites, and his hands heal. 19 Six times he shall deliver thee out of distresses: and in the seventh harm shall not touch thee. 20 In famine he shall deliver thee from death: and in war he shall free thee from the power of the sword. 21 He shall hide thee from the scourge of the tongue: and thou shalt not be afraid of coming evils. 22 Thou shalt laugh at the unrighteous and the lawless: and thou shalt not be afraid of wild beasts. 23 For the wild beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. 24 Then shalt thou know that thy house shall be at peace, and the provision for thy tabernacle shall not fail. 25 And thou shalt know that thy seed [shall be] abundant; and thy children shall be like the herbage of the field. 26 And thou shalt come to the grave like ripe corn reaped in its season, or as a heap of the corn-flour collected in proper time. 27 Behold, we have thus sought out these matters; these are what we have heard: but do thou reflect with thyself, if thou hast done anything [wrong].