A modern English translation drawn directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Translated word-for-word where possible, by a committee with scholarly oversight.
Uses the same source texts as the ESV, NASB, and most academic Bibles, including the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Nestle-Aland critical edition.
Job 1
Job 1 is the opening chapter of the eighteenth book of the Bible. The 22-verse chapter sets up the entire book by introducing Job, describing his prosperity, and showing how he loses almost everything in a single day.
The chapter opens in the land of Uz. Job is introduced as blameless, upright, fearing God, and shunning evil. He has seven sons, three daughters, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a large household. He is called the greatest of all the people of the East.
The scene then shifts to heaven. The angels present themselves before God, and Satan, called "the accuser," is among them. God praises Job. Satan responds that Job is faithful only because he is protected and blessed; take all of that away, Satan says, and Job will curse God to his face. God allows Satan to test Job. Anything Job has may be touched, but Job himself must not be harmed.
The disasters strike on a single day. Four messengers arrive in succession, each interrupting the previous report. The Sabeans have raided and taken the oxen and donkeys, killing the servants. Fire has fallen from heaven and burned the sheep and their shepherds. The Chaldeans have raided in three bands and taken the camels. A wind from the desert has collapsed the eldest son's house during a feast, killing all ten of Job's children.
Job tears his robe, shaves his head, falls to the ground, and worships. His response is the famous line: "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." The chapter closes by noting that Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Verse 1. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil.
Verse 2. He had seven sons and three daughters,
Verse 3. and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.
Verse 4. Job’s sons would take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
Verse 5. And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.
Verse 6. One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
Verse 7. “Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”
Verse 8. Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.”
Verse 9. Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
Verse 10. Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
Verse 11. But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
Verse 12. “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
Verse 13. One day, while Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,
Verse 14. a messenger came and reported to Job: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,
Verse 15. the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
Verse 16. While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The fire of God fell from heaven. It burned and consumed the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
Verse 17. While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels, and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
Verse 18. While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,
Verse 19. when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
Verse 20. Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,
Verse 21. saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Verse 22. In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.
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