Job

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. He was honest and did what was right. He respected God and stayed away from evil.

1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

NoteUz was a land east or southeast of Israel; its exact location is unknown, and the story deliberately places Job outside Israel among foreigners. "Perfect" in the King James does not mean flawless or sinless: the Hebrew word means whole or all of one piece, a man whose conduct matched what he claimed. "Feared God" was the ordinary Hebrew phrase for being a religious person, awe and loyalty toward God, not being frightened of him.

2He had seven sons and three daughters.

2And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

3He also owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred pairs of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys. He had a very large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

3His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

NoteWealth in this world was counted in livestock and servants rather than money, and these numbers are enormous. A "yoke" of oxen is a pair harnessed together to pull a plow, so 500 yoke measures how much land he could work. Female donkeys were the valuable ones, kept for breeding and milk. "The people of the East" is a loose term for the tribes of the desert regions east of Canaan, who had a reputation for both wealth and wisdom.

4His sons used to hold feasts in their own houses, each one taking his turn on his own day. They would send word and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

4And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

Note"Every one his day" is ambiguous in the Hebrew. It may mean the brothers took turns in a fixed rotation, each hosting on his assigned day, or that each held a feast on his birthday.

5When each round of feast days was over, Job would send for his children and have them made clean for God. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each one of them. Job said to himself, "Maybe my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Job did this every time.

5And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

Note"Made clean for God" (King James "sanctified") means put through ritual purification before approaching God (typically washing the body, washing clothes, and abstaining from ordinary activity for a set time. A burnt offering was an animal killed and burned whole on an altar, with none of it kept back to be eaten. Job performs this himself, as head of the family; the story is set in a world with no temple and no priests. Where the text says his children may have "cursed" God, the Hebrew actually writes the verb "bless") a deliberate substitution, so that the words "curse" and "God" never stand side by side on the page. Readers understood the real sense.

6One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came along with them.

6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

Note"The sons of God" means members of God's heavenly court, supernatural beings in his service, not human children. Presenting themselves before the LORD is the language of royal courtiers reporting for duty to a king. "Satan" here is the Hebrew ha-satan, with the definite article: "the adversary" or "the accuser," a job description more than a personal name. The role is roughly that of a prosecutor in the king's court.

7The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming around the earth, and from walking back and forth in it."

7And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

NoteThe answer describes patrolling: an official's tour of inspection through the king's territory, followed by a report back. It is the sort of thing a royal agent would say.

8The LORD said to Satan, "Have you thought about my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him. He is honest and does what is right. He respects God and stays away from evil."

8And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job respect God for nothing?

9Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

Note"For nought" translates a Hebrew word meaning "for nothing, free of charge." The accusation is that Job's devotion is paid for (that God has bought it), not that Job is insincere by nature.

10Haven't you put a fence around him and his household and everything he owns, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his property has spread out across the land.

10Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

NoteA hedge here is a barrier of piled thorn branches or stones that farmers built around a field, vineyard, or sheepfold to keep out animals and raiders. The image is of protection, not decoration.

11But reach out your hand now and strike everything he has, and he will curse you to your face."

11But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Note"Put forth thine hand" means use your power; "touch" in this idiom means strike or harm, not brush lightly. As in verse 5, the Hebrew writes "bless" where the sense is "curse."

12The LORD said to Satan, "Very well. Everything he has is in your power. Only do not lay a hand on the man himself." So Satan left the LORD's presence.

12And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

NoteThe Hebrew says "in your hand", in your power, at your disposal.

13One day Job's sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house.

13And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:

14A messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing beside them,

14And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:

15when the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They killed the servants with the sword. I am the only one who got away to tell you."

15And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

NoteThe Sabeans came from Sheba, in southwestern Arabia, known as long-distance traders, and here as raiders striking from the desert.

16While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven. It burned up the sheep and the servants and destroyed them. I am the only one who got away to tell you."

16While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

Note"The fire of God" is a Hebrew way of describing fire of extraordinary scale; many readers have understood it as lightning. Either way, the messenger is reporting something that came from the sky rather than from human hands.

17While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans split into three raiding groups, swept down on the camels, and carried them off. They killed the servants with the sword. I am the only one who got away to tell you."

17While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

NoteThe Chaldeans were a people of southern Mesopotamia, later the rulers of Babylon. Here they appear in an earlier role, as mobile raiding parties. Splitting into three bands was a standard raiding tactic: attack from several directions at once so the herds cannot be driven to safety.

18While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,

18While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:

19when suddenly a strong wind came in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It fell on the young people and they are dead. I am the only one who got away to tell you."

19And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

NoteSudden violent windstorms blow off the desert in this region. "The four corners of the house" means it was struck on every side at once, the wind hit the whole structure, not one wall. Houses were commonly mud brick with heavy flat roofs, which collapse inward.

20Then Job stood up and tore his robe and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

20Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

NoteTearing your outer robe and shaving your head were the standard public signs of mourning in the ancient Near East, recognized, expected gestures that announced grief to everyone who saw you, not a loss of self-control.

21and he said, "I came out of my mother's body with nothing, and I will go back with nothing. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. May the name of the LORD be blessed."

21And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

NoteThe Hebrew says "naked I shall return there," and "there" is left open. It can point back to the mother's womb as an image, or to the earth as the mother all people return to, or simply to the grave. The saying keeps the ambiguity.

22Through all of this, Job did not sin. He did not say that God had done anything wrong.

22In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.