Chapter 1

1 Many years ago, a man lived in a place called Uz. His name was Job and he was
a very good man. He was fair to everybody and he did the right things. He was
afraid to make God angry. And he refused to do wrong things. 2 Job had seven
sons and three daughters. 3 He had 7000 sheep and 3000 camels. He had 500
pairs of oxen and 500 donkeys. And he had many servants. There was no one
richer than Job for many miles.
4 Each year, Job’s sons had birthday parties in their homes. They had lots to eat
and lots to drink. And they always asked their three sisters to come. 5 After each
party, Job would ask his children to visit him. He thought that they might have
done wrong things. Or perhaps they had had wrong thoughts about God. So he
would get up early the next morning and sacrifice an animal to God for each of
them. They might have done wrong things. So he would ask God to forgive them
for those things.
6 One day, the LORD’s angels came to him in heaven. And Satan came with
them. 7 The LORD asked Satan where he had been. Satan replied, ‘I have been
going all over the earth. I have been watching the things that happen there.’
8 Then the LORD asked Satan, ‘You have seen Job, who is my servant. What do
you think about him? There is no one on earth that is like him. He is a very good
person. He is afraid to make me angry and he obeys me. He refuses to do things
that are wrong.’
9 ‘He may be afraid to make you angry and he may obey you’, Satan replied.
‘There are good reasons why he does that. 10 You do not let any bad things
happen to him. So he knows that he will be safe. You do this for all his family. You
make sure that all his things are safe. You have helped his business so that he has
become very rich. He has many sheep and lots of cows. 11 But take away the
things that he has. Then he will certainly let you know that he is cursing you.’
12 So the LORD told Satan, ‘Job has many things. Do what you want with any of
them. But do not hurt Job’s body.’ Then Satan left God.

Satan destroys everything that Job owns

13 Job’s sons and daughters were at a party in the home of his oldest son. 14 A
servant rushed up to Job. He told him about things that had just happened. This
is what the servant told Job. ‘We were using your oxen to plough the fields. Near
where we worked, your donkeys were eating grass in a field. 15 Some bad men
from the south came and they attacked us. They took the oxen and the donkeys.
And they killed all your servants except me. Instead, I ran away. And I have come
to tell you what has happened.’ 16 That servant was still speaking, when a second
servant ran up to Job. He said, ‘God has sent a fire that has killed your sheep and
all your servants except me. And I have come to tell you what has
happened.’ 17Before that servant had finished speaking, a third servant ran up to
Job. He said, ‘Bad men from the north have attacked your camels and they have
taken them away. They killed all your servants except me. Instead, I ran away.
And I have come to tell you what has happened.’

Satan kills Job’s children

18 That servant was still speaking, when a fourth servant ran up to Job. He said,
‘Your children were at a party. They were drinking wine at the home of your
oldest son. 19 There was a bad storm and the wind destroyed the house. The
house fell on all your children and it killed them. But I am still alive. And I have
come to tell you what has happened.’

What Job did

20 When Job heard all this he was very sad. He tore his clothes and he cut off all
his hair. He did this because he was so sad. Then he bent his body to the ground
and he worshipped God. 21 And he said, ‘When we are born we have nothing.
When we die, we take nothing with us. God has given to us all the things that we
have. Sometimes he takes away the things that we have. Only the LORD gives us
things. It is only the LORD that takes them away again. But I will still praise the
name of the LORD!’
22 Even after all the things that had happened, Job still did not do wrong things.
Nor did he say that God had done anything wrong.
Chapter 2
1 The next time that the angels came to the LORD, Satan came with
them. 2 The LORD asked Satanwhere he had been. Satan replied, ‘I have been
going all over the earth.’ 3 Then the LORD asked Satan, ‘You have seen Job, who
is my servant. What do you think about him? There is no one on earth that is like
him. He is a very good person. He is afraid to make me angry. He refuses to do
things that are wrong. Job had not done anything wrong. But because of what you
said I have been against him. And so he has lost everything for no reason. Even
then, he did not change. He is still the same good man.’
4 Satan answered, ‘A man will only feel pain if he, himself, is hurting. A man will
do anything to save his own life. 5 But if you cause Job to have great pain in his
own body, it will be different. And then he will certainly let you know that he
is cursing you.’ 6 So the LORD agreed that Satan could cause Job pain. He could
cause him as much pain as he wanted. But the LORD told Satan not to kill
him. 7 So Satan left. And he caused Job to have very painful skin all over his
body, from his head to his feet.
8 Then Job sat down among the ashes. He did this to show how sad he was. He
sat there and removed bad bits of skin with a piece of a broken pot. 9 His wife
said, ‘You cannot still believe that God is good. You should curse God and
die.’ 10 Job replied, ‘Do not talk like a fool! We take the good things that God
gives us. So we should not be surprised if he sends us trouble as well.’ Many bad
things had happened to Job but he never said any wrong things about God.

Job’s friends come to try to help him

11 Three of Job’s friends heard about his troubles and so they decided to visit
him. The first friend was called Eliphaz. He lived in a place called Teman. The
second friend was called Bildad. He lived in a place called Shuah. The third friend
was called Zophar. He lived in a place called Naamah. They came because they
wanted to help Job. 12 When they came near enough to see Job, they did not
recognise him. He looked so ill. They were so sad that they tore their clothes.
Then they put ash on their heads and cried a lot. 13 For a whole week, they sat on
the ground near Job. All that time, they knew how bad his pain was. So they did
not say anything to him.
Chapter 3

Job speaks to God about the things that have happened

1 In the end, Job cursed the day when he was born.
2 He said,
3 ‘Forget the day of my birth.
Forget the night when a son was born to my parents.
4 Forget about that day because it was a bad day.
5 I want people to think about that day as a dark day.
I want it to be as dark as night.
6 Make it a date that no one remembers.
Hide it from the thoughts of everyone.
7 Do not let children be born on that date.
Do not let people be happy on that date.
8 Some people know how to cause monsters to attack.
Let those people curse that day.
9 On that date, make dark the stars that shine in the morning.
 Do not let the sun shine at dawn.
10 I ask all this because on that day I was born into a world full of trouble.
11 It would have been better if I had died at birth.
My mother should have let me die.
12 Instead, she put me on her knee and I drank from her breast.
13 If I had died at birth, I would now be with all the other dead people.
14 Kings and rulers are there, too.
Those kings had lived in buildings that had been beautiful. And I would be
with them.
15 I would be with rulers who once were rich with gold and silver.
16 If I had been born dead, my friends would have buried me.
Then I would not have lived to wake each day.
Then I would not have had a life full of trouble.
17 After death, no one causes any more troubles.
This is true for people who have done wrong things during their lives.
And people who have been very tired during their lives can rest.
18 It is a place where no one is in prison.
It is a place where slaves do not hear the voice of a master.
19 Important people and people who are not important are there.
Slaves are free there. They do not have a master there.
20 My life is so difficult that I always feel sad.
So I want to know why God lets people like me live.
21 They want to die. But they are still alive.
They would rather die than discover gold.
22 When, in the end, they are dying, they are very happy.
23 They want to know why they should go on living.
They do not know what will happen to them.
They feel like people that God has put in a prison.
24 I cannot eat because I am crying so much.
I cannot drink because I weep all the time.
25 The things that frighten me most have happened to me.
26 I cannot rest because of all the troubles that I have.’
Chapter 4

Job’s friend Eliphaz speaks to him

1 Job’s friend Eliphaz lived in a place called Teman. He spoke with Job. And this
is what he said.
2 ‘You might not like the things that I want to say.
But I have to say something because this is important.
3 Think about this:
You have taught many people.
And you have helped weak people.
4 By your words, you have saved people from great dangers.
And you have helped weak people to hope.
5 But now you have many troubles.
And you feel sad and weak because of your troubles.
6 But you can still hope that your troubles will stop.
Go on being afraid to make God angry.
And try to live the right way.
7 Think about this:
Many people live the right way. They do not die while they are young.
God does not kill people who only do good things.
8 I will tell you what I have seen.
Bad people have trouble in their lives.
In fact they have troubles that they cause for themselves.
They are like a farmer.
The things that he has planted grow in his field.
9 God is angry with people who are like that.
And he will kill them.
When God is angry it is like a strong wind.
 When he is angry bad people die. They die like they would in a bad storm.
10 Think about lions. They are strong animals.
But if God breaks a lion’s teeth, it cannot eat.
11 So it is hungry and, in the end, it dies.
And the young lions will run away to find their food.
Bad people may be strong too.
But, if God is angry, they cannot fight him.
12 One night I heard a quiet voice.
Someone spoke to me and told me a secret.
13 I was asleep, but my dreams woke me.
14 I was very afraid.
Even my bones were shaking.
15 Then a spirit passed my face.
My hairs stood up.
16 The spirit did not have a shape that I recognised.
Everything was quiet and then I heard the voice. I heard these words:
17 “God made us all. And he sees the things that we do.
He knows that no one is completely good.
18 He says that even his servants and his angels do wrong things.
19 God made us all from clay.
And we are as weak as insects that fly.
So we cannot hope to have lives with no troubles.
20 All our lives are very short.
Insects are born after dawn and they die before the end of the day.
No one will ever see them again.
Our lives are so short that they seem like that.
21 Our lives are like tents.
There are pegs that keep a tent in the right place.
When you remove the pegs, you can take the tent away.
 So a small thing can cause us to die.
And often people learn nothing during their lives.” ’
Chapter 5
1 Eliphaz continued to speak.
‘You may shout, Job, and ask someone to help you. But no one will answer you.
Even if you ask the angels, they will not help you.
2 A fool may be so angry with other people that he dies.
He may want to have the things that they have. He may die because he wants
them too much.
3 I myself have seen the way that a fool lives. He seems to be happy.
And his life seems to be comfortable. But soon God sends trouble to him.
4 His children are not safe any more. People will say that they have done
wrong things.
Then no one will say that his children are honest.
5 Hungry people take plants from his fields. They even take them from among
the weeds.
And other people use his money to buy their drinks.
6 But difficulties do not grow like plants.
And troubles do not come from the ground.
7 You know that from every fire smoke rises into the air.
So every man that is born has troubles in his life.
8 I suggest that you ask God to help you.
I suggest that you tell him about your problems.
9 He does great things that nobody can understand.
Nobody can count the surprising things that he has done.
10 He gives rain for the earth.
He sends water for the fields.
11 He makes humble people important.
Some people are sad because someone has died. But God makes those
people safe.
12 Clever people may try to do wrong things.
 But God will not let them do such things.
13 He sees the things that clever people are doing.
And he causes them to stop doing those things.
14 They find that it is dark at midday.
They can see no better in the day than at night.
15 He saves poor people from death.
And he stops bad people from hitting them.
16 God helps poor people. So they can hope that their future lives will be good.
But those who do wrong things must be quiet.
17 If God teaches you the right way to live, you should be happy.
He may decide that you should have difficulties in your life.
Do not be sad if the Almighty decides that.
18 He may cause you to have pain. But he will make you well again.
He may hurt you, but he will give you health again.
19 Often he will save you from trouble.
Many times, he will keep you safe from danger.
20 He will keep you alive if there is a famine.
And he will also keep you alive if there is a war.
21 He will not let people say bad things about you.
And you will not be afraid when people attack you.
22 You will laugh if there is a famine. You will smile if there is danger.
You will not be afraid of wild animals.
23 They will not be wild any more when you are near them.
And there will be no danger in your fields.
24 You will know that your home is safe. You will check all the things you have.
And you will find that they are all there.
25 You will know that you will have a large family. You will have many children
and grandchildren.
It will not be any easier to count them than to count the grass in a field.
26 You will live for many years. Plants grow until the right time to pick them.
 So you will live until it is the right time for you to die. And you will have good
health until you die.
27 We have checked all this. And we have found that it is true.
So listen to what we say. And do what we suggest.’
Chapter 6

Job replies to Eliphaz

1 Then Job replied:
2 ‘It is not possible to measure my troubles
or to weigh my pains!
3 If it were possible to weigh them, they would be heavier than all the sand on
the shore.
That is why I have spoken so quickly. And I did not think before I spoke.
4 The Almighty has shot his arrows at me.
Their poison is in my body. I am very afraid of what God is going to do to me.
5 A wild donkey is quiet when it has grass to eat.
An ox does not make a loud noise when it has food.
6 You cannot enjoy food that has no salt in it.
If you only eat the white part of an egg, it will not be very nice.
7 I refuse to eat food like that.
Whatever I eat makes me ill.
8 God will not give me what I ask for. I want to know why this is.
When I pray he does not answer.
9 I want to die. And I have prayed that God would kill me.
10 I have had much pain. But I know that God is holy.
And I have always done what he has told me to do.
So, because I know that, I am ready to die.
11 I am not strong enough to hope for a better life.
There is no reason why I should be patient.
12 I am not as strong as stone.
 God did not make my body from bronze.
13 I am not strong enough to help myself.
And there is nowhere that I can go to get help.
14 When a man has many troubles, his friends should be kind to him.
Friends who are not like that have stopped being afraid to make God angry.
15 But, my friends, you are not here to help me when I need you.
You are like some rivers. Sometimes there is water and sometimes there is
no water.
16 In the spring, the sun warms the ice and the snow and there is a lot of water.
17 But in the summer, there may be no rain. And the sun is so hot that there is
no water.
18 Travellers get lost when they go to look for water.
They leave the proper paths and they die in the desert.
19 Travellers from Tema look for water. People on business from Sheba look
for water.
But they are all disappointed.
20 They are sad, because they had hoped to find water.
But when they arrive, they are disappointed.
21 You are like those streams.
You see what has happened to me. And you are afraid.
22 I have never asked you to send me a gift.
Nor have I asked you to pay money so that I could be free.
23 I have not asked you to save me from my enemy.
Nor have I asked you to help me get free from cruel people.
24 Tell me things that are true. Then I will be quiet.
Tell me if I have done something wrong.
25 The true words that an honest man speaks will make the listener sad.
You may argue with me. But the things that you say mean nothing.
26 You do not believe me when I speak to you. So you should not try to argue
with me.
There is nothing more that I can hope for in this life. You know that.
27 But you would sell to be slaves, children who had no parents.
You would even sell your best friend.
28 But now, please look at me.
I only tell you things that are true.
29 Please think again about what you say.
Think again. I want people to know that I am an honest man.
30 The things that I say are true.
I know what is right. And I know what is wrong.
Chapter 7
1 Men always have a lot of work to do on this earth.
They have to work every day like servants.
2 A slave waits for the end of the day so that he can stop his work.
A servant waits until his master pays him.
3 But I have nothing to wait for.
Every night, when I lie down to sleep, I am sad.
4 When I lie down I want the night to end.
But it does not end, and I cannot sleep. At last, dawn comes.
5 There are insects all over my body.
All of my skin is painful.
6 My life is passing very fast. It is passing as fast as the shuttle of a weaver.
But I cannot hope that it will get any better.’
7 ‘Remember, God, that my life is as short as a breath.
I know that I will never be happy again.
8 You see me now but soon you will not see me.
You will look for me, but I will have gone.
9 A cloud passes across the sky and then it is gone. You never see it again.
That is like a person who dies. He never returns to the earth.
10 He will never come back to his house again.
People who knew him soon forget him.
11 So I will not be quiet. I will speak to tell you how angry I am.
I will speak to say how very sad I feel.
12 Perhaps you have to watch the animals that live in the sea.
But I do not understand why you have to watch me every day.
13 I lie down and try to rest.
Perhaps my pain will be less when I am asleep.
14 But even then you cause me to dream and that frightens me.
I am afraid when I see things in the night.
15 I would rather die than continue a life like this.
16 I hate my life and I do not want to live any more.
My life has no meaning.
So let me die alone.
17 You seem to think that men are very important.
You seem to have a lot of interest in men.
18 You seem to watch them every morning.
And you seem to check what they are doing at each moment of the day.
I would like to know why you are like that.
19 It seems that you never stop watching me.
It seems that I cannot be alone, even for a moment.
20 You seem to think that I have done wrong things.
You watch what men do. I know that. But I do not know what I have done
to you.
I do not know why you have chosen to watch me.
You seem to think that I have caused trouble for you.
21 I do not know why you do not excuse me.
I do not know why you do not forgive me for my sins.
Soon I will die and my friends will bury me.
Then you will look for me, but you will not find me.’
Chapter 8
Job’s friend Bildad speaks to him
1 Job’s friend Bildad lived in a place called Shuah.
He spoke to Job. And this is what he said.
2 ‘You should not continue to say such things.
Your words are like the wind.
3 Surely you know that God is fair.
The Almighty does not change something that is right. He will not make
it wrong.
4 Your children did things that were wrong.
Because of the things that they did, God punished them.
5 But you should pray to God
and you should ask the Almighty to help you.
6 If you are honest, God will listen to you.
You may have lived the right way.
Then he will hear you when you speak to him.
And he will give back to you the things that you have lost.
7 You will be very rich.
God will give you much more than you had before.
8 People who lived before us knew many things.
Try to discover what they learned.
9 Our lives are like shadows that pass in a moment.
They are so short that we learn nothing.
10 But the people who lived before us can teach us.
Listen to what they said. Then you will learn from them.
11 You know that some trees only grow tall in wet ground.
And plants can only live if they have water.
12 They may still be growing and they may not be ready for somebody to
cut them.
But if they have no water, they will soon die.
13 People who forget about God are like those plants.
 They cannot hope to live. They, too, will die before they are old.
14 They believe in something that is weak.
It is as weak as a spider’s web.
15 A man like that trusts his family and his things, but they are not strong.
He holds all his things as well as he can. But in the end, they will leave him.’
16 ‘Bad people are like weeds when there is plenty of water.
The weeds grow all over the garden.
17 Their roots grow round stones
and they find space between rocks.
18 But in the end, someone will dig the ground and destroy the weeds.
Then no one will remember that they had been there.
19 So the weeds die.
But other plants will grow in the ground where they had been.
20 God will not refuse to help an honest man.
Nor will he hurry to help a bad man.
21 He will make you happy.
And you will have reasons to laugh again. And you will smile again, too.
22 Your enemies will be ashamed of what they have done.
And they will even lose their homes.’
Chapter 9

Job replies to Bildad

1 Then Job replied. And this is what he said.
2 ‘The things that you have said are true. I know that they are true.
But God will not agree that anyone is completely honest.
3 We might decide to quarrel with him about that.
But God can ask 1000 questions which we cannot answer.
4 God is very wise and he is very powerful.
It is impossible to argue with him.
5 He is so powerful that he can move mountains.
When he is angry he can knock them down.
6 He can make the earth itself move.
He can even move it from the place where it belongs.
7 He can tell the sun not to shine during the day.
He can stop the stars shining at night.
8 God made the sky and everything that is above the earth.
He did not need anyone to help him. And he tells the seas what they should do.
9 He made all the stars and he put them in their places in the sky.
He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades.
They are all there in the shapes that he decided.
10 Nobody can understand all the things that he does.
And nobody can count the surprising things that he has done.
11 When God passes in front of me, I cannot see him.
He may go somewhere else. And I cannot see where he has gone.
12 He takes what he wants. And no one can stop him.
No one can ask him what he is doing.
13 God will always be angry with his enemies.
They may fight against him but they will not beat him.
14 I cannot cause God to change his thoughts about me.
There are no words that I can use.
15 I may not have done anything that was wrong. But I cannot explain that
to God.
I can only ask him to be merciful.
16 If I call to him he might answer me.
But even then he would not listen to the things that I say.
17 He would send a storm to cause me pain.
He would hurt me for no reason.
18 I would not be able to breathe.
Instead, he would make me very sad.
19 God is much stronger than I am.
And no one can ask him to explain what he has done.
20 I may not have done anything that was wrong.
But my words do not show that this is true.
I may be completely honest.
But when I speak, no one believes me.
21 I have not done anything that was wrong.
But my life is not important and I hate myself.
22 The same thing happens to everybody in the end.
So I say, “God kills both good people and very bad people.”
23 Sometimes a good man will become ill while he is young.
But even if he is very sad, God does not do anything to help him.
24 Bad men may rule the countries in the world.
And the judges do not see what the bad men are doing.
It must be God who lets those things happen.
I do not know anyone else that would do that.
25 I am becoming old very quickly.
But even if I live for many years, I will not be happy.
26 A fast boat passes very quickly. My life is like that. It will soon end.
A bird can catch a small animal in a moment. My life seems to be as short
as that.
27 I may try to smile.
And I may try to forget about all my troubles.
28 Even then, I will be afraid of the pain that God causes.
God does not agree that I am an honest man. I know that.
29 He has decided that I have done wrong things.
So I do not see why I should continue to argue with him.
30 I might wash myself with soap
and I might clean my hands with powder.
31 Even then, God would throw me into a dirty hole.
 I would be so dirty that I could not wear my own clothes.
32 God is not a man; so I cannot argue with him.
We cannot argue with each other in court.
33 No one can decide which of us is right.
What I say may be true. But no one can check if it is true.
34 No one can stop God when he hurts me.
If that were possible, then I would not be afraid any more.
35 If that were possible, I would not be afraid to speak.
But it is not possible, so I cannot speak.
Chapter 10
1 I do not enjoy my life now. I do not want to live. I am very, very sad.
So I will speak about the thoughts that are in my mind.
2 This is what I will say to God. “Do not say that I am a bad person.
You may believe that I have done wrong things. Tell me what they are.
3 You seem to enjoy it when you hurt me. You made me. So I do not know why
you refuse to help me.
And you seem to help very bad people even when they are doing very
bad things.
4 Sometimes you seem not to have eyes like men have eyes.
And you seem not to see things as people see them.
5 Your life is not like the life of a human being.
You life does not have an end like ours does.
6 But you seem to be in a hurry to discover the wrong things that I have done.
I do not know why you have to do that.
7 You know that I have not done wrong things.
But you also know that no one can save me from you.
8 You made me with your hands.
But now it seems that you want to kill me.
9 Remember that you made me from dust.
Now it seems that you want to make me into dust again.
10 People make cheese with only a little milk.
So you made my body with only a little material.
11 You joined my bones together
and you covered them with skin.
12 You gave my life to me and you have always loved me.
You have always watched me to save me from danger.
13 But I know what you decided to do.
I know the thoughts that were in your mind.
14 You were watching me to see if I did wrong things.
And then you would not forgive me.
15 If I do wrong things, then you punish me.
But you never see the good things that I do.
Whatever I do, I am ashamed.
Whatever I do, my life is full of trouble.
16 If I do something well, I am happy.
But then you catch me as a lion catches other animals.
And you use your power against me.
17 You continue to say that I do wrong things.
You become more and more angry with me.
You attack me again and again.
18 I do not know why you let me be born.
I should have died before anyone saw me.
19 It would have been better if I had never been born.
Or perhaps I should have died straight after my birth.
20 It seems that I will die soon.
Turn yourself from me so I can be happy for a moment.
21 I want to be happy before I die. I will soon die.
Then I will go to a place from which I cannot return.
22 I will go to a dark place where there are only shadows.
 In that place, it is as dark as midnight in the middle of the day.” ’
Chapter 11

Job’s friend Zophar speaks to him

1 Job’s friend Zophar lived in a place called Naamah. He spoke to Job. And this is
what he said.
2 ‘Someone must answer all the questions that you ask.
Even if you talk a lot, God will still not excuse you.
3 We will not be quiet while you continue to speak.
You are saying wrong things about God. Someone should stop you doing that.
4 You say to God, “The things that I believe are true.
I am an honest man and I live the right way.”
5 I wish that God would speak to you.
And I wish that he would explain to you his thoughts.
6 Then he might tell you the secret of wisdom.
True wisdom is not easy to understand. But know this:
You have done things that were wrong.
But God has forgotten some of those wrong things.
7 You cannot understand the things that God does.
You do not know how powerful he is.
8 His power can reach beyond the sky.
You cannot do that.
He knows what happens after death.
You do not know that.
9 The earth itself could not contain everything that God knows.
Neither is the sea big enough to contain it.
10 If he puts you in prison you will not be able to stop him.
If he accuses you in a court,
you will not be able to answer him.
11 I am sure about this. God knows the people who do wrong things.
 He sees the wrong things that they do.
12 Wild donkeys do not change their nature and become friendly.
And fools do not change their nature and become wise.
13 You should live the right way, Job.
You should raise your hands and pray to God.
14 Stop doing things that are wrong.
Do not let people do wrong things in your home.
15 If you do this, you will not be ashamed any more.
Instead, you will be strong. And you will not be afraid.
16 I am sure that you will forget your trouble.
It will be like water that has gone under a bridge long ago. No one
remembers it.
17 Your life will be good. And you will be happy again.
All day, it will seem brighter than noon. Even the dark night will seem like
the morning.
18 You will be able to hope, so you will trust God.
Then you will know that it is safe to rest.
19 When you sleep, you will not be afraid.
Many people will ask you to help them.
20 But bad people will not be able to hope for a better life.
God will punish them because of the things that they have done.
It would be better if they died.’
Chapter 12

Job replies to Zophar

1 Then Job replied. And this is what he said.
2 ‘You seem to think that you know everything.
And you think that, after your death, no one else will be wise.
3 But I have a mind too. And you are no better than I am.
Everyone knows the things that you have told me.
4 All my friends think that I am a fool.
But I pray to God and he answers me.
I have always lived the right way.
But still my friends think that I am a fool.
5 Some people have no troubles.
It is easy for them to think that they are better than people with troubles.
It is easy to push a man who is nearly falling already.
And those people with no troubles are doing something like that.
6 Men who rob other people are safe in their homes.
They make God angry. But they think that they are safe.
7 But ask the animals, and they will teach you.
Or ask the birds in the air. They will tell you things that are true.
8 Speak to the earth, and it will teach you.
Or let the fish that are in the sea speak to you.
9 Any of them can tell you what the LORD has done.
10 He gives life to all the animals.
And he decides what the lives of men will be like.
11 We can taste food when we put it into our mouths.
And we learn the things that we hear with our ears.
12 Old people are often wise.
And they understand more things if they live for a long time.
13 But God is wise. And he helps us to be wise too.
He is strong and he makes us strong too.
14 No one can repair something that he has destroyed.
And if God puts someone in prison he must stay there. No one can help
that person.
15 If God stops the rain, the land becomes a desert.
If he sends too much rain, there are floods.
16 God is strong. He will always beat anyone who fights against him.
He has power over good people and over bad people.
17 He takes away the wisdom of rulers.
And he causes leaders to seem like fools.
18 He takes from kings the special clothes that they wear.
He gives them instead cloths to tie round them.
19 God causes priests to lose their jobs.
Because of what he decides, important men lose their jobs too.
20 He confuses wise men.
And he removes wisdom from old men.
21 He causes rulers to be ashamed.
And he destroys the power of strong men.
22 He shows to us things that nobody knew.
And he makes the shadows of the night shine like the day.
23 He makes nations great, and then he destroys them.
He makes nations bigger. Then he sends the people in those nations away.
24 He destroys the understanding of kings.
And then he sends them to walk about in the desert.
25 They have no light while they walk in the dark.
And he causes them to walk like men who have drunk a lot of alcohol.
Chapter 13
1 I have seen with my own eyes all the things that you have told me.
I have heard everything that you have said. And I have understood all of it.
2 I know as much as you do.
You are no better than I am.
3 But I want to speak to the Almighty. I want to tell him how I feel.
And I want him to explain the things that he has done to me.
4 But you tell me things that are not true.
You are like doctors who cannot make sick people better.
5 It would be better if you said nothing.
That would be a wise thing to do.
6 Listen now to me when I speak to you.
Listen to the things that I say.
7 You should not speak on behalf of God!
You are saying things on his behalf; but they are not true.
8 You should be fair when you speak on his behalf.
But I cannot believe that you are really trying to explain his thoughts to me.
9 God may check what you have been doing.
Other people may not understand.
But he will see the wrong things that you have done.
10 It may be a secret that you have not been fair.
Even so, God will still punish you.
11 I am sure that his power will frighten you.
I am sure that you will be afraid of him.
12 The things that you say are worth no more than ashes.
You are not strong enough to save yourself.
13 So be quiet and let me speak.
Then I will not cry about the things that happen to me.
14 If anything happens to me, it will be my mistake.
But I do want to say what I really think.
15 Even if God kills me, I will still believe him.
But I will explain to him the reason why he should not kill me.
16 No bad man would be brave enough to speak with God.
So if I speak to him, it will save me.
17 Listen well when I speak.
Do not forget the things that I say to you.
18 Now I have prepared the things that I want to say.
I have not done anything that was wrong. So I know that he will excuse me.
19 Nobody can tell me any wrong thing that I have done.
If you can do that, I will be quiet. And then I will die.
20 God, I do not want to hide myself from you any more.
So I want to ask you to do two things.
21 Stop causing bad things to happen to me.
And stop making me afraid of you.
22 Call to me and I will answer you.
Or let me speak, and then reply to me.
23 Tell me how many wrong things I have done.
Show me one wrong thing that I have done.
24 I would like to know why you hide yourself from me.
You seem to think that I am your enemy. I would like to know why you
think that.
25 I am as weak as a leaf that the wind blows along the road.
I am only as strong as dry grass.
So I do not understand why you want to frighten me.
26 You write down bad things about me.
I may have done wrong things when I was young. And you remember them.
27 You fasten my feet with metal ties.
You watch me to see where I am going.
You even put marks on my feet so that you can follow me.
28 So my life is worth nothing.
I am like an old coat that the insects have eaten.
Chapter 14
1 Every man that is born will only live for a few years.
And his life will be full of trouble.
2 Flowers grow and soon die. Our lives are not long, either.
We are like shadows that soon pass by.
3 So I would like to know why you always watch a weak person like me.
You always want me to explain the wrong things that I have done.
I would like to know why you want me to do that.
4 People who are bad do not know the right way to live.
 No one can change them so that they live like that.
5 You have decided whether we will live for a long time or for a short time.
You know the number of months that we will live. And we cannot change that.
6 So do not watch me any more.
I may live like a servant. But please let me enjoy my life.
7 If someone cuts branches off a tree, the tree will not die.
Instead, new branches will grow.
8 Its roots may be old.
Its branches may have fallen off and the tree may be nearly dead.
9 But if there is even a little water, the tree will not die.
And its branches will start to grow again.
10 But when people are dying, they become very weak.
Then they die and they can never live again.
11 When there is no water in the river or the lake,
they both become dry.
12 People are like that. They die and they never live again.
They will not wake while the sky is above the earth.
13 I want you to hide me among all the dead people.
Hide me until you are no longer angry with me.
Then decide when you will remember me.
14 If a man dies, he will not live again.
So I will wait until my troubles have stopped.
Then I might hope to have a better life.
15 You will call me and I will answer you.
Then you will have pleasure, because you made me.
16 Then you will watch what I do. And you will watch where I go.
But you will not still remember the wrong things that I have done.
17 You will forgive me for those wrong things.
And you will hide them so that you never see them again.
18 In the end, mountains fall
and rocks move from their places.
19 In the end, water will break stones.
When the rain falls, nothing remains on the earth.
And in the end, because of the things that you do,
no man can hope to have a better life.
20 In the end, you kill him. Then he is gone for always.
You change his face and you send him away.
21 He does not know if his sons become famous.
Nor does he know if they have wasted their lives.
22 He thinks only about the pain that he feels.
He does not think about the pain that other people feel.
And when he is sad, he thinks only about himself.’
Chapter 15

Eliphaz speaks to Job again

1 Then Eliphaz replied to Job. This is what he said.
2 ‘A wise man would not have such silly ideas.
Nor would he use words that mean so little.
3 No wise man would talk as you do.
The things that you say do not mean anything.
4 You do not seem to be afraid of God.
Nor do you want people to pray to him.
5 The wrong things that you say come from bad thoughts in your mind.
You try to be clever. And you try to make people believe you.
6 I will not say that you are wrong.
Your words themselves show that you are wrong.
7 You were not the first human to be born.
You were not alive when God made the hills.
8 You are not with God so you cannot know his thoughts.
You are not the only wise person in the world.
9 You do not know any more than we know.
We have as much wisdom as you do.
10 There are men who agree with us.
They have grey hair and they are older than your father.
11 God is so good to you. And he is kind when he speaks to you.
That ought to be enough for you.
12 I would like to know why there are wrong thoughts in your mind.
When we look at you, you seem very angry.
13 I would like to know why you are angry with God like this.
You should not say such bad things when you speak to him.
14 No person can say that he is always honest.
Nor can anyone say that he has never done wrong things.
15 God does not even believe that his angels are honest.
When he looks at them, they seem to him to be bad.
16 So people must seem to God to be very bad.
Something inside them causes them to want to do wrong things.
17 Listen to me and I will explain something to you.
Let me tell you what I have seen.
18 Wise men have taught me many things. They have even told me secret things.
They learned such things from people who lived before them.
19 There were no strangers in the country where those people lived.
So they did not learn any foreign ideas.
20 A man who is cruel will not have a happy life.
Instead, he will have pain during all the years that he lives.
21 He will hear things that frighten him.
He may think that he is safe. But bad people will attack him and they will
rob him.
22 He will not go out in the dark, because someone may kill him.
23 So that bad man walks about everywhere to look for food.
He is saying, “Where is it?”
He knows that he will soon die.
24 He is afraid and confused.
He is like a king who is frightened before a war.
25 That happens if a man does not obey God.
A man like that thinks that he is more important than the Almighty.
26 He is the kind of man who tries to argue with God.
He even tries to attack God.
27 He may have had plenty of food to eat.
And he may be very fat.
28 But he will live in a town where no one else lives.
And he will not have a home because people will have destroyed his house.
29 He will have lost all his money.
He may have had many valuable things. He will have lost those too.
30 It will be dark and he will not be able to hide. God will find him.
God’s breath will be like a fire. And it will destroy everything that he has.
31 He may think that his money will save him. If he thinks that, he is a fool.
He will not get back anything. His money will have no value.
32 Before he is old, his life will end.
He will not be able to do all the things that he wanted to do.
33 A vine may lose its fruit before it is ready for people to eat. Or an olive-
tree may lose its flowers before the olives have grown. He will be like that vine or
that olive-tree.
34 If people do not obey God, they will have no children.
Such people may have done wrong things to get homes for themselves.
If they have done that, fire will destroy those homes.
35 Such people have only wrong thoughts in their minds.
Other people have trouble because of the things that they do.
And through all their lives they do things that are bad.’
Chapter 16

Job replies to Eliphaz

1 Then Job replied. And this is what he said.
2 ‘I have heard all these things before. When you speak to me, you do not
help me.
Nor do you make me any happier.
3 I want you to stop speaking words that do not help me.
You have no reason to answer me.
4 If your troubles were like my troubles, I could say the same things to you.
I could speak about the wrong things that you have done.
5 But, instead, I would try to help you.
I would say things that made you happier.
6 But even if I speak, my pain does not go away.
And if I stop speaking, my pain is still there.
7 God, you have been very cruel to me.
You have killed my whole family.
8 You and I are enemies.
And you do not let me move.
I am so thin that people can see my bones.
People think that you made me like this because of the wrong things in my life.
9 God attacks me because he is angry. I look at his face. I look at his eyes.
And I can see how angry he is.
10 Crowds of people say things about me that are not kind.
They are not afraid of me and they even slap my face.
11 It was God who let these bad people take me away.
He let them do these things to me.
12 I was enjoying my life.
Then he held me and everything changed.
He held my neck and he hurt me.
 He has made me his target.
13 Soldiers with bows seem to be all round me.
He tears my body and my blood falls on the ground. Still he does not feel sorry
for me.
14 He attacks me again and again.
He rushes at me like a soldier.
15 My clothes show how sad I am.
I sit among ashes to show that he has beaten me.
16 I have cried so much that my eyes are red.
I am so tired that there are shadows under my eyes.
17 But I have never done anything that was cruel or wrong.
And when I pray, I speak honestly to God.
18 I ask the earth not to hide my blood. I do not want people to forget me.
I want them always to hear my cry for help.
19 Even now there is someone in heaven, who can speak on my behalf.
I have a friend in that high place who knows about God’s rules.
20 My friends do not help me; so I cry to God.
My tears fall to the ground.
21 Sometimes another person can help friends when they have a quarrel.
I want someone to speak to God on my behalf.
22 Soon my life will end.
And I will never again return to this earth.
Chapter 17
1 I am very weak and I will soon die.
Then my friends will bury me in the ground.
2 All round me people say that I am a fool.
I have to stand and watch them.
3 God, you must help me.
There is nobody else who can help me.
4 Because of what you have done, my friends will not listen to me.
 But I do not want them to think that they were right.
5 They have said very bad things about me.
They wanted people to think that they were clever.
Now I want you to make their children blind.
Do this, God, because of what they have said about me.
6 When people see me, they are not polite to me.
You, God, have caused them to be like this.
7 I have cried so much that I can hardly see.
I am so thin that I am like a shadow.
8 Honest people know that this is not fair.
They are angry because I seem to be so bad.
9 Honest people always know the right thing to do.
And people who only do good things get stronger.
10 But, my friends, come and try again to help me.
I will not find a wise man among you.
11 I will not live for many more days.
I will not be able to do the things that I wanted to do.
12 My friends say, “It is day”, when it is still night.
They say that it is nearly morning. But I know that it is still dark.
13 If I die I will go to a dark place.
There I will lie in the dark.
14 There I might speak to the grave where my body will lie.
And I might say to the grave, “You are my father.”
Or I might speak to the worms that I find there.
I might say to them, “Hello, my mother. Hello, my sister.”
15 I can hope for nothing that is better than that.
No one can find anything that is better for me.
16 When I die, I will go to my grave with nothing.
I will have lost everything that I had hoped for.’
Chapter 18

Bildad speaks to Job again

1 Then Bildad replied. And this is what he said.
2 ‘You should not talk so much!
Be wise, and then we can talk.
3 You seem to think that we are as silly as cows.
You should not think that we are as silly as that.
4 You are so angry that you will hurt yourself.
You may be very angry, but you will not be able to change anything.
You may be angry. But that will not make the earth move.
Nor will you be able to make the rocks move from their place.
5 The light of a bad person will go out.
His fire will stop burning.
6 He will not be able to see anything in his tent because it is dark.
And the light that is near him will go out.
7 Once he was strong but now his legs are weak.
The things that he decided to do have confused him.
8 Where he is walking there is danger.
9 He cannot move because his foot is in a trap.
10 Someone has hidden the trap on the ground where he walks.
It is on the path in front of him.
11 A bad person is afraid of everything that is round him.
He thinks that there is trouble everywhere.
12 Years ago, he was rich but now he is hungry.
If he makes a mistake, he will have many troubles.
13 An illness will make his skin painful.
When he is nearly dead, he will not be able to use his arms or his legs.
14 He will die. Then, it will like a man who leaves his tent to go to another place.
 It will be like a man who goes to meet a bad king. Then the bad person will be
really afraid.
15 People will live in his house. They will not be his family.
They will live there after they have lit a fire to clean the house.
16 He is like a tree whose roots have died.
He is like a tree whose branches have fallen off.
17 Then he will not be famous, either in his own country or in any other country.
No one will remember him now.
18 He will have to leave the world where he has lived.
He will go to a place where it is always dark.
19 He will have no children or grandchildren.
He will have no family to live in his house where he lived.
20 People from the east heard about the things that happened to him.
People who lived in the west heard about them too.
And they were all afraid because of what they heard.
21 I am sure that there is a reason for all these things.
They happened because he is a bad man.
And they happened because he did not know God.’
Chapter 19

Job replies to Bildad

1 Then Job replied. And this is what he said.
2 ‘You are still trying to hurt me with the things that you say about me.
You should not still be doing that after such a long time.
3 Many times, you have been angry because of the things that I have done.
And you have been quick to say bad things about me.
4 It may be true that I have done wrong things.
But the things that I have done have not hurt you.
5 You seem to think that you are a better person than me.
My troubles do not mean that I am a bad person.
But you seem to think that they do mean that.
6 But you should be able to see that God has caused all my troubles.
He is trying to catch me in a trap.
7 God is not fair. He did not have a good reason to cause my troubles.
I shouted and I asked for help. But no one came to help me.
8 He stopped me so that I could not go past.
He made my path dark so that I could not see the way to go.
9 He has removed all the things that I had.
He has caused people to think that I am a bad person.
10 Everywhere I go, God is there to attack me. My life is nearly finished.
I am like a tree that he has dug out of the ground.
There is nothing more that I can hope for in my life.
11 He is very angry with me.
I am one of the people that he sees as his enemies.
12 He sends his army to attack me. They build roads so that they can reach me.
They are all round me.
13 Now my brothers do not want to meet me.
And my friends think that I am a stranger.
14 My relatives have left me.
And my best friends have forgotten me.
15 Visitors to my house think that I am a stranger.
And my servants think that I come from a foreign country.
16 I ask my servant to come to me. But he does not answer me.
Even when I ask him again, he still does not come to me.
17 My wife does not like the smell of my breath.
My brothers will not come near me.
18 Even little boys think that I am a fool.
When I appear, they turn away from me.
19 My best friends hate me.
 People that I have loved do not want to be my friends.
20 My body is nothing more than skin and bones.
I could easily have died.
21 Be kind to me, my friends.
Be kind because God has been cruel to me.
22 God looks for me as a hunter looks for an animal.
I want to know why you do the same thing.
23 I want someone to write down the words that I speak.
I want him to write my words on a scroll.
24 I want him to write them on a stone with an iron tool.
I want people to be able to read them always.
25 I know that my Redeemer lives.
I know that, in the end, he will stand upon the earth.
26 One day I will die and people will bury me in the ground.
But in this, my body, I will see God.
27 I will see him with my own eyes.
I really want that to happen soon.
28 You say that I have caused my own troubles.
And because of that, you cause me to have even more trouble.
29 But you should be afraid of what may happen to you.
God will decide if you have done good things or bad things.
He may decide that you have done bad things.
And then he may punish you.’
Chapter 20

Zophar speaks to Job again

1 Then Zophar replied. And this is what he said.
2 ‘The things that you said have caused me to be very confused.
I have troubles in my mind but I must answer you.
3 You have said bad things about me.
But now I know how to reply to you.
4 I am sure that you know this fact.
It has been true ever since men lived on the earth.
5 A bad man will only be happy for a short time.
He will only enjoy his life for a few moments.
6 He may think that he is very important.
He may be very powerful and his head may seem to touch the sky.
7 But he will die and he will never return.
His friends will ask where he is.
He will be like things that you put into the toilet.
They, too, go away and never come back.
8 You will not find him again. He will be like a dream that you do not see in
the morning.
He will have gone, like something that you saw in your dream.
9 People who knew him will not see him again.
No one will see him in the house where he lived before.
10 He was not a fair man and he took money from poor people.
So his children must pay that money back to them.
11 When he was a young man, he was very strong.
But he will die and his bones will lie in the ground.
12 He enjoys the wrong things that he does.
They are like something sweet in his mouth.
13 He continues to do wrong things.
That is like a man who keeps something in his mouth to taste it again
and again.
14 But this will be like food that has become bad in his stomach.
It will be like the poison of a snake inside him.
15 He cannot keep all the money that he has taken from other people.
God will say that he should give it all back to them.
16 He will drink the poison of snakes.
An adder will bite him and it will kill him.
17 He might get as much oil from olives as there is water in the stream.
But he will not enjoy that oil.
He may have as much cream as there is water in the river.
But he will not enjoy that cream either.
Nor will he enjoy rivers of cream and other sweet things.
18 He will have to give back everything that he owned.
He will not enjoy the things that he has worked for.
19 This will happen because he took money from poor people.
And he took houses that someone else had built.
20 He will always want to have more money.
But his riches will not save him.
21 Now there is nothing that he can eat.
So his good health will not continue.
22 He may be very rich,
but he will soon have many troubles.
23 When he has filled his stomach with food, God will be very angry with him.
God will show him how angry he is. And God will punish him.
24 He may run from a soldier who has a sword.
But another soldier, with a bow, will catch him and he will shoot an arrow at
him.
25 He pulls the arrow out of his back.
Its point hurts him and he is very afraid.
26 He will not be able to save the things that he had.
God will send a fire to kill him and to destroy everything that he had.
27 God in heaven knows about all the wrong things that a bad man does.
People on earth have also seen him do those wrong things.
28 God will very angry. And he will destroy the bad man’s home and all
his things.
 It will be like a flood that destroys a house.
29 This is what will happen to bad people.
God has decided that this will happen to them.’
Chapter 21

Job replies to Zophar

1 Then Job replied. And this is what he said.
2 ‘Please listen to the things that I say.
You can only help me if you hear my words.
3 Be patient while I speak to you.
You may not agree with me. Then you may want to say bad things about me.
4 It is God that I want to argue with.
I do not understand why I should be patient.
5 Look at me and be surprised.
Put your hand over your mouth.
6 I think about the things that I am saying.
Then I am afraid and my body becomes weak.
7 I do not understand why bad people live for a long time.
As they get older, they become more powerful. I do not know why this happens.
8 They see their children grow up.
Their grandchildren make them happy.
9 Such people feel safe in their homes.
God does not punish them, so they are not afraid.
10 It is easy for their cows to have calves.
And many calves are born without difficulty.
11 Their children jump like lambs.
And the children love to dance, too.
12 Such people enjoy the music of a tambourine or a harp.
And they are happy when they hear the sound of a flute.
13 All through their lives they have plenty of money.
They do not have any troubles until the day that they die.
14 But they say to God, “Do not come near us!
We do not want to know about your ways.”
15 They do not want to obey God. Nor do they want to do what he tells them
to do.
And they do not see why they should pray to him.
16 They think that they have made themselves rich. But it is not true.
So I do not listen to the things that they say.
17 Bad people may do wrong things. But bad things do not often happen to them.
Even when God is angry, they do not have troubles.
18 They are not often like dry grass that the wind blows away.
Nor are they like something that a storm can sweep away.
19 You say that God will punish the children of bad people.
He will punish them because of the wrong things that the bad people
have done.
But I say that God should punish the bad people, and not their children.
Then they will know that they have done wrong things.
20 They must understand what will happen to them.
They should know that God is angry. And they should know what God will do
to them.
21 Bad things may happen to their children after they die. But they will not feel
sad about those things.
So God should punish them if they do wrong things.
22 No one can tell God what he should do.
He sees the things that important people do. And he decides if those things are
right or wrong.
23 One person has good health all his life.
He has been happy and he has had plenty of money.
24 He has always had enough to eat.
And he has never been ill until the day when he dies.
25 Another person has been sad all his life, until the day when he dies.
He has never had good health and he has never enjoyed lots of money.
26 But they lie together in the ground.
And the worms are all round them.
27 I know your thoughts.
You want me to do things that are wrong.
28 You seem to know what happens to bad men.
You say that people destroy their houses.
29 But you should ask people who travel, “What have you seen?”
You should listen to the things that they say.
30 They would tell you this. God does not always punish a bad man.
The bad man may have done wrong things but often nothing will happen
to him.
31 No one asks him why he has done wrong things.
And no one punishes him for the things that he has done.
32 When he dies people bury him.
And then they stand near the place where his body lies.
33 The ground is soft where his body lies.
And many people come to say “goodbye” to the man who has died.
34 You have tried to help me and you have told me many things.
But nothing that you have told me is true!’
Chapter 22

Eliphaz speaks to Job a third time

1 Then Eliphaz replied. And this is what he said.
2 ‘Nothing that a man can do is worth anything to God.
Even a wise man cannot give pleasure to God.
3 It would not make God happy if you lived a good life.
It would not give him pleasure if you always lived the right way.
4 Think about why God punishes you.
 It is not because you are a good person.
5 No! It is because you are a bad person.
And you have done so many wrong things that nobody could count them.
That is why he is punishing you.
6 You lent some money to your brother.
But you wanted to be sure that you would get your money back. So you took
his clothes.
7 When you met tired people, you did not give them any water to drink.
And when you met hungry people you did not feed them.
8 You, Job, were a powerful man and you owned land.
But you kept for yourself everything that grew on that land.
9 You were not kind to women whose husbands had died.
And you were cruel to children who had no parents.
10 That is why you have so many troubles.
And that is why you are so afraid.
11 That is why you seem to be walking in the dark.
And that is why you seem to be drowning in deep water.
12 God lives in heaven, which is beyond the stars.
From there, he can see everything that happens on earth.
13 But you say, “God does not know.
He cannot see us from so far away.”
14 You think that thick clouds hide him.
So he does not see us as he walks on the circle of the sky.
15 You must stop living the wrong way.
That is what bad people have done for a long time.
16 They died while they were still young.
They thought that they were safe.
But they were not safe.
They were like people who had drowned in a flood.
17 They did not believe God.
 And they thought that God would not do anything to them.
18 But God gave them all the good things that they enjoyed.
So I do not understand the thoughts of bad people.
19 But, in the end, God punishes bad people.
Good people see that when it happens. And they are happy because they have
seen it.
20 “God has killed our enemies”, the good people say.
“Fire has destroyed all the things that they owned.”
21 So, Job, do not argue with God but obey him instead.
Then your troubles will end and you will be rich again.
22 Listen to what he tells you to do.
And remember all that he says.
23 You should live the way that God wants you to live.
And you should stop doing wrong things. Then your life will be
comfortable again.
24 You may have lots of gold but it will not make you happy.
So you should throw it into the dry valley where, years ago, there was a river.
25 Then you will see that God is more valuable than gold.
And he is more valuable than silver.
26 Then you will find that it is a pleasure to know God.
You will enjoy your life more if you worship him.
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you.
And you will do the things that you have promised to him.
28 You will be able to do all the things that you want to do.
And God will say that you are living the right way.
29 You will pray for people who have difficulties.
And when you pray, God will make their lives better.
30 God will even forgive people who have done wrong things.
He will do that because you have lived a good life.’
Chapter 23
Job replies to Eliphaz
1 Then Job replied. And this is what he said.
2 ‘I am still angry because of the things that God has done.
He was cruel to me even when I asked him to help me.
3 I wish that I knew where to find him.
I would like to go to the place where he lives.
4 I would explain to him that I have not done any wrong things.
I would say many things to him.
5 I would want to know how he would reply to me.
I would try to understand all the things that he would say to me.
6 God is much stronger than I am.
But he would be fair and he would listen to me.
7 People may obey him and may live the right way.
He will listen to such people.
If I have lived like that, he will listen to me.
And he will agree that I have not done wrong things.
8 But if I go to the east, God is not there.
And if I go to the west, I cannot find him there either.
9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him.
And when he goes to the south, I still cannot find him.
10 But he watches where I go. And he knows the things that I do.
Many bad things have happened in my life.
But he will check the way that I have lived.
Then he will see that I am a good man.
I will be like gold that has been in a fire.
People see that it really is gold.
11 I have always lived in the way that he would have wanted.
I have never done things for my own pleasure.
12 I always do the things that God tells me to do. The things that he says are
very important.
 They are more important than the food that I eat each day.
13 I may want God to change the things that he has decided to do.
But he will not change them. Whatever he wants to do, he does.
14 He will do to me the things that he has decided to do.
And there are many things that he wants to do to me.
15 When he is near me, I am afraid.
And when I think about all this, I am afraid of him.
16 God has frightened me.
The Almighty has caused me to be afraid.
17 So many bad things have happened to me that it seems to be dark all
round me.
Everything may be dark. But I will still want to speak about all these things.
Chapter 24
1 The Almighty will not decide when to open his court.
I do not know why he will not decide.
In the end, he will punish bad people for the wrong things they have done.
But good people will have to wait a long time to see this happen.
2 Bad men move the stones that mark the edge of their fields.
They do this to take fields that belong to other people.
Then they take the sheep that belong to those people.
And they bring them to eat the grass in their own fields.
3 Bad men will take a donkey from a child who has no parent.
They will take a cow from a woman who has no husband.
She may have to pay them some money.
So they keep the cow until she pays that money to them.
4 They push away people who need help.
And poor people have to hide because they are afraid of such bad men.
5 Poor people are like wild donkeys in the desert where they have to look for food.
There is nowhere else that they can go to find food for their children.
6 These poor people have to work in the fields of bad men.
 They pick the plants and the fruit that grow there.
7 They have no clothes to wear during the cold night.
They do not have anything with which to cover themselves.
8 The rain that falls in the mountains makes them very wet.
So they hide among the rocks where they try to keep dry.
9 Bad men take children without parents and they make them slaves.
These men also take the children of poor people who cannot pay their debts.
10 Poor people have to go out with no clothes to cover them.
They may be hungry. But they cannot eat the plants that they pick from
the fields.
11 They make oil from the olives and wine from the grapes.
But they still do not have anything to drink.
12 In the city, men who are dying shout for help.
But God does not do anything to the people who have hurt them.
13 A bad person does not like the light.
He does not understand it. Nor does he follow where it leads him.
14 At sunset, he gets up and he goes out to murder poor people.
In the night, he goes out to take things that belong to other people.
15 A man may want to have sex with another man’s wife.
He waits until it is dark.
Then he thinks that no one will see him.
And he covers his face so that no one will recognise him.
16 In the dark, bad men go out to rob other people.
But in the day, they stay in their homes and sleep.
17 They all like the night rather than the morning.
And they are not afraid of things that happen at night.
18 If people throw things into a river, they quickly go away.
Bad people go from the earth as quickly as that.
Nothing grows in their fields.
And there are no grapes on their vines.
19 Snow on the ground soon goes away when the sun shines.
And people who do wrong things soon die.
20 Their mothers soon forget them.
Worms eat their bodies.
No one remembers people who have done wrong things.
Like a dead tree, they will never live again.
21 They are cruel to women who have no children.
And they are not kind to women whose husbands have died.
22 But God is strong. And he can kill people who are rich and powerful.
They may be important. But they do not know when they will die.
23 They think that they are safe. God may let them think that.
But he always watches them. And he sees the things that they do.
24 For a short time, bad people may be important, but then they die.
They are not different from anyone else and they soon die, like weeds in
the ground.
25 I believe that my words are true. But perhaps someone can say that they are
not true.
Then the words that I speak will be as good as nothing.’
Chapter 25

Bildad speaks to Job a third time

1 Then Bildad replied. And this is what he said.
2 ‘God is great and he is powerful, too. So we should love him and we should be
afraid of him.
In heaven everyone obeys him.
3 No one can count his armies.
And his light shines over all the earth.
4 God looks at all the people who live on the earth.
But he does not see anyone who is really good and completely honest.
5 When God looks at the moon and the stars,
 they do not seem to be very bright.
6 So God must think that people are not very important.
In his mind they are no more important than insects.’
Chapter 26

Job replies to Bildad

1 Then Job replied. And this is what he said.
2 ‘I am a weak man. But nothing that you have done has saved me.
And nothing that you have said has helped me.
3 I am a fool. But you have not been able to make me wise.
And still you think that you are very clever.
4 I think that someone has helped you to speak these words.
I think that someone has told you the things that you should say.
5 Dead people go to a place that is under the sea.
But even there, they are afraid of God.
6 God watches the place where dead people go.
There is nothing that can hide it from him.
7 He puts the sky in the right place so that it covers everything.
And he hangs the earth in the skies and he holds it there.
8 He puts water in the clouds.
The clouds are full of water but they do not break.
9 When the moon is big and round, he hides it.
He causes clouds to cover it.
10 Look across the sea.
You can see the end of the sea.
There the sky begins.
God decided where that place should be.
11 If God is angry, even the walls of heaven move.
And because he is angry, they are afraid.
12 He is strong enough to fight against the sea.
And he is wise enough to beat everything that lives in the sea.
13 When he blows, the sky becomes bright.
And he is able to kill the sea serpent.
14 These are only a few of the things that God can do.
No one really knows how powerful God is.’
Chapter 27
1 Job continued to speak. And this is what he said.
2 ‘God has not been fair to me.
And God, who can do anything, has made my life to be very sad.
3 That is what my life has been like.
But while I am alive, I will promise this to God.
4 I will always say things that are true.
And I will always be honest.
5 I will never agree that you are right.
Until my death, I will never say things that are wrong.
6 I will continue to be honest.
During all of my life, my conscience will never say anything bad about me.
7 My enemies are bad people.
I pray that God will punish them.
8 A bad person cannot hope to have a happy life.
In the end, God will cause him to die.
9 God does not hear him when he asks for God’s help.
10 He should always ask God to show him the right way to live.
But because he does not do that, he does not enjoy his life.
11 I will teach you about the power of God.
And I will explain to you the things that God will do to bad people.
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
So you should not still say things that mean nothing.
13 I will tell you what God will do to a bad person.
I will tell you how God will punish him.
14 A bad person may have many children, but they will all die.
Some will die in the war. Other people will die because they do not have enough
food to eat.
15 Some will live for a longer time but, in the end, an illness will kill them.
And their wives will not weep when they are dead.
16 A bad man may have more money than he can count.
And he may have more clothes than he could ever wear.
17 But, in the end, a good man will wear those clothes.
And an honest man will spend all that money.
18 The house of a bad man will not be any stronger than the home of an insect.
Nor will it be any better than a worker’s hut.
19 A bad man may be very rich.
But soon he will find that all his money has gone.
20 He will become afraid as quickly as a flood comes.
A storm will come in the night and it will kill him.
21 The east wind takes him away, and he is gone.
It removes him from his home.
22 It is so strong that he cannot fight against it.
He can only do one thing. He can try to run away from it.
23 People will see a bad man leave his home.
And God will make them happy when they see that.’
Chapter 28
1 Job continued to speak.
‘People know how to dig under the ground to find silver.
And they know how to heat gold to remove all the dirt from it.
2 They understand how to get iron from under the ground.
And they know how to choose the stones that they can get copper from.
3 They look for these metals in places that are deep under the ground.
 They take lights with them that help them to see in the dark.
4 They dig a very deep hole that is far from towns or cities.
They work alone. And they hang on strong lines to help them climb down into
the hole.
5 We grow our food in the fields.
But deep under the ground there is fire.
6 Sapphires come from the rocks deep under the ground.
And among the stones there, people can find pieces of gold.
7 People go to places where birds have never been.
And they find things that birds have never seen.
8 Wild animals do not walk there.
And lions do not go there.
9 Men break into the hard rock.
And they look beneath the mountains.
10 They dig through the rock.
And they discover stones that are very valuable.
11 They look in the places where rivers start.
And they bring into the light the things that they find there.
12 But people do not know where they can find wisdom.
Nor do they know where they can learn to be wise.
13 People do not understand that it is good to be wise.
And in none of the places where people live can anyone find wisdom.
14 No one will find wisdom in the sea.
Even in the deepest sea, no one will find it.
15 You cannot buy wisdom, even if you are very rich.
You may have lots of gold and silver, but you cannot buy wisdom.
16 Wisdom is worth more than all the gold that comes from Ophir.
It is worth more than onyx or sapphires.
17 Neither a gold cup nor a beautiful glass is as valuable as wisdom.
If you sold all your gold, you still could not buy wisdom.
18 Coral and jasper are not as valuable as wisdom.
The price of it is more than the price of rubies.
19 Topaz from Cush is not as valuable as wisdom.
Nor can anyone buy it, not even with the best gold.
20 So people know how to do many things.
But they do not know where to find wisdom.
21 Many people live on the earth, but none of them has found wisdom.
Even the birds that fly above the earth cannot see it.
22 People who have died may have heard about wisdom.
But they cannot tell us where we can find it.
23 Only God understands how we can be wise.
And only he knows where we can find wisdom.
24 He knows this because he knows everything.
And he sees everything that happens on the earth.
25 He decided the power of the wind.
And he decided the size of the seas.
26 He tells the rain where it should fall.
And he decides where storms should go.
27 When he had done these things, he thought about wisdom.
He knew that it was valuable. And he said that it was good.
28 God spoke to all the people. And he said this:
“If you want to live the right way, you must not do wrong things.
If you want to be wise, you should be afraid not to obey me.
You should do these things because I am God.” ’
Chapter 29

Job explains the way that he feels

1 Job continued to speak. And this is what he said.
2 ‘There was a time, many months ago, when I was happy.
 At that time, God watched the things that I did.
And because he was with me, bad things did not happen to me.
3 He was my guide and he showed me how to live the right way.
His light seemed to shine on my head.
4 At that time, I was strong and I had good health.
God was my best friend and he kept my home safe.
5 He was always with me.
And my children were still alive.
6 At that time, I got plenty of milk from my cows.
And I got lots of oil from my olive-trees.
7 Sometimes I went to the gate of the city.
There I sat down with the people who ruled the city.
8 Young men moved to let me go by.
Even the old men stood up when I arrived.
9 Princes stopped speaking.
And they covered their mouths with their hands.
10 The nobles were quiet.
They closed their mouths and they did not say anything.
11 People heard the things that I said. They saw the things that I did.
And they were happy because of them.
12 When poor people needed help, I saved them.
And if children had no parents, I helped them.
13 I helped men who were near to death. And they thanked me for my help.
I made widows happy again when they were sad.
14 Everyone knew that I always did right things.
I was always fair and I was always honest.
15 If people could not see, I guided them.
If people could not walk, I fetched things for them.
16 If poor people came to me for help, I was like their father.
 I helped strangers when they had no one else to speak for them.
17 I destroyed the power of cruel men.
I saved the people that they had attacked.
18 I thought that I would live to be an old man.
And then I would die in my own house with my family round me.
19 I always had good health.
I was like a tree that had plenty of water.
20 I thought that I would always be strong.
I thought that I would always be a great man.
21 Men waited patiently to hear what I would say.
They knew that I was wise. So they waited quietly to learn from me.
22 After I spoke, they did not speak again.
They were happy to hear the things that I said to them.
23 They waited for me to speak to them.
The things that I said were valuable to them, like rain in the spring.
24 They were surprised when I smiled at them.
And my smile made them happy.
25 I told them what they should do. I lived among them like a king who lives with
his army.
And when they were sad, I helped them to be happy again.
Chapter 30
1 Now young men are cruel to me and they say bad things about me.
I would not even let their fathers help me with my sheep.
2 These fathers were strong when they were young. But now they are old.
And they are so weak that they cannot do any work for me.
3 They are thin because they do not have anything to eat.
At night, they run and hide in the desert.
4 In the desert, they eat leaves or roots.
And to keep warm at night, they burn the roots of trees and they light fires
with them.
5 People tell them to go away from the towns and cities.
The same people shout at them as they would shout at robbers.
6 They live among the rocks in dry valleys where there had been rivers.
Or they live in holes that they make in the sides of hills.
7 The sounds that they make are like the sounds of wild animals.
And they hide together among the bushes to try to get warm.
8 They are like fools and no one recognises them.
And people do not want them to live near them.
9 Now their sons sing songs about me that are not nice.
They enjoy it when they are cruel to me.
10 They do not like me and they stay away from me.
But if they see me, they spit at me.
11 God has made me weak and he has nearly killed me.
So they can do to me anything that they want.
12 From one side, the crowd attacks me. They push me so that I have to run away.
They are like an army that waits to beat the enemy. And I am their enemy.
13 They do not let me get away from them. When they attack, they really want to
kill me.
And they know that no one will come to help me.
14 I cannot stop them when they come near me.
When I fall down, they rush to attack me.
15 Every day that I live, I am afraid. No one thinks that I am an important
man now.
And my money has gone as quickly as a cloud passes across the sky.
16 My life will soon end.
Every day I have pains in my body.
17 At night, my bones are painful.
The pains that I feel never go away.
18 Because of the things that God has done to me, my clothes do not fit me.
And my skin does not seem to be the right shape any more.
19 He knocks me down and I fall in the dirt.
I am no better than ashes on the ground.
20 I shout to you, God, but you do not answer me.
When I stand to pray, you do not listen to me.
21 You have become cruel to me.
You are strong. And you can attack me when you choose.
22 You send a strong wind to attack me.
And you destroy me in the storm.
23 I know that you will cause me to die soon.
That happens to everyone who lives on this earth.
24 People do not usually attack someone who has fallen.
They do not refuse to help someone who asks for help.
25 I wept when I saw people with troubles in their lives.
I was sorry to see poor people who needed help.
26 I hoped that I would be happy. But bad things happened to me.
And when I looked for light, everything round me was dark.
27 There is never a day when I feel well.
Every day I have pain and I feel sick.
28 I feel sad. And even when the sun shines it seems to me to be dark.
I stand up in a public place and there I shout to ask for help.
29 My voice is like a jackal’s voice.
After dark, I make noises like birds in the night.
30 There are holes in my skin, which has become black.
And I have a fever.
31 Before all these things happened to me, I was happy. And I enjoyed music.
Now I am not happy. So I only sing songs that are sad.
Chapter 31
1 I have promised that I will not look at young women in a wrong way.
2 God is angry with men who have thoughts like that.
 He will cause bad things to happen to me if I do that.
3 He is angry with people who do any kind of wrong thing.
And bad things will happen to people who do not live the right way.
4 God sees all the things that I do.
And he watches where I go.
5 I have always said things that are true.
And I have always been an honest man.
6 I ask God to be fair when he thinks about me.
He should know that I have never done any wrong things.
7 God may think that I have not lived the right way.
Or he may think that I have not always obeyed him.
Perhaps, in some other way, I have done something that was wrong.
8 If any of these things is true, someone else can dig my fields.
And they can eat the plants that have grown there.
9 I have not decided to have sex with another man’s wife.
I have not waited outside her door until she was alone.
10 If I had done those things, my wife should cook food for someone else.
And she should have sex with other men.
But I have not done those things.
11 If I loved the wife of another man, it would be a very bad thing.
I want God to kill me if I ever do something as bad as that.
12 It would be very dangerous if I loved another woman.
It could destroy my whole life as a fire can destroy everything round it.
13 My servants, both men and women, sometimes had problems.
But if they spoke to me about their problems, I always answered them fairly.
14 God might ask me questions about that.
But if I had not listened to them, I could not have answered him honestly.
15 God made me and he made my servants too.
He made us both and we both grew inside our mothers.
16 I have never refused to help people who are poor.
And I have always helped widows.
17 I have never kept my food for myself.
I have always given some of my food to orphans
18 Since I was a young man, I have been kind to orphans.
And I have always been kind to widows too.
19 I have seen people who were too poor to buy clothes.
I have met people who had no coat to wear.
20 So I took material from my sheep’s backs and I made warm clothes for them.
And they thanked me because I was very kind to them.
21 I did not have to be kind to orphans.
But I was never cruel to them.
22 The things that I say are true.
But if they are not true, then someone can break my arm.
23 I could never do wrong things because I was afraid of God.
He hates people who do wrong things. And I was afraid that he would kill me.
24 I know that money will not make me happy.
And if I own lots of gold I will still not be a powerful man.
25 I have worked all my life and got a lot of money.
But that has never been the most important thing to me.
26 Sometimes I look at the sun when it shines in the sky.
And sometimes I watch the moon when it shines at night.
27 But I have never believed the sun or the moon to be gods.
Nor have I ever wanted to worship them.
28 That would have been false.
And God would have been angry if I had done something like that.
29 I do not smile if someone beats my enemy in a war.
It does not make me happy when I see my enemy’s troubles.
30 I have never wanted to see the death of my enemy.
 That would have been a wrong thing for me to do.
31 There are many men who work in my house as my servants.
They know that I always welcome strangers.
32 Travellers are always welcome in my home.
And no stranger has ever slept in the street outside my house.
33 Some people try to hide the wrong things that they have done.
I have never done that.
34 I do not stay inside my house. I do not refuse to speak.
I am not afraid to hear the things that people say about me.
I am an honest man.
And I will speak about the wrong things that I have done.
35 I really need someone to listen to the things that I say.
All the things that I say are true.
God may believe that I have done wrong things.
If he does, then he should write them down.
36 Then I would wear his list on my shoulder.
Or I would put it on my head like a crown.
37 I would tell God everything that I have done.
I would come to speak to him, as a king would come to visit another king.
38 I have not taken land from anyone else.
I have not taken it from other people who owned it.
39 I have paid for the food that I have eaten.
And I have never been so cruel to farmers that they died.
40 But if I have done any of those things, then I want weeds to grow in my fields.
I do not want barley to grow in my fields.
I want very bad weeds to grow there instead.’
That is the end of all the words that Job spoke.
Chapter 32

Elihu had been listening to everyone and now he speaks to Job

1 Job had said again and again that he was a completely honest man. So his three
friends did not argue with him any more. 2 But another man called Elihu was also
there. He was the son of Barachel. (Barachel lived in a place called Buz.) And
Elihu became very angry with Job because of the things that Job had said. Job
had said that he had never done any wrong things. And he had said that God had
caused all his troubles. 3 Elihu was also angry with Job’s three friends. They had
not been able to answer Job’s questions. And they had said that Job had caused
all his own problems. 4 The three friends were older than Elihu. So he had not
spoken to Job. Instead, he had let them speak first. 5 But, in the end, he saw that
the three men did not have anything more to say. And he became very angry. 6 So
Elihu spoke. And this is what he said.
‘I am young and you are old.
So I was afraid to tell you the things that I know.
7 I thought, “Older men should speak.
They should be able to teach other people how to be wise.”
8 But it is the Spirit of Almighty God that comes to men.
And the Spirit helps men to be wise.
9 It is not only older people who are wise.
It is not only older people who know the right way to live.
10 So I say, listen to me.
I too will tell you the things that I know.
11 I waited while you spoke. I listened while you explained your reasons to Job.
And I listened while you tried to find the right words to say to him.
12 I listened carefully to you. But Job did not believe the things that you said.
And none of you was able to answer his questions.
13 Do not say, “We are wise.”
Do not say, “God, not man, will explain to Job why Job is wrong.
14 Job was speaking to you and not to me.
But I will not answer his questions in the way that you did.
15 Your friends, Job, are sad and confused. They are quiet now because they
cannot help you.
There is nothing more that they can say.
16 They stand there and are not able to answer you.
 But surely I need not be quiet because they do not say anything.
17 There are things that I, too, want to say to you.
I, too, will tell you what I know.
18 There are many things that I want to say.
It is now time for me to tell you my thoughts.
19 I can hardly wait to speak to you.
I am like a bottle of wine that is ready to break.
20 Please help me. Let me speak to you.
I must open my mouth and reply to you.
21 I will not say good things about someone because he is important.
Nor will I say good things about anyone if they are not true.
22 I am too honest to do that.
If I am not honest, then God will remove me.
Chapter 33
1 But now, Job, listen to the things that I will tell you.
Listen carefully to everything that I say.
2 I will speak to you now.
I am ready to tell you the thoughts that are in my mind.
3 I am an honest man. So you can believe the words that I speak.
All the things that I will say are true.
4 The Spirit of God has made me.
I am alive because of him.
5 Answer me now, Job, if you can.
Prepare yourself and get ready to speak with me.
6 When God looks at us, we are all like each other.
God made both of us from dirt.
7 There is no reason why you should be afraid of me.
I will not do anything that might hurt you.
8 But I have heard you speak, Job.
 And these are the words that you spoke.
9 You said, “I am an honest man.
I have not done anything that was wrong.
10 But God says that I have done wrong things.
And he thinks that I am his enemy.
11 I cannot go far because he has tied my feet.
And he always watches me. So he knows where I go.”
12 But I tell you this, Job, you are not right.
You know that God is greater than any man.
13 So you should not argue with him.
You should not say that he does not answer any of your questions.
14 God does speak to a man.
He speaks to him again and again.
But often the man does not listen to him.
And he does not hear the things that God has said.
15 Sometimes God speaks to a man at night, while he is asleep in bed.
He speaks by the things that he dreams about.
16 When God speaks in that way, a man listens to him.
And sometimes he is afraid because of the things that God says to him.
17 God speaks to him to tell him that he must not to do wrong things.
A man may think that he is important.
But God tells him that he is not very important.
18 God will not let anyone kill him.
He saves him from death.
19 He may have illnesses that are very painful.
God can send an illness like that to teach a man the right way to live.
20 Then a man feels sick if he looks at food.
He cannot eat even the food that he likes most.
21 He was well but now he has become very thin.
 He is so thin that people can see his bones.
22 He is so ill that he will soon die.
Then he will go to the place where all dead people go.
23 God has thousands of angels who can help a man like that.
Perhaps an angel will say, “This is a good man.”
24 Then God will be kind to that sick person.
And God will say, “I have found someone to pay on behalf of this person. So
keep him alive.”
25 He will become well again.
And he will be strong, like a young man.
26 He will pray to God and God will answer him.
He will again be God’s friend.
And he will enjoy that.
God will know him to be a good man again.
27 Then he will say to people, “I did wrong things.
I did not live the right way but God forgave me.
28 God paid to save me from death.
And now I will live to enjoy the light.”
29 God does all these things to people.
He does them twice and sometimes three times.
30 He saves them from death.
Then he lets them again enjoy their lives.
31 Now, Job, listen to the things that I will say.
Be quiet, and I will speak to you.
32 There may be something that you want to say. If there is, then say it.
Then I will be able to say to everyone that you are a good man.
33 But you may not want to say anything. If not, then listen to me.
Be quiet and I will teach you about wisdom.’
Chapter 34
1 Then Elihu continued to speak. And this is what he said.
2 ‘Hear the words that I speak, you wise men.
Listen to me, you men who have learned many things.
3 You recognise nice food when you eat it.
And you ought to understand the words that you hear.
4 We should decide what is right.
And we should agree together what is true.
5 Job has said, “I am an honest man.
But God does not agree with me.
6 I am right.
But nobody believes me.
I have not done anything wrong.
But I am like a man who has his last illness.”
7 There has never been a man like Job.
He laughs at God as easily as a man drinks water.
8 He meets with men who do wrong things.
And his friends are bad people.
9 Job says that people should not try to obey God.
If they do, they will not get anything back.
10 So listen to me, you men who understand everything.
Almighty God will not do anything that is wrong.
11 If a man has been kind to other people, God is kind to him.
But God will do to a bad man the things that he has done to other people.
12 No one thinks that God could ever do anything wrong.
All the things that he does, he does fairly.
13 God is the ruler of the whole world.
And nobody gave that job to him!
14 God gave us our lives.
So he can decide if he wants to take them from us.
15 If he did that, everyone would die together.
 And people would become dirt again.
16 If you can understand my words, then hear me.
And listen to me when I speak to you.
17 God could not rule fairly if he were not a good God.
He is powerful and he is always fair. So you cannot say that he has been cruel
to you.
18 It is God who removes kings and rulers.
He may do this if they have been bad kings or bad rulers.
19 God made us all. So it does matter to him that someone is a king’s son.
And he is no kinder to a rich person than he is to a poor person.
20 Anyone can die in a moment, in the middle of the night.
People die, even if no person has tried to kill them.
21 He watches the way that people live.
They can go anywhere that they want. But he will always be able to see them.
22 There is no place dark enough for people to hide from God.
It does not matter where they are. He can always see them.
23 In the end, people will have to explain to God how they have lived their lives.
But God does not need to tell them when they will have to do that.
24 God does not need to ask what rulers have done. He may decide to
remove them.
And he will make other men rulers instead of them.
25 He knows that the bad rulers have done wrong things.
So, in the night, he kills them.
26 He punishes them where everyone can see them.
He does this because they have done wrong things.
27 They have not lived in the way that he wanted them to live.
And they have not done the things that he told them to do.
28 Because of the things that they did, poor people had to ask God for help.
And God heard those poor people and he helped them.
29 But God might have decided not to help those poor people.
 And no one could say that he was wrong to decide that.
If he hides himself, no one can see him.
But he rules over men and countries.
30 He does not let bad people rule.
In this way, he saves the people from bad rulers.
31 Someone may say to God, “I have done wrong things.
But I am sorry and I will not do them again.
32 I may not have understood that some things were wrong.
Tell me about such things and I will not do them again either.”
33 But Job, you refuse to say that you are sorry.
So there is no reason why God should forgive you.
You must decide what you will do. I cannot decide for you.
So give me a true answer - what have you decided?
34 Wise men agree with the things that I say.
This is what they will say to me.
35 “Job speaks like a fool.
He does not understand the things that he says.”
36 Job, it is right that bad things should happen to you.
You have spoken like a bad man would speak.
37 You have done wrong things. And now you are refusing to obey God.
You are playing games with us. And you have now said many bad things
against God.’
Chapter 35
1 Then Elihu spoke to Job again. And this is what he said.
2 ‘The things that you say cannot be right.
“God knows that I have not done anything wrong.” That is what you say.
3 But you ask him why you should live the right way.
You ask this also. “What do I get if I only do good things?”
4 I would like to reply to you.
And I will speak, too, to the friends who are with you.
5 Look up at the sky to see what is there.
Look at the clouds that are so high above you.
6 If you do wrong things, that will not hurt God.
If you do many wrong things, it will not change him.
7 You do not give anything to God if you are always good.
He does not receive from you because you do good things.
8 Only you feel the result of the wrong things that you do.
And only other people get something as a result of the good things that you do.
9 People shout when they have a lot of trouble.
They ask for help when powerful people attack them.
10 God made men. And when they are sad, he causes them to be happy.
But none of them asks where he is.
11 He teaches more things to us than he teaches to animals.
And he makes us wiser than the birds. But people still do not ask him to
help them.
12 People may ask him to help them.
But he does not help them because they do so many wrong things.
13 They may pray to God. But they do not believe that he will answer them.
So God does not even listen to them.
14 You say that you do not see him. And you say that you wait for him to
answer you.
So there is no reason why he should listen to you either.
15 You say that God does not punish bad people. You do things that are wrong.
But you think that he does not see them.
16 So, Job, you do not understand what you say.
And the words that you speak do not mean anything.’
Chapter 36
1 Elihu continued to speak. And this is what he said.
2 ‘Please be patient and listen to me.
I want to say something else on behalf of God.
3 I have learned many things during my life.
And I know that God is always fair.
4 Everything that I say to you is true.
You can be sure about that because I am a really wise man.
5 God is powerful and he does not hate anyone.
But when he decides to do something, he does it.
6 He does not let bad people live for a long time.
But he is always fair to people who have problems.
7 He sees people who live the right way.
And he makes them famous so that they rule like kings.
8 Sometimes people have trouble in their lives.
And they cannot discover what has caused their trouble.
9 Then he tells them what they have done.
They have done wrong things and they have not listened to him.
10 He causes them to listen to him.
And he tells them that they must not continue to sin.
11 God wants them to be his servants and to obey him.
If they do that, they will be rich. And they will be happy until they die.
12 But some people do not listen to God and they do not obey him.
Such people do not know the right way to live.
And someone will fight against them and kill them.
13 When people do not obey God, they become angry.
Even when God punishes them, they do not ask him to help them.
14 They die while they are still young.
They have wasted their lives. They have lived among men who have sex with
other men.
15 But God helps people who have troubles.
And he causes them to hear his words.
16 God does not want you to have trouble in your life, Job.
He wants to make you safe and to take your problems away.
He wants you to have a comfortable life.
And he wants you to have plenty of nice food.
17 But now God is punishing you because of the wrong things that you have done.
But, in the end, he will be fair to you.
18 You are a rich man, but be careful.
Rich people often do wrong things to get even more money.
19 You may be a rich man, but this will not help you.
Even if you try, you will not be able to get out of trouble.
20 Do not wait until it is night.
Do not take people away from their homes in the dark.
21 God let you have troubles in your life. He did this to make you think about
your life.
So be careful that you live the right way.
22 You know that God is powerful.
And he is also the best teacher.
23 Nobody can tell God what he should do.
And no one can say to him, “You have done things that are wrong.”
24 People sing songs to say that God is great.
You should do that, too.
25 Men everywhere have seen the things that God has done.
But we can only see them from far away.
26 God is so great that we cannot know him completely.
We do not know how long he has lived.
27 It is God who takes water from the earth.
Then he makes it into rain.
28 The rain falls from the clouds.
And so there is enough water for everyone.
29 Nobody understands how the clouds move through the sky.
And nobody understands the noise that storms make.
30 In a storm, the clouds are dark. But he causes the light to shine brightly.
 It shines even on things that are deep under the sea.
31 This is the way that God rules the world.
He sends storms. But he gives to people all the food that they need.
32 He sends the storms where he wants them to go.
And he tells them what they should hit.
33 Loud noises in the sky show that a storm is coming soon.
Then even the cows in the fields know that there will soon be a storm.
Chapter 37
1 A storm like that makes me very afraid.
2 Listen well to God’s words.
Listen to the loud noise when he speaks.
3 He sends lightning across the sky.
It goes in all directions.
4 After the lightning comes the sound of his voice.
When he speaks, it is like the sound of thunder.
5 When God speaks, great things happen.
He does things that we can never understand.
6 He tells the snow to drop on the earth.
And when it rains, he causes lots of rain to drop on the ground.
7 People need to see what God can do. He made them and he rules the weather.
And when the weather is bad like that, people are not able to work.
8 The wild animals hide among the rocks.
Or they stay in the places where they sleep at night.
9 The storm comes from the south.
And the cold winds come from the north.
10 Ice covers the rivers and lakes.
The cold wind that makes the ice is like God’s breath.
11 He fills the clouds with water.
And he sends the lightning through the clouds.
12 The clouds move across all the earth.
They go where he sends them.
13 He sends the clouds so that there is water on the earth.
Sometimes he does this when he has to punish people.
Sometimes he does it to show them that he loves them.
14 Listen to the things that I tell you.
Stop, Job. Think about all the great things that God does.
15 God makes the clouds move.
But you do not know how he does that.
He makes the lightning shine for a moment in the sky.
But you do not know how he does that either.
16 You cannot explain how the clouds stay up in the sky.
Only God can do all these things, because he knows how to do everything.
17 When the warm wind blows from the south in summer, everything is hot.
And you are too warm in the clothes that you wear.
18 Then the sky becomes like a metal mirror that makes everything even warmer.
God has made it like that. And you cannot help him do it.
19 You think that you are wise. So tell us what we should say to God.
Help us, Job, because we do not know what to say to him.
20 I will not ask if I can speak to God.
If I ask, he might kill me.
21 The winds have blown all the clouds away.
Now no one can look at the sun, which shines brightly in the sky.
22 People can see lovely colours in the sky, towards the north. But they cannot
see God.
He is too bright and too beautiful for us to look at.
23 God is so powerful that we cannot come near to him.
But he is always kind and fair to everyone.
24 People may think that they are wise.
But they are afraid of him, because only he is really wise.’
Chapter 38

The LORD speaks to Job

1 While a storm continued, the LORD spoke to Job. And this is what he said.
2 ‘You have asked many questions about the things that I do, Job.
But you do not really understand the things that you say.
3 Now be brave, and listen to me.
There are many things that I want to tell you.
4 You were not there when I made the world.
If you know so many things, tell me about that.
5 I decided how large the world should be.
I am sure that you know that!
6 You do not know how I made the world.
But it was I who put it in the right place.
7 When I did this, the angels sang. They were so happy.
And even the stars seemed to sing, too.
8 At the beginning of time, I made the sea.
I decided where it should begin. And I decided how far it should go.
9 Above the sea, I made the clouds.
And everything was dark.
10 I decided where the land would be.
And the sea could not come there.
11 I said to the sea, “This is as far as you can come.
This is where you must stop.”
12 You, Job, have never said when night should end.
And you could not tell the morning when it should start.
13 Bad things happen at night. And when day comes, they stop.
But you could not tell the light when to cover the earth.
14 When the day comes, people can see things clearly.
 And the shape of the earth becomes clear, like someone who is wearing a coat.
15 The light of day is too bright for people who do bad things.
In the day, they stop doing things that are wrong.
16 You have not explored where the water in the sea comes from.
Nor have you gone to the deepest part of the sea.
17 You have not seen the place where dead people go.
Nor do you know the way to that place.
18 You do not understand how big the world is.
Tell me, Job, if you know all these things.
19 You do not know where light comes from.
And you do not know how the dark begins.
20 You do not know where to find them.
You do not know how to get there.
21 But you have lived for many years.
So perhaps you do know all these things.
22 You have not visited the place where I keep all the snow.
And you have not seen the place where I keep the hail.
23 I keep the snow and the hail until trouble comes.
I keep them to use when there are wars.
24 You do not understand where lightning comes from.
Nor do you know how the wind from the east blows over the earth.
25 I decide where the rivers should go.
And I tell the storm which way to go.
26 I send the rain to places where no one lives.
And it falls in the desert.
27 It falls on ground where there has been no rain for a long time.
And it makes the grass grow again.
28 The rain does not have a father.
No one knows where dew comes from.
29 Ice does not have a mother.
No one knows why the ground is cold and hard in the morning.
30 In very cold weather, water becomes hard like stone.
And there is even ice on top of the sea.
31 You cannot tie together the beautiful Pleiades.
And you cannot change the shape of Orion.
32 You cannot put the stars in the right place at different times of the year.
And you cannot tell the Great Bear and Little Bear where they should go in
the sky.
33 You do not know how everything in the sky stays in the right place.
And you do not understand, either, how I rule the earth.
34 You cannot speak to the clouds.
You cannot tell them to cover the earth with water.
35 You cannot send the lightning to the place where it must go.
Even if you tried to do that, nothing would happen.
36 Wisdom does not come from you, Job.
And you do not understand everything about the weather, either.
37 You are not clever enough to count the clouds.
Nor can you send water from the sky, like a person who pours it from a pot.
38 Rain can make the soil wet.
But you cannot cause the rain to fall.
39 You do not look for food to feed hungry lions.
The mother of the young lions does that herself.
40 She looks for food while the young lions hide in their holes.
She brings them food while they wait in the bushes.
41 You do not feed the ravens.
When the young ravens are hungry, they ask me for food.
Chapter 39
1 You do not know when young goats are born on the mountains.
You are not there to see the young deer when they are born.
2 You do not know how many months it will be until the birth of the young deer.
Nor do you know when they will be born.
3 The deer bend down and the young deer are born.
Then they have no more pain.
4 The young animals become fit and strong.
When they have grown, they leave their parents. And they will not return
to them.
5 The wild donkeys are free to run where they want.
I let them do that.
6 I decided that the desert would be their home.
And I decided that they would live there.
7 They do not go near cities where there is a lot of noise.
They do not listen to people who might want them to work.
8 They live on the hills where they look for food.
They look for nice green grass to eat.
9 A wild ox will not do what you tell it to do.
Nor will it stay in your farm at night.
10 It will not let you fasten it to a plough.
Nor will it plough the fields for you.
11 The wild ox is a very strong animal.
But you cannot be sure that it will help you to do your work.
12 It will not help you to pick the plants in your fields.
Nor will it help you to bring them into your farm.
13 The ostrich makes its wings move a lot.
But the ostrich cannot fly, so its wings are not as good as the wings of a stork.
14 The ostrich puts its eggs on the ground.
And it lets them get warm in the sand.
15 It does not know that a person’s foot may break them.
And it does not know that a wild animal may walk on them.
16 It is careless with its eggs. It does not know that they are its eggs.
 They were the result of its work. But it will not be sad if someone breaks them.
17 This is because I did not make the ostrich wise.
And I did not make it able to think properly.
18 But when the ostrich begins to run, it can run very fast.
It can run past the fastest horse.
19 You, Job, did not make horses strong.
Nor did you give them all the long hair that they have on their necks.
20 You did not make them able to jump like locusts.
And horses also frighten people because of the loud noises that they make.
21 A horse knows that it is very strong.
It hits its foot on the ground when it is ready to fight.
22 A horse is not afraid of anything.
It is not even afraid when it carries a soldier with his weapons.
23 The soldier’s sword shines in the sun.
And the horse feels the sword as it hits against its side.
24 It wants to run as fast as it can.
When it hears the trumpet, it wants to run faster.
25 When it hears the sound of the trumpet it makes a loud noise.
People may be far away. But it can hear them when they fight.
It can hear the officers in the army when they shout to the soldiers.
26 The hawk does not learn from you how to fly.
You do not teach it to fly toward the south in winter.
27 You do not tell the eagle that it must fly high into the sky.
You do not show it where to build its home up in the mountains
28 Its home is among the highest rocks where it stays at night.
It knows that it is safe there.
29 From there it can look for its food, even if it is far away.
It can see small animals that it wants to catch.
30 Its food is the small animals that it kills.
 And then the young eagles come and they drink the blood of the dead animals.’
Chapter 40
1 The LORD spoke to Job. And this is what he said.
2 ‘I am God. Do you still want to argue with me?
You say that I have done wrong things. Now you must explain what you mean.’
3 Then Job answered the LORD. And this is what he said.
4 ‘I am a silly man and I cannot reply to you properly.
I put my hand over my mouth and I will not say anything.
5 I have said too much already.
There is nothing more that I want to say.’
6 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. And this is what he said.
7 ‘Stand up and be brave.
I will speak to you, and you must answer me.
8 You think that I am not fair to you.
And you think that you are always right.
9 But you are not as strong as I am.
And your voice is not as loud as mine is.
10 If you were like me, you could put on lovely clothes.
And you could show everyone how beautiful you are.
11 You could show everyone how angry you can be.
People think that they are very clever. You could show them that they are not
so clever.
12 You could do that, Job, if you were like me.
And, when you find them, you could kill bad people, too.
13 You could bury them all in the ground.
You could send them to the place where dead people go.
14 If you can do these things, then even I would praise you.
Then I would agree that you could save yourself.
15 Look at the Great Animal.
I made it and I made you. It eats only grass, like a cow.
16 But how strong its legs are!
And how powerful its stomach is!
17 Its tail is as straight as a tall tree.
Its legs are thick and they are strong.
18 Its bones are as strong as bronze.
Its back legs and its front legs are as strong as iron.
19 I have not made anything bigger or better than the Great Animal.
And only I am stronger than the Great Animal.
20 The wild animals may play in the grass on the side of the hill.
But the Great Animal comes and eats the grass next to them.
21 It lies under the bushes.
It hides among the plants that grow at the edge of the lake.
22 It rests under the trees that grow near the river.
Then it can stay cool because the sun does not shine on it.
23 Even when the river is deep and strong, it is not afraid.
The River Jordan may be all round it, but it still feels safe.
24 No one can catch the Great Animal.
No one can put a ring in its nose and lead it away.
Chapter 41
1 You cannot catch a crocodile in the same way that you catch a fish.
Nor can you tie its mouth to stop it biting you.
2 You cannot fasten a line to its nose.
Nor can you put a hook in its mouth.
3 It will not ask you to stop being cruel to it.
And it will not speak to you politely.
4 It will not agree to work for you.
And you cannot make it your slave for always.
5 It is not a friendly animal, like a bird that you can keep in your home.
And it is not the kind of animal that your children can play with.
6 No one will buy it to sell it.
And no one will cut it up and try to sell it in shops.
7 You cannot put long knives into its skin to catch it.
Nor can you put a sharp stick into its head to kill it.
8 If you touch it, you will never forget it.
It will fight with you and you will never touch it again!
9 You cannot hope to catch it, because it will always be too strong.
As soon as you see it, you will be afraid of it.
10 No one is silly enough to wake it. Everyone knows that it is too strong.
And I made it! So no one will be able to fight against me.
11 There is nothing that I must pay to anyone.
Everything in the world is mine.
12 Let me tell you all about this animal.
It is strong and it has a large body and powerful legs.
13 Its skin is so thick that no one could remove it.
And people are afraid to go near it.
14 Nobody would try to open its mouth.
Anyone who sees its teeth would be very afraid.
15 Its back has very thick skin to keep it safe.
There are no spaces into which you could put a knife.
16 Each piece of skin is very near the next one.
Not even air can pass between them.
17 There is no space between the pieces of skin.
And no one can separate them.
18 It makes a loud noise and its eyes are very bright.
Its eyes are as red as the sky at dawn.
19 Fire comes from its mouth.
And sparks come out of its mouth.
20 Smoke comes from its nose.
 It is like smoke that comes from a fire of weeds under a pot.
21 The air that comes from its mouth can light a fire.
And flames come quickly out of its mouth.
22 Its neck is very strong.
It frightens people when they see it.
23 There is no weak place anywhere on its skin.
Its whole body is as strong as iron.
24 Its front is hard like rock.
It is as hard as a stone.
25 Even strong and brave people are afraid when it moves towards them.
They run away because it might hit them with its tail.
26 No one can hurt it, even with a sword.
None of your sharp weapons can hurt it.
27 It can break iron as easily as a thin stick.
It can break bronze as easily as an old piece of wood.
28 Arrows do not frighten it.
Stones cannot hurt it.
29 A heavy stick seems to it like a piece of dry grass.
It laughs when it hears the sound of a lance.
30 Its stomach is sharp, like bits of a pot that someone has broken.
When it moves along, it leaves marks on the ground, like a plough.
31 The water seems to boil when it swims in it.
When it swims down deep, the water is like a pot of oil.
32 When it moves through the water, the water behind it shines.
The water seems to have become white.
33 Nowhere in the world is there anything that is as strong as this animal.
And it is not afraid of anything.
34 It is stronger than even the strongest of animals.
It is like the king of all the wild animals.’
Chapter 42

Job replies to the LORD

1 Then Job replied to the LORD,
2 ‘I know that you can do all things. Nobody can beat you.
You are powerful. And you can do anything that you want to do.
3 I do not know much. And you asked me why I talk so much.
I have talked about the surprising things that you do.
But I did not understand them.
4 You told me to listen and to answer your questions.
5 I had heard about you from other people.
Now I have seen you with my own eyes.
6 So I do not like the things that I said.
I sit here in the ashes.
I am doing that to show you that I am sorry.’

The end of the story

7 The LORD said to Eliphaz,
‘The things that my servant Job has said about me are true. But the things that
you said were not true. So I am angry with you and your two friends. 8 I want you
to go to Job and to sacrifice 7 bulls and 7 goats. If you do that, I will be happy.
After you have sacrificed the animals, Job will pray for you. Then I
will forgive you for your silly words. Job, who is my servant, said the right things
about me. But you did not.’
9 So Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar obeyed the LORD and they sacrificed the
animals. And Job prayed for his three friends. Then the LORD did as he had
promised. He forgave them for all the wrong things that they had said.
10 So Job prayed for his three friends. After that, the LORD made him twice as
rich as he had been before. 11 Then Job had a party for his brothers and sisters
and for his friends. They each told Job how sad they had been. They had been
very sad because the LORD had caused much pain to Job. They each gave a coin
and a gold ring to Job.
12 The LORD made Job richer than he had been before. The LORD gave to him
14 000 sheep, 6000 camels, 1000 pairs of oxen, and 1000 donkeys. 13 As well as
seven sons, Job had three daughters. 14 Their names were Jemimah, Keziah, and
Keren-Happuch. 15 They were the most beautiful women in the whole country.
Job said what should happen after his death. His sons and his daughters should
have all the things that had belonged to him. 16 Job lived for another 140 years.
He lived until he had seen his grandchildren and their grandchildren. 17 When, in
the end, he died, he was a very old man.

Word List
accuse
to say that someone else has done bad things or wrong things.

adder
a dangerous kind of snake.

Almighty
a name that people give to God; it means that he is over everything.

angel
God’s angels live with God and they bring messages from God to people; but there are bad angels too;
they were good but now they work for Satan.

arrow
a stick with a point at one end that you shoot from a bow.

barley
a plant; people make bread from its seeds.

bear
a large animal.

blind
a blind person cannot see.

breath
the air that goes in and out of the mouth.

breathe
to take air in and out of the mouth.

bronze
a kind of metal; you mix two metals to make it.

bull
 a male cow.

calf
a young cow or a young bull.

camel
an animal that can carry people or things; it can walk for a long time without a drink.

clay
wet material from the ground; people use heat to make pots out of it.

conscience
something in you that says to you if a thing is good or bad; our thoughts inside us that help us to know
good and bad things.

copper
a soft red metal that you can make very thin; you can make a lot of useful things out of it.

coral
a valuable material that people find in the sea; it is like rock but you can make it pretty.

court
people go there. Then a judge can say who is right.

crocodile
a long animal that lives in rivers; it can also walk on the land. Some crocodiles are very large and they
are very dangerous.

crown
a special hat that a king, queen or other ruler wears; it shows that they have authority.

curse
to say very bad things about someone; to say that you want bad things to happen to someone.

deer
an animal that is like a small cow to look at; it often lives in woods.

descendant
a child, grandchild, their grandchild and so on.

desert
a dry place with much sand; not many people live there.

dew
water that you find on the ground in the morning.

donkey
an animal like a small horse. It carries people or things.
dust
many small parts of the dry top part of the ground make dust.

eagle
a big bird that lives in the mountains.

famine
a time when there is not enough food, so people become hungry; often people die because they cannot
eat.

fever
an illness that makes your body very hot.

flames
the shining things that you see when something is burning.

flood
when it rains and there is too much water everywhere.

flute
people use their mouths to make music with it.

forgive
to show love and not to remember bad things.

grape
fruit of a vine; people can make wine from grapes.

grave
a place where people have buried a dead body.

hail
rain that is so cold that it has become ice.

harp
it has lines across it. People pull the lines with their fingers to make music.

hate
the opposite of love.

hawk
a very large bird that sometimes eats other birds.

heaven
the place where God lives; the place where God and Jesus are.

holy
what God is like; all good with nothing bad in him.
hook
a piece of metal that someone has bent.

humble
humble people do not think that they are great.

jackal
a kind of wild dog.

jasper
a kind of valuable stone; it is often red.

judge
a person with authority to say what is right or wrong; person who has authority to punish people who
do wrong things.

lamb
a young sheep.

lance
a long sharp thing that soldiers fight with; they do not throw it; they push it into the enemy’s body.

lightning
the bright light that happens during a storm.

lion
a big animal (like a cat) that can kill a man.

locusts
large insects that eat all the green parts of plants.

LORD
a special name for God that his people use.

merciful
a merciful person is kind to bad people.

monster
a frightening animal that may not be real.

nation
all the people who live together in the same country.

New Testament
the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after Jesus lived on earth.

noble
an important person in a country.
olive
fruit that people use to make a kind of oil; they use the oil to cook with.

olive-tree
the tree that olives grow on.

onyx
a kind of valuable stone.

Orion
the name of a certain group of stars.

orphan
a child who does not have living parents.

ostrich
a very large bird that cannot fly.

ox, oxen
a big, strong cow; if there is more than one ox we say ‘oxen’.

peg
a small piece of wood that you can push into the ground.

Pleiades
the name of a certain group of stars.

praise
to say that somebody is very great; or, words that say that somebody is very great.

prayer
when we talk to God or ask him for something.

priest
a man who burnt animals as a gift to God.

prince
the son of a king.

punish
to hurt someone for the wrong things that they have done. For example, a person who has robbed
another person must go to a prison.

raven
a large black bird that lives in the mountains.

redeemer
 someone who pays another person’s debts; in this book - someone who pays for the bad things that
another person has done.

relative
a descendant of your grandparents or of their parents.

root
the part of a plant that grows below the ground.

ruby
a kind of valuable stone; it is pink or red.

sacrifice
to kill an animal and to burn its body as a gift to God.

sapphire
a kind of valuable stone; it is often blue.

Satan
the worst of the bad angels. He is also called the devil and he is God’s enemy.

scroll
a very long piece of paper or other material that people wrote on; they fixed it round two pieces of
wood.

serpent
a serpent is like a very large snake.

shake
move from one side to another and back again very fast many times.

shuttle
a thing that you use to make cloth; you have to throw it between the lines of cotton.

silver
a white metal; it shines and it is very valuable.

sin
not to obey God; or, what you do when you do not obey God.

soil
the ground that people put seeds into.

spark
a very little piece of burning material; it can jump out of a fire or it can start a fire.

spider
some people call it an insect; but it is not an insect because it has 8 legs; it catches and eats insects.
spirit
spirits are alive but we cannot see them.

spit
to send water out of your mouth very quickly.

stork
a big white bird.

sword
a long, sharp knife that soldiers use to fight people with.

tambourine
people hit it or move it about quickly to make music.

target
something that you shoot at.

tent
a home or a house that people make from cloth or from animals’ skins.

thunder
the loud noise in the sky during a storm.

topaz
a kind of valuable stone.

trap
a hole that someone cannot see is an example of a trap; someone may want people to fall into it.

trumpet
a metal pipe with a wide end; people use their mouths to make music with it.

trust
to believe that someone will be good to you; or to believe that someone will not rob anyone; or to
believe that someone will do their job well.

vine
a plant that climbs; its fruit is called a grape.

weapon
something that soldiers use to fight with.

weaver
a person who makes cloth.

web
a spider uses its web to catch insects.
widow
this woman’s husband has died.

wine
a drink with alcohol in it. People make it from grapes.

wing
the part of a bird that it uses to fly.

wisdom
a person who has wisdom always knows the best thing to do.

wise
when we understand God’s word; when we know what God wants us to do; wise people know what is
good and right; and they do it.

worms
little animals, like snakes, that live under the ground.

worship
to give thanks to God; to show God that we love him very much.