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The Testament of Job is a book likely written in the 1st century BC or the 1st century AD (thus part of a tradition often called “intertestamental literature” by Christian scholars). The earliest surviving manuscript is in Coptic of the 5th century; other early surviving manuscripts are in Greek and Old Slavonic. Similar to other apocryphal testaments, it is an account of the last events and words of the protagonist (here, Job).
On the day he became sick and knew that he would have to leave his bodily abode, he called his seven sons and his three daughters together and spoke to them as follows: Form a circle around me, children, and hear, and I will relate to you what the Lord did for me and all that happened to me. For I am your father Job. Know then, my children, that you are the generation of a chosen one and take heed of your noble birth. For I am of the sons of Esau. My brother is Nahor, and your mother is Dinah. I have become your father by her. For my first wife died with my other ten children in bitter death. Hear now, children, and I will reveal to you what happened to me. I was a very rich man living in the east, in the land of Uz, and before the Lord had named me Job, I was called Jobab. The beginning of my trial was thus: near my house there was the idol of one worshiped by the people; and I saw burnt-offerings constantly brought to him as a god. Then I pondered and said to myself, “Is this he who made the heavens and earth, the sea, and all of us? How will I know the truth?” And in that night as I lay asleep, a voice came and called: “Jobab! Jobab! rise up, and I will tell you who is the One whom you wish to know. This, however, to whom the people bring burnt-offerings and libations, is not God, but this is the power and work of the Seducer by which he deceives the people.” And when I heard this, I fell on the earth and I prostrated myself, saying, “O my Lord, who speaks for the salvation of my soul—please, if this is the idol of Satan, please, let me go on and destroy it and purify this spot. For there is none that can forbid me doing this, as I am the king of this land, so that those that live in it will no longer be led astray.” And the voice that spoke out of the flame answered to me: “You can purify this spot. But behold, I announce to you what the Lord ordered me to tell you, for I am the chief-messenger of the God.” And I said, “Whatever will be told to His servant, I will hear.” And the chief-messenger said to me, “Thus speaks the Lord: If you undertake to destroy and take away the image of Satan, he will set himself with wrath to wage war against you, and he will display all his malice against you. He will bring on you many severe plagues and take from you all that you have. He will take away your children and will inflict many calamities on you. Then you must wrestle like an athlete and resist pain, [being] sure of your reward, [and] overcome trials and afflictions. But when you endure, I will make your name renowned throughout all generations of the earth until the [very] end of the world. And I will restore you to all that you had, and the double part of what you will lose will be given to you in order that you may know that God does not consider the person but gives to each who deserves the good. And also to you will it be given, and you will put on a crown of amaranth. And at the resurrection you will awaken for continuous life. Then you will know that the Lord is just, and true, and mighty.” Immediately, my children, I replied: “I will from love of God endure all that will come on me until death, and I will not shrink back.” Then the messenger put his seal on me and left me.
After this I rose up in the night and took fifty slaves and went to the temple of the idol and destroyed it to the ground. And so I went back to my house and gave orders that the door should he firmly locked, saying to my doorkeepers: “If somebody will ask for me, bring no report to me, but tell him: He investigates urgent affairs. He is inside.” Then Satan disguised himself as a beggar and knocked heavily at the door, saying to the doorkeeper: “Report to Job and say that I desire to meet him,” and the doorkeeper came in and told me that, but heard from me that I was studying. The evil one, having failed in this, went away and took on his shoulder an old, torn basket and went in and spoke to the doorkeeper, saying, “Tell Job: Give me bread from your hands that I may eat.” And when I heard this, I gave her burnt bread to give it to him, and I made known to him: “Do not expect to eat of my bread, for it is forbidden to you.” But the doorkeeper, being ashamed to hand him the burnt and ashy bread, as she did not know that it was Satan, took of her own fine bread and gave it to him. But he took it, and knowing what occurred, said to the maiden, “Go on, bad servant, and bring me the bread that was given you to hand to me.” And the servant cried and spoke in grief: “You speak the truth, saying that I am a bad servant, because I have not done as I was instructed by my master.” And he turned back and brought him the burnt bread and said to him, “Thus says my lord: You will not eat of my bread anymore, for it is forbidden to you. And he gave me this in order that the charge may not be brought against me that I did not give to the enemy who asked.” And when Satan heard this, he sent the servant back to me, saying, “As you see this bread all burnt, so I will soon burn your body to make it like this.” And I replied, “Do what you desire to do and accomplish whatever you plot. For I am ready to endure whatever you bring on me.” And when the Devil heard this, he left me, and walking up to under the [highest] Heaven, he took from the Lord the oath that he might have power over all my possessions. And after having taken the power, he went and instantly took away all my wealth.
For I had one hundred and thirty thousand sheep, and of these I separated seven thousand for the clothing of orphans, and widows, and of needy and sick ones. I had a herd of eight hundred dogs who watched my sheep, and besides these two hundred to watch my house. And I had nine mills working for the whole city and ships to carry goods, and I sent them into every city, and into the villages to the feeble, and sick, and to those that were unfortunate. And I had three hundred and forty thousand nomadic donkeys, and of these I set aside five hundred, and the offspring of these I order to be sold and the proceeds to be given to the poor and the needy. For from all the lands the poor came to meet me. For the four doors of my house were opened, each, being in charge of a watchman who had to see whether there were any people coming, asking [for] alms, and whether they would see me sitting at one of the doors so that they could leave through the other and take whatever they needed. I also had thirty immovable tables set at all hours for the strangers alone, and I also had twelve tables spread for the widows. And if anyone came asking for alms, he found food on my table to take all he needed, and I turned nobody away to leave my door with an empty stomach. I also had three thousand five hundred yokes of oxen, and I selected of these five hundred and had them tend to the plowing. And with these I had done all the work in each field by those who would take it in charge, and I laid aside the income of their crops for the poor on their table. I also had fifty bakeries from which I sent [the bread] to the table for the poor. And I had slaves selected for their service. There were also some strangers who saw my good will; they wished to serve as waiters themselves. Others, being in distress and unable to obtain a living, came with the request, saying, “Please, since we can also fill this office of servants and have no possession, have pity on us and advance money to us in order that we may go into the great cities and sell merchandise. And the surplus of our profit we may give as help to the poor, and then we will return to you your own [money].” And when I heard this, I was glad that they should take this altogether from me for the farming of charity for the poor. And I gave them what they wanted with a willing heart, and I accepted their written bond, but would not take any other security from them except the written document. And they went abroad and gave to the poor as far as they were successful. Frequently, however, some of their goods were lost on the road or on the sea, or they would be robbed of them. Then they would come and say, “Please act generously toward us in order that we may see how we can restore to you your own.” And when I heard this, I had sympathy with them, and handed their bond to them, and often, having read it before them, tore it up and released them of their debt, saying to them, “What I have consecrated for the benefit of the poor, I will not take from you.” And so I accepted nothing from my debtor. And when a man with cheerful heart came to me, saying, “I am not in need to be compelled to be a paid worker for the poor, but I wish to serve the needy at your table,” and he consented to work, and he ate his share, so I gave him his wages nevertheless, and I went home rejoicing. And when he did not wish to take it, I forced him to do so, saying, “I know that you are a laboring man who looks for and waits for his wages, and you must take it.” I never deferred paying the wages of the hireling or any other, nor kept back in my house for a single evening his hire that was due to him. Those that milked the cows and the ewes signaled to the passers by that they should take their share. For the milk flowed in such plenty that it curdled into butter on the hills and by the roadside; and by the rocks and the hills the cattle lay which had given birth to their offspring. For my servants grew weary keeping the meat of the widows and the poor and dividing it into small pieces. For they would curse and say, “Oh that we had of his flesh that we could be satisfied,” although I was very kind to them. I also had six harps, [and six slaves to play the harps,] and also a cithara, [and] a decachord, and I struck it during the day. And I took the cithara, and the widows responded after their meals. And with the musical instrument I reminded them of God, that they should give praise to the Lord. And when my maidservants would murmur, then I took the musical instruments and played as much as they would have done for their wages, and gave them respite from their labor and sighs.
And my children, after having taken charge of the service, took their meals each day along with their three sisters beginning with the older brother, and made a feast. And I rose in the morning and offered fifty rams and nineteen sheep as a sin-offering for them, and what remained as a residue was consecrated to the poor. And I said to them, “Take these as residue and pray for my children. Perhaps my sons have sinned before the Lord, speaking in haughtiness of spirit: We are children of this rich man. All these goods are ours; why should we be servants of the poor? And speaking thus in a haughty spirit they may have provoked the anger of God, for overbearing pride is an abomination before the Lord.” So I brought oxen as offerings to the priest at the altar, saying, “May my children never think evil toward God in their hearts.” While I lived in this manner, the Seducer could not bear to see the good [I did], and he demanded the warfare of God against me. And he came on me cruelly. First he burned up the large number of sheep, then the camels, then he burned up the cattle and all my herds; or they were captured not only by enemies but also by such as had received benefits from me. And the shepherds came and announced that to me. But when I heard it, I gave praise to God and did not blaspheme. And when the Seducer learned of my fortitude, he plotted new things against me. He disguised himself as [the] king of Persia and besieged my city, and after he had led off all that were therein, he spoke to them in malice, saying in boastful language, “This man Job, who has obtained all the goods of the earth and left nothing for others, has destroyed and torn down the temple of god. Therefore I will repay to him what he has done to the house of the great god. Now come with me and we will pillage all that is left in his house.” And they answered and said to him: “He has seven sons and three daughters. Take heed lest they flee into other lands and they may become our tyrants and then come over us with force and kill us.” And he said, “Do not be afraid at all. I have destroyed his flocks and his wealth by fire, and I have captured the rest, and behold, I will kill his children.” And having spoken thus, he went and threw the house on my children and killed them. And my fellow-citizens, seeing that what was said by him had become true, came and pursued me, and robbed me of all that was in my house. And I saw with mine own eyes the pillage of my house, and men without culture and without honor sat at my table and on my couches, and I could not remonstrate against them. For I was exhausted like a woman with her loins let loose from multitude of pains, remembering chiefly that this warfare had been predicted to me by the Lord through His messenger. And I became like one who, when seeing the rough sea and the adverse winds, while the lading of the vessel in mid-ocean is too heavy, casts the burden into the sea, saying, “I wish to destroy all this only in order to come safely into the city so that I may take as profit the rescued ship and the best of my things.” Thus I managed my own affairs. But there came another messenger and announced to me the ruin of my own children, and I was shaken with terror. And I tore my clothes and said, “The Lord has given, the Lord has taken. As it has deemed best to the Lord, thus it has come to be. May the Name of the Lord be blessed.”
And when Satan saw that he could put me to despair, he went and asked of the Lord [for] my body in order to inflict plague on me, for the evil one could not bear my patience. Then the Lord delivered me into his hands to use my body as he wanted, but He gave him no power over my soul. And he came to me as I was sitting on my throne, still mourning over my children. And he resembled a great hurricane and turned over my throne and threw me on the ground. And I continued lying on the floor for three hours, and he struck me with a hard plague from the top of my head to the toes of my feet. And I left the city in great terror and woe and sat down on a dunghill, my body being worm-eaten. And I wet the earth with the moistness of my sore body, for matter flowed off my body, and many worms covered it. And when a single worm crept off my body, I put it back, saying, “Remain on the spot where you have been placed until He who has sent you will order you elsewhere.” Thus I endured for several years, sitting on a dunghill outside of the city while being plague-stricken. And I saw with my own eyes my longed-for children [carried by messengers to Heaven], and my humbled wife who had been brought to her bridal chamber in such great luxuriousness and with spearmen as bodyguards. I saw her do a water-carrier’s work like a slave in the house of a common man in order to win some bread and bring it to me. And in my sore affliction I said, “Oh that these braggart city rulers whom I should not have thought to be equal with my shepherd dogs should now employ my wife as servant!” And after this I took courage again. Yet afterward they withheld even the bread that she should only have her own nourishment. But she took it and divided it between herself and me, saying woefully, “Woe to me! Very soon he may no longer have bread to eat, and he cannot go to the market to ask [for] bread from the bread-sellers in order to bring it to me that he may eat.” And when Satan learned this, he took the guise of a bread-seller, and it was as if by chance that my wife met him and asked him for bread thinking that it was that sort of man. But Satan said to her, “Give me the value, and then take what you wish.” Immediately she answered, saying, “Where will I get money? Do you not know what misfortune happened to me? If you have pity, show it to me; if not, you will see.” And he replied, saying, “If you did not deserve this misfortune, you would not have suffered all this. Now, if there is no silver piece in your hand, give me the hair of your head and take three loaves of bread for it, so that you may live on these for three days.” Then she said to herself: “What is the hair of my head in comparison with my starving husband?” And so after having pondered over the matter, she said to him, “Rise and cut off my hair.” Then he took a pair of scissors and took off the hair of her head in the presence of all, and gave her three loaves of bread. Then she took them and brought them to me. And Satan went behind her on the road, hiding himself as he walked and troubling her heart greatly.
And immediately my wife came near me, and crying aloud and weeping she said, “Job! Job! How long will you sit on the dunghill outside of the city, still pondering for a while and expecting to obtain your hoped-for salvation? And I have been wandering from place to place, roaming around as a hired servant; behold, the memory has already died away from earth. And my sons and the daughters that I carried on my bosom and the labors and pains that I sustained have been for nothing. And you sit in the fetid state of soreness and worms, passing the nights in the cold air. And I have undergone all trials, and troubles, and pains day and night, until I succeeded in bringing bread to you. For your surplus of bread is no longer allowed to me; and as I can scarcely take my own food and divide it between us, I pondered in my heart that it was not right that you should be in pain and hunger for bread. And so I ventured to go to the market without bashfulness, and when the bread-seller told me: Give me money, and you will have bread; I disclosed to him our state of distress. Then I heard him say: If you have no money, hand me the hair of your head, and take three loaves of bread in order that you may live on these for three days. And I yielded to the wrong and said to him: Rise and cut off my hair! And he rose and in disgrace cut off with the scissors the hair of my head on the marketplace while the crowd stood by and wondered. Who would then not be astonished, saying, Is this Sitis, the wife of Job, who had fourteen curtains to cover her inner sitting room, and doors within doors so that he was greatly honored who would be brought near her? And now behold, she barters off her hair for bread! Who had camels laden with goods, and they were brought into remote lands to the poor, and now she sells her hair for bread! Behold her who had seven tables immovably set in her house at which each poor man and each stranger ate, and now she sells her hair for bread! Behold her who had the basin with which to wash her feet made of gold and silver, and now she walks on the ground and [[sells her hair for bread!]] Behold her who had her garments made of byssus interwoven with gold, and now she exchanges her hair for bread! Behold her who had couches of gold and of silver, and now she sells her hair for bread! In short then, Job, after the many things that have been said to me, I now say in one word to you: since the feebleness of my heart has crushed my bones, rise then and take these loaves of bread and enjoy them, and then speak some word against the Lord and die! For I too would exchange the torpor of death for the sustenance of my body.” But I replied to her, “Behold, I have been plague-stricken for these seven years, and I have withstood the worms of my body, and I was not weighed down in my soul by all these pains. And as to the word which you say: Speak some word against God and die; together with you I will sustain the evil which you see, and let us endure the ruin of all that we have. Yet you desire that we should say some word against God and that He should be exchanged for the great Pluto. Why do you not remember those great goods which we possessed? If these goods come from the lands of the Lord, should we not also endure evils and be high-minded in everything until the Lord will have mercy again and show pity to us? Do you not see the Seducer stand behind you and confound your thoughts in order that you should deceive me?” And he turned to Satan and said, “Why do you not come openly to me? Stop hiding yourself you wretched one! Does the lion show his strength in the weasel cage? Or does the bird fly in the basket? I now tell you: go away and wage your war against me.” Then he went off from behind my wife and placed himself before me, crying, and he said, “Behold, Job, I yield and give way to you who are but flesh while I am a spirit. You are plague-stricken, but I am in great trouble. For I am like a wrestler contesting with a wrestler who has, in single-handed combat, torn down his antagonist and covered him with dust and broken every limb of his, whereas the other one who lies beneath, having displayed his bravery, gives forth sounds of triumph testifying to his own superior excellence. Thus you, O Job, are beneath and stricken with plague and pain, and yet you have carried the victory in the wrestling-match with me, and behold, I yield to you.” Then he left me embarrassed. Now my children, you must also show a firm heart in all the evil that happens to you, for firmness of heart is greater than all things.
At this time the kings heard what had happened to me and they rose and came to me—each from his land—to visit me and to comfort me. And when they came near me, they cried with a loud voice and each tore his clothes. And after they had prostrated themselves, touching the earth with their heads, they sat down next to me for seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word. They were four in number: Eliphaz, the king of Teman, and Bildad, and Zophar, and Elihu. And when they had taken their seat, they conversed about what had happened to me. Now when they had come to me for the first time and I had shown them my precious stones, they were astonished and said, “If of us three kings all our possessions would be brought together into one, it would not come up to the precious stones of Jobab’s kingdom. For you are of greater nobility than all the people of the east.” And when, therefore, they now came to the land of Uz to visit me, they asked in the city: “Where is Jobab, the ruler of this whole land?” And they told them concerning me: “He sits on the dunghill outside of the city, for he has not entered the city for seven years.” And then they again inquired concerning my possessions, and there was revealed to them all what happened to me. And when they had learned this, they went out of the city with the inhabitants, and my fellow-citizens pointed me out to them. But these remonstrated and said, “Surely this is not Jobab.” And while they hesitated, Eliphaz, the King of Teman, said, “Come, let us step near and see.” And when they came near, I remembered them, and I wept very much when I learned the purpose of their journey. And I threw earth on my head, and while shaking my head I revealed to them that I was [Job]. And when they saw me shake my head, they threw themselves down on the ground, all overcome with emotion. And while their hosts were standing around, I saw the three kings lie on the ground for three hours like dead. Then they rose and said to each other, “We cannot believe that this is Jobab.” And finally, after they had inquired after everything concerning me and searched for my flocks and other possessions for seven days, they said, “Do we not know how many goods were sent by him to the cities and the villages around to be given to the poor, aside from all that was given away by him within his own house? How then could he have fallen into such a state of perdition and misery?” And after the seven days Elihu said to the kings, “Come, let us step near and examine him accurately, whether he is truly Jobab or not.” And they, being not four stadia distant from his fetid body, rose and stepped near, carrying perfume in their hands, while their soldiers went with them and threw fragrant incense around them so that they could come near me. And after they had thus passed three hours, covering the way with aroma, they drew near. And Eliphaz began and said, “Are you, indeed, Job, our fellow-king? Are you the one who owned the great glory? Are you he who once shone like the sun of day on the whole earth? Are you he who once resembled the moon and the stars, radiant throughout the night?” And I answered him and said, “I am,” and thereon all wept and lamented, and they sang a royal song of lamentation, their whole army joining them in a chorus. And again Eliphaz said to me, “Are you he who had ordered seven thousand sheep to be given for the clothing of the poor? Where then has the glory of your throne gone? Are you he who had ordered three thousand cattle to do the plowing of the field for the poor? Where then has your glory gone? Are you he who had golden couches, and now you sit on a dunghill? [[Where then has your glory gone?]] Are you he who had sixty tables set for the poor? Are you he who had censers for the fine perfume made of precious stones, and now you are in a fetid state? Where then has your glory gone? Are you he who had golden candelabras set on silver stands, and now must you long for the natural gleam of the moon? [[Where then has your glory gone?]] Are you the one who had ointment made of the spices of frankincense, and now you are in a state of repulsiveness? [[Where then has your glory gone?]] Are you he who laughed the wrongdoers and sinners to scorn and now you have become a laughingstock to all? [[Where then has your glory gone?]]” And when Eliphaz had cried and lamented for a long time, while all the others joined him, so that the commotion was very great, I said to them, “Be silent and I will show you my throne, and the glory of its splendor: my glory will be everlasting. The whole world will perish, and its glory will vanish, and all those who hold fast to it will remain beneath, but my throne is in the upper world and its glory and splendor will be to the right of the Savior in the heavens. My throne exists in the life of the holy ones and its glory in the imperishable world. For rivers will be dried up and their arrogance will go down to the depth of the abyss, but the streams of my land in which my throne is erected will not dry up but will remain unbroken in strength. The kings perish, and the rulers vanish, and their glory and pride are as the shadow in a looking-glass, but my kingdom lasts forever and ever, and its glory and beauty are in the chariot of my Father.”
When I spoke thus to them, Eliphaz became angry and said to the other friends, “For what purpose is it that we have come here with our hosts to comfort him? Behold, he scolds us. Therefore, let us return to our countries. This man sits here in misery, worm-eaten amidst an unbearable state of putrefaction, and yet he challenges its saving: Kingdoms will perish and their rulers, but my kingdom, he says, will last forever.” Eliphaz then rose in great commotion, and turning away from them in great fury, said, “I go on. We have indeed come to comfort him, but he declares war to us in view of our armies.” But then Bildad seized him by the hand and said, “One ought not to speak thus to an afflicted man, and especially to one stricken down with so many plagues. Behold, we, being in good health, dared not approach him on account of the offensive odor, except with the help of plenty of fragrant aroma. But you, Eliphaz, are forgetful of all this. Let me speak plainly. Let us be magnanimous and learn what the cause is. Must he, in remembering his former days of happiness, not become mad in his mind? Who should not be altogether perplexed seeing himself thus lapse into misfortune and plagues? But let me step near him that I may find by what cause he is thus.” And Bildad rose and approached me, saying, “Are you Job?” And he said, “Is your heart still in good keeping?” And I said, “I did not hold fast to the earthly things, since the earth, with all that inhabit it, is unstable. But my heart holds fast to Heaven, because there is no trouble in Heaven.” Then Bildad rejoined and said, “We know that the earth is unstable, for it changes according to season. At times it is in a state of peace, and at times it is in a state of war. But of Heaven we hear that it is perfectly steady. But are you truly in a state of calmness? Therefore let me ask and speak, and when you answer me to my first word, I will have a second question to ask, and if again you answer in well-set words, it will be manifest that your heart has not been unbalanced.” And he said, “On what do you set your hope?” And I said, “On the living God.” And he said to me, “Who deprived you of all you possessed, and who inflicted you with these plagues?” And I said, “God.” And he said, “If you still place your hope on God, how can He do wrong in judgment, having brought on you these plagues and misfortunes, and having taken from you all your possessions? And since He has taken these, it is clear that He has given you nothing. No king will disgrace his soldier who has served him well as bodyguard.” [[And I answered, saying,]] “Who understands the depths of the Lord and of His wisdom to be able to accuse God of injustice?” [And Bildad said,] “Answer me, O Job, to this. Again, I say to you: if you are in a state of calm reason, teach me if you have wisdom: why do we see the sun rise in the east and set in the west? And again, when rising in the morning we find him rise in the east. Tell me your thought about this.” Then I said, “Why will I betray the mighty mysteries of God? And should my mouth stumble in revealing things belonging to the Master? Never! Who are we that we should pry into matters concerning the upper world while we are only of flesh, no, earth and ashes! In order that you know that my heart is sound, hear what I ask you: through the stomach comes food, and water you drink through the mouth, and then it flows through the same throat, and when the two go down to become excrement, they again part; who effects this separation?” And Bildad said, “I do not know.” And I rejoined and said to him, “If you do not even understand the exits of the body, how can you understand the celestial circuits?” Then Zophar rejoined and said, “We do not inquire after our own affairs, but we desire to know whether you are in a sound state, and behold, we see that your reason has not been shaken. What now do you wish that we should do for you? Behold, we have come here and brought the physicians of three kings, and if you wish, you may be cured by them.” But I answered and said, “My cure and my restoration come from God, the Maker of physicians.”
And when I spoke thus to them, behold, there my wife Sitis came running, dressed in rags from the service of the master by whom she was employed as slave though she had been forbidden to leave, lest the kings, on seeing her, might take her as captive. And when she came, she threw herself prostrate to their feet, crying and saying, “Remember, Eliphaz and you other friends, what I once was with you, and how I have changed, how I am now dressed to meet you.” Then the kings broke forth in great weeping and, being in double perplexity, they kept silent. But Eliphaz took his purple mantle and cast it around her to wrap her up with it. But she asked him, saying, “I ask as a favor of you, my lords, that you order your soldiers that they should dig among the ruins of our house which fell on my children, so that their bones could be brought in a perfect state to the tombs. For as we have, owing to our misfortune, no power at all, and so we may at least see their bones. For I have, like a brute, the motherly feeling of wild beasts that my ten children should have perished on one day and I could not give a decent burial to one of them.” And the kings gave order that the ruins of my house should be dug up. But I prohibited it, saying, “Do not go to the trouble in vain; for my children will not he found, for they are in the keeping of their Maker and Ruler.” And the kings answered and said, “Who will deny that he is out of his mind and raves? For while we desire to bring the bones of his children back, he forbids us to do so, saying, They have been taken and placed [in] the keeping of their Maker. Therefore, prove the truth to us.” But I said to them, “Raise me that I may stand up,” and they lifted me, holding up my arms from both sides. And I stood upright, and first pronounced the praise of God and after the prayer I said to them: “Look with your eyes to the east.” And they looked and saw my children with crowns near the glory of the King, the Ruler of Heaven. And when my wife Sitis saw this, she fell to the ground and prostrated [herself] before God, saying, “Now I know that my memory remains with the Lord.” And after she had spoken this, and the evening came, she went to the city, back to the master whom she served as slave, and lay herself down at the manger of the cattle and died there from exhaustion. And when her despotic master searched for her and did not find her, he came to the fold of his herds, and there he saw her stretched out on the manger dead, while all the animals around were crying about her. And all who saw her wept and lamented, and the cry extended throughout the whole city. And the people brought her down and wrapped her up and buried her by the house which had fallen on her children. And the poor of the city made a great mourning for her and said, “Behold this Sitis whose like in nobility and in glory is not found in any woman. Aah! she was not found worthy of a proper tomb!” The dirge for her you will find in the record.
But Eliphaz and those that were with him were astonished at these things, and they sat down with me and replying to me, spoke in boastful words concerning me for twenty-seven days. They repeated it again and again that I suffered deservedly thus for having committed many sins, and that there was no hope left for me, but I retorted to these men in zest of contention myself. And they rose in anger, ready to part in wrathful spirit. But Elihu conjured them to stay yet a little while until he would have shown them what it was. “For,” he said, “you passed so many days allowing Job to boast that he is just. But I will no longer permit it. For from the beginning I continued crying over him, remembering his former happiness. But now he speaks boastfully, and in overbearing pride he says that he has his throne in the heavens. Therefore, hear me, and I will tell you what the cause of his destiny is.” Then, imbued with the spirit of Satan, Elihu spoke hard words which are written down in the records left of Elihu. And after he had ended, God appeared to me in a storm and in clouds, and spoke, blaming Elihu and showing me that he who had spoken was not a man, but a wild beast. And when God had finished speaking to me, the Lord spoke to Eliphaz: “You and your friends have sinned in that you have not spoken the truth concerning My servant Job. Therefore rise up and make him bring a sin-offering for you in order that your sins may be forgiven; for were it not for him, I would have destroyed you.” And so they brought to me all that belonged to a sacrifice, and I took it and brought a sin-offering for them, and the Lord received it favorably and forgave them their wrong. Then when Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar saw that God had graciously pardoned their sin through His servant Job, but that He did not stoop to pardon Elihu, then Eliphaz began to sing a hymn while the others responded, their soldiers also joining while standing by the altar. And Eliphaz spoke thus: “The sin is removed, and our injustice gone, But Elihu, the evil one, will have no remembrance among the living; His luminary is extinguished and has lost its light. The glory of his lamp will announce itself for him, || For he is the son of darkness, and not of light. The doorkeepers of the place of darkness || Will give him their glory and beauty as share. His kingdom has vanished, his throne has decayed, || And the honor of his stature is in Hades. For he has loved the beauty of the serpent and the scales of the dragon—His gall and his venom belong to the Northern One. For he did not own himself to the Lord nor did he fear Him, || But he hated those whom He has chosen. Thus God forgot him, and the holy ones forsook him, || His wrath and anger will be to him desolation, || And he will have no mercy in his heart nor peace, || Because he had the venom of an adder on his tongue. The Lord is righteous, and His judgments are true. With Him there is no preference of person, || For He judges all alike. Behold, the Lord comes! Behold, the holy ones have been prepared! The crowns and the prizes of the victors precede them! Let the saints rejoice, and let their hearts exult in gladness, || For they will receive the glory which is in store for them. Chorus: Our sins are forgiven, our injustice has been cleansed, || But Elihu has no remembrance among the living.” After Eliphaz had finished the hymn, we rose and went back to the city, each to the house where they lived. And the people made a feast for me in gratitude and delight of God, and all my friends came back to me. And all those who had seen me in my former state of happiness, asked me, saying, “What are those three ones among us here?”
But I, being desirous to take up my work of benevolence for the poor again, asked them, saying, “Give me each a lamb for the clothing of the poor in their state of nakedness, and four drachmas of silver or gold.” Then the Lord blessed all that was left to me, and after a few days I became rich again in merchandise, in flocks and all things which I had lost, and I received all in double number again. Then I also took your mother as wife and became the father of you ten in place of the ten children that had died. And now, my children, let me admonish you: “Behold, I die. You will take my place. Only do not forsake the Lord. Be charitable toward the poor; Do not disregard the feeble. Do not take wives from strangers to yourselves. Behold, my children, I will divide what I possess among you, so that each may have control over his own and have full power to do good with his share.” And after he had spoken thus, he brought all his goods and divided them among his seven sons, but he gave nothing of his goods to his daughters. Then they said to their father, “Our lord and father! Are we not also your children? Why, then, do you not also give us a share of your possessions?” Then Job said to his daughters, “Do not become angry my daughters. I have not forgotten you. Behold, I have preserved for you a possession better than that which your brothers have taken.” And he called his daughter, whose name was Day, and said to her, “Take this double ring used as a key, and go to the treasure-house, and bring me the golden casket, that I may give you your possession.” And she went and brought it to him, and he opened it and took out three-stringed girdles about the appearance of which no man can speak. For they were not earthly work, but celestial sparks of light flashed through them like the rays of the sun. And he gave one string to each of his daughters and said, “Put these as girdles around you in order that all the days of your life they may encircle you and endow you with every good thing.” And the other daughter, whose name was Kassiah, said, “Is this the possession of which you say it is better than that of our brothers? Now how can we live on this?” And their father said to them, “Not only do you have here [what is] sufficient to live on, but these bring you into a better world to live in—in the heavens. Or do you not know, my children, the value of these things here? Hear then! When the Lord had deemed me worthy to have compassion on me and to take the plagues and the worms off my body, He called me and handed these three strings to me. And He said to me, Rise and gird up your loins like a man. I will demand of you and you will declare it to Me. And I took them and girt them around my loins, and immediately the worms left my body, and likewise the plagues, and my whole body took new strength through the Lord, and thus I passed on, as though I had never suffered. But I also forgot the pains in my heart. Then the Lord spoke to me in His great power and showed to me all that was and will be. Now then, my children, in keeping these, you will not have the enemy plotting against you nor [evil] intentions in your mind because this is a charm from the Lord. Rise then and gird these around you before I die in order that you may see the messengers come at my parting so that you may behold, with wonder, the powers of God.” Then the one whose name was Day rose and girt herself; and immediately she departed her body as her father had said, and she put on another heart, as if she never cared for earthly things. And she sang angelic hymns in the voice of messengers, and she chanted forth the angelic praise of God while dancing. Then the other daughter, Kassia by name, put on the girdle, and her heart was transformed, so that she no longer wished for worldly things. And her mouth assumed the dialect of the heavenly rulers and she sang the doxology of the work of the High Place, and if anyone wishes to know the work of the heavens, he may take an insight into the hymns of Kassia. Then the other daughter, by the name of Amalthea’s Horn, girt herself and her mouth spoke in the language of those on high; for her heart was transformed, being lifted above the worldly things. She spoke in the dialect of the cherubim, singing the praise of the Ruler of the cosmic powers and extolling their [[or His]] glory. And he who desires to follow the vestiges of the “Glory of the Father” will find them written down in the Prayers of Amalthea’s Horn.
1 After these three had finished singing hymns, I, Nahor, brother of Job, sat down next to him as he lay down. 2 And I heard the marvelous things of the three daughters of my brother, one always succeeding the other amidst awful silence. 3 And I wrote down this scroll containing the hymns, except the hymns and signs of the [holy] word, for these were the great things of God. 4 And Job lay down from sickness on his couch, yet without pain and suffering, because his pain did not take strong hold of him on account of the charm of the girdle which he had wound around himself. 5 But after three days Job saw the holy messengers come for his soul, and instantly he rose and took the cithara and gave it to his daughter Day, 6 and he gave a censer to Kassia, and he gave a timbrel to Amalthea’s Horn in order that they might bless the holy messengers who came for his soul. 7 And they took these, and sang, and played on the psaltery, and praised and glorified God in the holy dialect. 8 And after this He came—He who sits on the great chariot—and kissed Job, while his three daughters looked on, but the others did not see it. 9 And He took the soul of Job and He soared upward, taking her [(the soul)] by the arm and carrying her on the chariot, and He went toward the east. 10 His body, however, was brought to the grave while the three daughters marched ahead, having put on their girdles and singing hymns in praise of God. 11 Then Nahor, his brother, and his seven sons, with the rest of the people and the poor, the orphans and the feeble ones, held a great mourning over him, saying, 12 “Woe to us! For today the strength of the feeble, the light of the blind, the father of the orphans has been taken from us! 13 The receiver of strangers has been taken—the leader of the erring, the cover of the naked, the shield of the widows. Who should not mourn for the man of God?” 14 And as they were mourning in this and in that form, they would not permit him to be put into the grave. 15 After three days, however, he was finally put into the grave, like one in sweet slumber, and he received the name of the beautiful who will remain renowned throughout all generations of the world. 16 He left seven sons and three daughters, and there were no daughters found on earth as fair as the daughters of Job. 17 The name of Job was formerly Jobab, and he was called Job by the Lord. 18 He had lived eighty-five years before his plague, and after the plague he took the double share of all; hence he also doubled his years, which were one hundred seventy years. Thus, he lived two hundred fifty-five years altogether, 19 and he saw sons of his sons to the fourth generation. It is written that he will rise up with those whom the Lord will reawaken. To our Lord be glory. Amen.