Storyline
| God bets with Satan; Job is robbed and his children killed | 1 | |
| God bets with Satan again; Job is afflicted with sores | 2 | |
| Job curses his life | 3 | |
| Job's friend, Eliphaz, consoles him | 4-5 | |
| Job claims that he is innocent | 6 | |
| Job pleads aloud to God | 7 | |
| Job's friend, Bildad, consoles him | 8 | |
| Job replies to Bildad in hopelessness | 9 | |
| Job pleads aloud to God | 10 | |
| Job's friend Zophar rebukes him | 11 | |
| Job replies that this has been God's will | 12 | |
| Job pleads aloud to God | 13-14 | |
| Eliphaz says that God punishes the wicked | 15 | |
| Job claims God causes him hardship | 16-17 | |
| Bildad says that God punishes the wicked | 18 | |
| Job claims that God has wronged him | 19 | |
| Zophar says that God punishes the wicked | 20 | |
| Job claims that actually the wicked prosper by God's will | 21 | |
| Eliphaz accuses Job of sins, telling him to return to God | 22 | |
| Job claims God is untimely in His justice | 23-24 | |
| Bildad doubts that Job is righteous | 25 | |
| Job recounts his situation due to God's actions | 26-31 | |
| Elihu says that Job has sinned, and God's justice is perfect | 32-37 | |
| God brags about His knowledge and His power | 38-41 | |
| God blesses Job with twice what he had before | 42 |
Job
BG | SAB | Job lived in Uz and was the richest man there; with 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 oxen, 500 donkeys, and lots of servants. God considered Job blameless. Job would purify his children after regular feasts and offer burnt offerings to God every morning just in case his children sinned. Angels, including Satan, come before God. God asks Satan where he has been. Satan says he was wondering earth. God brags to Satan about Job. Satan claims that it is only because God protects and blesses Job that he is so righteous, but if God were to take Job's possessions, Job would curse God. God agrees to let Satan deal with Job's possessions. After that, one day came when Sabeans captured Job's oxen and donkeys while killing the attending servants, fire of God fell from the sky and killed Job's sheep and the attending servants, Chaldeans captured Job's camels and killed the attending servants, and all of Job's children were killed when a house collapsed on them. Job tears his robe, shaves his head, and praises God, saying God has given and now God has taken away. Job did not sin.
BG | SAB | Angels, including Satan, come before God. God asks Satan where he has been. Satan says he was wondering earth. God brags about Job again, saying that he is blameless even though Satan incited God to ruin him for no reason. Satan claims that it is only because Job has his health, but if he was not healthy he would curse God. God agrees to let Satan attack Job's health, but does not allow Satan to kill Job. Satan afflicted Job with sores from head to toe. Job scrapes himself with a pottery shard while sitting in ashes. Job's wife tells Job to curse God and die. Job tells her she is foolish, and that people should accept both good and bad from God. Three of Job's friends got together, tore their robes, put dust on their heads, and wept for Job for 7 days and 7 nights without saying a word to Job.BG | SAB | Job curses the day he was born. He wishes that he had died at birth or was stillborn. He asks why do those who suffer continue to live when death would be a welcome reprieve. What Job feared most has happened to him. He has no peace or rest.
BG | SAB | Job's friend Eliphaz tells him that Job has encouraged and strengthened others, but now he can't help his own weakness. Eliphaz asks when has God ever destroyed the righteous? He relays that a spirit had asked him if a mortal could be more righteous than God, and had asked that if God doesn't trust His angels, how could God trust man; man who dies unnoticed and perishes forever.
BG | SAB | Eliphaz tells Job that trouble can come to a man suddenly through his own actions. He says that Job should confer with God, because God exalts the enfeebled and thwarts the wicked. He tells Job that God's discipline is a blessing, and if Job comes to understand this, God will bless Job.
BG | SAB | Job says that he uses impetuous words because “God's terrors are marshaled against” him. Job requests that God would kill him now so that he will be happy that he has not denied God's words. He says his strength is running out and he has no hope. He says his friends are of no help to him. He asks his friends if they can truly find any sin that he has committed.
BG | SAB | Job pleads aloud to God. He says that men look for rest or reward for their suffering, but that he has had none. He doesn't even sleep well at night. He says that a man's life is short, and when a man dies that man is gone and does not return. Job is even troubled by nightmares. Job asks God what has he done to become God's target, and asks why will God not forgive Job, since he will soon be dead and be no more.
BG | SAB | Job's friend Bildad tells Job that God does not pervert justice. He tells Job that if he is righteous, God will restore him and bless him even more than before. He reminds Job that this is what history shows to be the case. He tells Job to remember God, that God doesn't reject the righteous or strengthen evildoers, and that God will restore him.
BG | SAB | Job asks how can a mortal be righteous. He notes how superior God is to man; being infinitely wise, being omnipotent, controlling the sun and the stars, making the constellations, being imperceivable, and being unrestrained in anger. Job asks how is it possible for him to argue with God, and says that even in his innocence he could not answer God. He can only beg for God's mercy. He says that if he asked God for a hearing, God would multiply his wounds for no reason. He says God destroys the righteous and the wicked, like when some plague brings sudden death, for who else but God could cause events like that to happen? Job says that even if he were to change his countenance and develop hope, everyone would still consider him guilty of some great sin. He says God is not like a man that can be taken to court, and that there is nobody that can serve as an arbitrator for God. Because there is no arbitrator, Job claims he can't dispute with God.
BG | SAB | Because Job hates his life, he questions God and asks what are the charges that God has against him. He asks if God is pleased with making him suffer while He blesses the wicked. He asks God why He is probing for his sin when God knows he is innocent. He reminds God that He made him and blessed him. Job knows that God planned to punish him if he sinned, and if he has sinned, he deserves the punishment. But if he has not sinned, he can't even hold his head high or else God will apply even more wrath to him. Job asks why did God even make him to be born. He pleads with God to give him some rest before he dies.
BG | SAB | Job's friend Zophar rebukes him. He tells Job that he wishes God would speak and accuse Job. He reminds Job of God's omniscience. He tells Job to devote his heart to God and stop sinning so that God will bless him. Otherwise, God will not grant him any rest.
BG | SAB | Job tells Zophar that he understands what Zophar has said as well as any man. Job says that he has become a contemptible laughingstock even though he is righteous, meanwhile evildoers have security. Job claims that God has done this, and that nobody can alter God's will. Job claims that God has a history of humbling the wise and mighty. Job claims that God treats the nations and leaders according to the whim of His will.
BG | SAB | Job tells his friends that he wants to plead his case to God, and that they have been worthless and should be silent. Job pleads with God to withdraw His hand, to stop frightening him, and to summon him to discuss his case. Job claims that God is punishing him for the sins of his youth.
BG | SAB | Job claims that men are born impure and only have a limited time to live, and because of this he thinks that God should just leave man alone. Job pleads for God to kill him, because dead men rise no more and their sins are no longer remembered and punished. Job says that a man can't see if his sons are blessed or cursed by God due to that man's righteousness or sinfulness after the man dies. Instead, that man only knows the pain of his own life.
BG | SAB | Eliphaz tells Job that his own words convict him. He asks Job about what makes him better than his friends, or anyone else. He tells Job that nobody born of a woman could be pure. He asks Job that if God doesn't trust His angels, then how could He trust corrupt man. He tells Job that the wise know that God will repay the wicked in full during their lives.
BG | SAB | Job tells his friends that they are offering no comfort to him, but that he would comfort them if the situation was reversed. He claims that God has destroyed him and continues to punish him, yet his prayer has been pure. He claims that God is his witness. He says that anyone who intercedes with God for his sake is his friend. He says that soon he will die.
BG | SAB | Job says that he is surrounded by mockers. He says God has made him contemptible. Job says that he has no hope but for death.
BG | SAB | Bildad asks Job why is it that he thinks that his friends are stupid. He tells Job that God punishes the wicked.
BG | SAB | Job asks his friends how much longer will they torment him. He claims that God has wronged him and has not given him justice. He says that God has destroyed his hope and treated him like an enemy. He says that even his friends and family have turned against him. Job says that he knows his Redeemer lives (it's not clear who the Redeemer is, but it appears to be God) and will come through in the end. He says that he will see God with his own eyes. He warns his friends not to trouble him, or else they risk receiving God's wrath.
BG | SAB | Zophar tells Job that the pleasures of the wicked last only a little while before God punishes them.
BG | SAB | Job tells his friends to listen while he tells them how they should comfort him. Job relays that the wicked actually tend to be prosperous and live in peace, and that God provides their prosperity despite them not wanting anything to do with God. Job asks; how often are the wicked punished? Job relays that it is said God saves punishment of the wicked for their children, but he thinks that God should punish the wicked while they live, because the wicked don't care about what happens to their offspring when they are dead. Job points out that the evil man is spared wrath and is honored in death, so the counsel of Job's friends doesn't mean anything.
BG | SAB | Eliphaz asks Job if he thinks a man can be a benefit to God. He then accuses Job of many different sins. He tells Job to return to God.
BG | SAB | Job wishes that he could talk to God. He says that he looks everywhere for God, but can't find Him. He claims that he has stayed true to God's Word. He says that he is fearful for what God may still have planned against him.
BG | SAB | Job says that the wicked continue in their evildoing without timely justice from God, while the righteous are made to wait for justice. Job says that in the end, God takes the lives of the wicked just as he does the righteous, but that the wicked are soon forgotten and amount to nothing that lasts.
BG | SAB | Bildad asks Job; how is it possible that any man is righteous compared to God?
BG | SAB | Job mocks Bildad. Then Job describes some of the powerful attributes of God.
BG | SAB | Job says that despite the fact that God has denied him justice, he will not speak wicked about God. Job wishes that his enemies and adversaries become like the wicked. Job claims the wicked do not have God to turn to when misfortune arises. Their wealth and security can be gone in an instant; their wealth will be taken by or spread to the righteous and innocent, and their offspring will be cursed with hunger, illness, and battles.
BG | SAB | Job says that men can mine for precious metals and jewels that are hidden from sight. He then asks; but where can men find the path to wisdom? Job says that wisdom is more valuable than any precious metal or jewel. He says the path to wisdom is hidden to everything except God. Job continues that God knew wisdom when He created the earth, and He told man that the fear of God is wisdom, and that shunning evil is understanding.
BG | SAB | Job wishes that things were as they had been just a few months ago when God was blessing him. Then, he was honored. Younger men got out of his way, while elders rose in respect. Men respected him, his words, and his judgement. He helped the poor, the widows, the fatherless, the blind, and the lame. He protected strangers and fought for justice from evildoers.
BG | SAB | Job says that he is now mocked and hounded by evil younger men. Job says that God has turned against him and denies him justice.
BG | SAB | Job says the he hasn't looked lustfully at women, because he knows that God grants the wicked ruin and disaster. He says that he has not been deceitful. He has not coveted a woman or his neighbors possessions. He has not denied justice to his servants. He has helped the poor, the fatherless, and the widows. He has not put his trust of security in his wealth. He has not prayed to the sun or the moon. He has not rejoiced in his enemy's misfortune. He has helped strangers. He has not hidden his sins. He incites God to put His accusations of Job in writing, and let curses come upon him if he has done wrong.
BG | SAB | Job's three friends stop talking to Job because he is self-righteous. A young man by the name of Elihu speaks to Job next. He says that he let the aged speak first, but it is God that gives a man understanding, so his wisdom is valid. He says that Job's friends didn't have good arguments. He says that he is compelled to reveal his wisdom on the matter.
BG | SAB | Elihu tells Job to listen to him. He says that he is a man similar to Job. He tells Job that God does speak to man in many different ways, although man may not recognize it. He says that God warns man to keep him from wrongdoing, pride, or death. He says that God may punish someone for sins to the point that they almost die, but an angel may make intercession for him and spare him from death. He says that then that man will be restored when he prays to God and claims that God has shown mercy on him. He says that God will do this multiple times to a man if necessary. He tells Job to be silent, then to speak up, and then to be silent again.
BG | SAB | Elihu claims that Job is not innocent because Job associates with wicked men because Job thinks that it doesn't profit a man at all to please God. He says that God does not do any evil, and only repays a man for what he has done. Elihu asks; can someone that hates justice rule? He asks if it is not God that humbles the kings and nobles when they do wrong. He claims that God is omniscient. He claims that to Job's sin, Job adds the sin of rebellion.
BG | SAB | Elihu tells Job to look up to the heavens above and consider how it is that Job's sin could possibly affect God. He asks Job what could many sins of man possibly do to God, and on the other hand, what could a man's righteousness possibly benefit God. He says any wicked or righteous behavior Job does affects only those around Job, not God. He says that God does not listen to arrogant, wicked men.
BG | SAB | Elihu claims that he is perfect in knowledge, so his words are true. Elihu says that God always rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked. He says the godless die young. He says God speaks to those who suffer to lead them down the righteous path. He warns Job to stay away from evil. He then describes how awesome and powerful God is.
BG | SAB | Elihu continues to describe how awesome and powerful God is. He then asks; how can any man dare to question God?
BG | SAB | God comes out of a storm to talk to Job. God brags about how much more He knows than Job does. God says the wicked are denied light and their upraised arms are broken. God continues to brag about how much more He knows than Job. God asks if Job knows where the light and the darkness reside. God asks Job if he has ever seen the storehouses for snow and for hail, which God saves for times of battle and trouble. God asks Job if he can move the constellations according to their seasons. God asks Job if he can control the weather. God asks Job who feeds the wild animals.
BG | SAB | God brags about how much more He knows about animals than does Job, such as how ostriches are stupid birds that are bad at parenting.
BG | SAB | God asks Job if he would try to correct God. Job says that he is unworthy to talk to God. God taunts Job, telling him to show his power if he thinks that he is as mighty as God. God tells Job to consider the Behemoth, God's largest land creature.
BG | SAB | God tells Job to consider the Leviathan, God's largest sea creature. The Leviathan is said to be invulnerable and to breath fire.
BG | SAB | Job humbles himself due to God's awesomeness. He says that he had heard of God, but now he has actually seen God. Job repents. God tells Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar that they were wrong, while Job was right, and that they should make a sacrifice for their sin and have Job pray for them. God blessed Job and made him twice as prosperous as he was before. Job's brothers and sisters consoled Job for all the trouble God had brought on him. He had 7 sons and 3 daughters. His daughters were the most beautiful women in all the land. Job then lived another 140 years.
thanks for this. I had to read the whole book of Job in one night. This just saved me like two hours : )
ReplyDeleteHappy to be of service! :-)
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