THE BOOK OF JOB
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
This Book takes its name from the holy man of whom it treats: who, according to the more probable opinion, was of the race of Esau; and the same as Jobab, king of Edom, mentioned Gen. 36.33. It is uncertain who was the writer of it. Some attribute it to Job himself; others to Moses, or some one of the prophets. In the Hebrew it is written in verse, from the beginning of the third chapter to the forty-second chapter.
Job Chapter 1
1:1. There was a man in the land of Hus, whose name was Job, and that man was simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil.
Hus... The land of Hus was a part of Edom; as appears from Lam. 4.21. Ibid. Simple... That is, innocent, sincere, and without guile.
1:2. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
1:3. And his possession was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a family exceedingly great: and this man was great among all the people of the east.
1:4. And his sons went, and made a feast by houses, every one in his day. And sending, they called their three sisters, to eat and drink with them.
And made a feast by houses... That is, each made a feast in his own house and had his day, inviting the others, and their sisters.
1:5. And when the days of their feasting were gone about, Job sent to them, and sanctified them: and rising up early, offered holocausts for every one of them. For he said: Lest perhaps my sons have sinned, and have blessed God in their hearts. So did Job all days.
Blessed... For greater horror of the very thought of blasphemy, the scripture both here and ver. 11, and in the following chapter, ver. 5 and 9, uses the word bless to signify its contrary.
1:6. Now on a certain day, when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan also was present among them.
The sons of God... The angels.-Ibid. Satan also, etc.. This passage represents to us in a figure, accommodated to the ways and understandings of men, 1. The restless endeavours of Satan against the servants of God; 2. That he can do nothing without God's permission; 3. That God doth not permit him to tempt them above their strength: but assists them by his divine grace in such manner, that the vain efforts of the enemy only serve to illustrate their virtue and increase their merit.
1:7. And the Lord said to him: Whence comest thou? And he answered and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it.
1:8. And the Lord said to him: Hast thou considered my servant, Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a simple and upright man, and fearing God, and avoiding evil?
1:9. And Satan answering, said: Doth Job fear God in vain?
1:10. Hast thou not made a fence for him, and his house, and all his substance round about, blessed the works of his hands, and his possession hath increased on the earth?
1:11. But stretch forth thy hand a little, and touch all that he hath, and see if he bless thee not to thy face.
1:12. Then the Lord said to Satan: Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand: only put not forth thy hand upon his person. And Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.
1:13. Now upon a certain day, when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine, in the house of their eldest brother,
1:14. There came a messenger to Job, and said: The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them,
1:15. And the Sabeans rushed in, and took all away, and slew the servants with the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:16. And while he was yet speaking, another came, and said: The fire of God fell from heaven, and striking the sheep and the servants, hath consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:17. And while he also was yet speaking, there came another, and said: The Chaldeans made three troops, and have fallen upon the camels, and taken them; moreover, they have slain the servants with the sword: and I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:18. He was yet speaking, and behold another came in, and said: Thy sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother,
1:19. A violent wind came on a sudden from the side of the desert, and shook the four corners of the house, and it fell upon thy children, and they are dead: and I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:20. Then Job rose up, and rent his garments, and having shaven his head, fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
1:21. And 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: as it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord.
1:22. In all these things Job sinned not by his lips, nor spoke he any foolish thing against God.
Job Chapter 2
2:1. And it came to pass, when on a certain day the sons of God came, and stood before the Lord, and Satan came amongst them, and stood in his sight,
2:2. That the Lord said to Satan: Whence comest thou? And he answered, and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it.
2:3. And the Lord said to Satan: Hast thou considered my servant, Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a man simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil, and still keeping his innocence? But thou hast moved me against him, that I should afflict him without cause.
2:4. And Satan answered, and said: Skin for skin; and all that a man hath, he will give for his life:
2:5. But put forth thy hand, and touch his bone and his flesh, and then thou shalt see that he will bless thee to thy face.
2:6. And the Lord said to Satan: Behold, he is in thy hand, but yet save his life.
2:7. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with a very grievous ulcer, from the sole of the foot even to the top of his head:
2:8. And he took a potsherd and scraped the corrupt matter, sitting on a dunghill.
2:9. And his wife said to him: Dost thou still continue in thy simplicity? bless God and die.
2:10. And he said to her: Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women: If we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not receive evil? In all these things Job did not sin with his lips.
2:11. Now when Job's three friends heard all the evil that had befallen him, they came every one from his own place, Eliphaz, the Themanite, and Baldad, the Suhite, and Sophar, the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment to come together and visit him, and comfort him.