The World English Bible (WEB): Job — A Closer Reading

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In Category - Theology

Authors: Anonymous Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2005 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Bible. Job Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 3,099

Reading time 14 min

Text sections 2

The World English Bible (WEB): Job — A Closer Reading can be approached with a clearer sense of reading commitment from its source measurements: 3,099 words, 14 min estimated reading time, and 2 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 25.6 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Bible. Job,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #8245

This editorial note examines the World English Bible translation of Job, focusing on the tension between the legalistic prose of the heavenly court scene and the poetic laments that follow, as seen in the excerpts.

Editorial Edition Score 4.4/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

How this score is calculated

Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg8245

Read the Text

From www.ebible.org with slight reformatting by Martin Ward.

001:001 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job.

That man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God,

and turned away from evil.

001:002 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.

001:003 His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels,

five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys,

and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest

of all the children of the east.

001:004 His sons went and held a feast in the house of each one on

his birthday; and they sent and called for their three sisters

to eat and to drink with them.

001:005 It was so, when the days of their feasting had run their course,

that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning,

and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all.

For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced

God in their hearts." Thus did Job continually.

001:006 Now it happened on the day when the God's sons came to present

themselves before Yahweh, that Satan also came among them.

001:007 Yahweh said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"

Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "From going back and forth

in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."

001:008 Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant, Job? For there

is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man,

one who fears God, and turns away from evil."

001:009 Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "Does Job fear

001:010 Haven't you made a hedge around him, and around his house,

and around all that he has, on every side? You have blessed

the work of his hands, and his substance is increased

001:011 But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has,

and he will renounce you to your face."

001:012 Yahweh said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power.

Only on himself don't put forth your hand." So Satan went

forth from the presence of Yahweh.

001:013 It fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating

and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house,

001:014 that there came a messenger to Job, and said, "The oxen

were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them,

001:015 and the Sabeans attacked, and took them away. Yes, they have

killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone

have escaped to tell you."

001:016 While he was still speaking, there also came another, and said,

"The fire of God has fallen from the sky, and has burned up

the sheep and the servants, and consumed them, and I alone

have escaped to tell you."

001:017 While he was still speaking, there came also another, and said,

"The Chaldeans made three bands, and swept down on the camels,

and have taken them away, yes, and killed the servants with

the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you."

001:018 While he was still speaking, there came also another, and said,

"Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine

in their eldest brother's house,

001:019 and behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and struck

the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young men,

and they are dead. I alone have escaped to tell you."

001:020 Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head,

and fell down on the ground, and worshiped.

001:021 He said, "Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked shall

I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away.

Blessed be the name of Yahweh."

001:022 In all this, Job did not sin, nor charge God with wrongdoing.

002:001 Again it happened on the day when the God's sons came to present

themselves before Yahweh, that Satan came also among them

to present himself before Yahweh.

002:002 Yahweh said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"

Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "From going back and forth

in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."

002:003 Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there

is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man,

one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still

maintains his integrity, although you incited me against him,

to ruin him without cause."

002:004 Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "Skin for skin. Yes, all that

a man has he will give for his life.

002:005 But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh,

and he will

Continue Reading →

The World English Bible (WEB) translation of Job opens with a prose prologue that establishes a contractual tone: the adversary challenges Job's integrity, and God permits testing within limits. This legalistic framing contrasts sharply with the poetic dialogues that dominate the book. The excerpts provided include only the prologue and the lengthy Project Gutenberg license, leaving the poetic core absent. Yet even in this fragment, a pattern emerges: the narrative voice shifts from objective report to direct speech, with God and the adversary bargaining in conditional terms. The WEB rendering preserves the archaic gravity of the King James tradition while modernizing pronouns and verb endings, creating a hybrid texture that is both familiar and slightly alien.

The Legal Framework of Suffering

The prologue establishes a courtroom-like setting: the adversary appears among the “sons of God,” and God initiates a wager about Job’s righteousness. The language is precise and transactional: “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him in the earth.” The adversary’s reply introduces a quid pro quo logic: “Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven’t you made a hedge around him?” This exchange frames suffering as a test of disinterested piety, a theme that will be interrogated in the poetic sections. The WEB translation retains the formal address (“you” singular) and the rhythmic parallelism of Hebrew poetry even in prose, as seen in the balanced clauses of the adversary’s accusation.

The Adversary’s Role and the Limits of Permission

God grants the adversary authority over Job’s possessions but explicitly restricts physical harm: “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay your hand on him.” This conditional permission establishes a boundary that will later be revised. The adversary’s subsequent actions are reported with stark economy: “So the adversary went out from the presence of the LORD.” The narrative withholds interiority, focusing instead on external events—the series of messengers who announce disasters. Each report ends with the refrain “I alone have escaped to tell you,” emphasizing Job’s isolation. The WEB’s consistent use of “adversary” rather than “Satan” preserves the legal connotation of an accuser in a divine court.

The Project Gutenberg Paratext as Context

The excerpts include the full Project Gutenberg license, which occupies the majority of the text. This paratextual material—copyright notices, distribution terms, and trademark restrictions—creates an ironic counterpoint to Job’s themes of dispossession and restoration. The license’s repeated emphasis on “free distribution” and “no cost” echoes the prologue’s concern with what is given and what is taken away. The reader encounters Job’s story through a framework of legal permissions and prohibitions, mirroring the divine permissions that structure the narrative. The WEB edition, sourced from eBible.org and reformatted by Martin Ward, is itself a product of textual transmission and editorial choice, reminding us that every version of Job is mediated.

Readers approaching this WEB edition should note that the poetic dialogues—Job’s laments, the friends’ arguments, and the divine speeches—are not included in the excerpts. The prologue alone cannot convey the book’s central tensions: the shift from prose to poetry, the challenge to retributive justice, and the unresolved question of innocent suffering. To engage fully with Job, one must read beyond this fragment, attending to the voices that question the very framework the prologue establishes.

That rainy afternoon, I kept returning to Job’s legalistic heavenly court and his raw, poetic grief—the gap between them felt like a held breath. Later, flipping pages, I stumbled upon Mother Stories from the New Testament A Book of the Best Stories from the New Testament that Mothers can tell their Children — Edition Insights, and the same tender pause lingered, softened into something gentler.