Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42

The book of Job describes the experiences of Job, a righteous man who endured immense suffering. Most of the book is written in poetic form, with a prologue and an epilogue in prose. A central theme of the book is the difficult question “Why do the righteous suffer?” Although the book never fully answers this question, it does clarify that trials and afflictions are not necessarily evidence that a person has sinned.

The book of Job can be divided as follows:

1. Job 1–2: In a prologue that begins the narrative, the Lord and Satan discuss Job’s faithfulness and prosperity. When the adversary claims that Job is righteous only because he is blessed, God allows Job to be afflicted. Job perseveres and remains faithful through the loss of his personal wealth, his children, and finally his own health.

2. Job 3–37: These chapters are presented in Hebrew poetry. Job laments his afflictions and wonders if it would have been better to never have been born. Three of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, speak with Job about his suffering. A younger man named Elihu arrives and offers his insights on the reasons for Job’s suffering.

3. Job 38–42: These chapters are also presented in poetry. The Lord appears and asks Job many questions, leading Job to consider the ultimate power and superiority of God. The Lord explains to Job that it is difficult for a mortal to see things from the Lord’s perspective. Job humbly submits to the Lord and His judgments.

4. Job 42: In a brief epilogue, the Lord blesses Job for his faithfulness. He grants Job double the possessions he lost, allows him to have the same number of children as before, and restores him to his former status. Job lives a long and full life.

Job was described as a “perfect and upright” man (Job 1:1). The Hebrew word translated as “perfect” can also mean “blameless,” “complete,” or “whole.” While Job was a devout follower of God, he was not without sin.

Job was likely not an Israelite. He is described as living in the land of Uz, which is sometimes associated with Edom. However, the book mentions no known historical events, which makes it difficult to discern exactly where and when Job lived. Some clues from the text suggest that Job may have lived around the same time as the patriarchs, in the second millennium BC.

The conversations between the Lord and Satan in the book of Job likely do not describe an actual interaction between them. These conversations are best understood as a poetic way of conveying Satan’s role as our adversary. The Hebrew word translated as “Satan” means “adversary” or “accuser.” When reading this account, it is important to remember that God has power over Satan. God only does that which is for the benefit of His children.

Elder Dale G. Renlund observed that while the book of Job acknowledges that bad things happen to good people, it “never answers the why. Job learns that trusting God and not relying on his own understanding is the way to approach difficulties in life. These teachings encourage us to let God prevail so that we remain optimistic and hopeful despite challenges. …

“God in His wisdom knows that a vital part of our mortal experience is to not know everything. There is something about trusting Him that allows us to progress to become like Him.”

Job’s lament of cursing the day of his birth reflects his suffering and his struggle to understand his trials. It is similar to the cries of other biblical prophets and reflects themes found in other ancient Near Eastern texts about suffering. Despite his deep sorrow, Job did not fulfill the adversary’s prediction that he would curse God.

After describing what he felt was undeserved suffering, Job declared, “I know that my redeemer liveth.” In Old Testament times, a redeemer was someone—usually a relative—who was responsible for restoring a person’s possessions, status in society, or personal freedom. By testifying of his Redeemer, Job was expressing his faith that he would ultimately be vindicated and that justice would be restored.

Elder Dale G. Renlund taught:

“Job’s testimony of the Savior is inspiring thousands of years after he uttered it. He exclaimed:

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth [Job 19:25]. …

“Jesus Christ loves to restore what we cannot restore, heal wounds we cannot heal, fix what is irreparably broken, and compensate for any unfariness we have endured.”

Although Job’s friends initially showed compassion, they eventually shifted their approach from comfort to accusation. Job’s friends believed the common misconception that suffering must be God’s punishment for disobedience. Eventually, the Lord called these three friends to repentance for their false ideas about His justice. In our day, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, has taught, “It is unworthy of us as Christians to think that those who suffer deserve their suffering.”

Elder Dale G. Renlund taught:

“Job was a good man who lost everything and suffered horribly. When his friends ‘consoled’ him, they presumed that Job must have grievously sinned to warrant such suffering.

“Job also believed that only sin caused suffering and wanted to prove to his friends and to God that his ‘punishment’ was out of proportion to sins he had committed. Such proof, he reasoned, would result in the cessation of his sufferings.

“Eventually, God spoke to Job from a whirlwind. God did not defend Himself, explain Job’s suffering, or respond to Job’s claims of innocence. Rather, God criticized the lengthy discussions of Job and his friends, saying, ‘Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?’ (Job 38:2). To highlight their ignorance, God posed at least 66 questions, demanding that Job answer them. Job could not. (See Job 38–42.)

“It was as if God had patiently and kindly said to Job, ‘If you cannot answer even one of my questions about the earth that I have created, is it possible that eternal laws exist that you do not understand? Are there assumptions you have made that are invalid? Do you understand my motives and how my plan of salvation and exaltation works? And can you foresee your future destiny?’ …

“Job grasped God’s message. He humbly acknowledged that he had not understood, and he repented of attributing his suffering to sin (see Job 42:3, 6). Job recognized that all suffering is not divine punishment. Because his suffering was not caused by sin, Job’s job was to trust God. No matter what, Job needed to remember that God ‘loveth his children’ even though Job did ‘not know the meaning of all things’ (1 Nephi 11:17).”

The Lord asked Job to consider who created the earth and where Job was when the earth was created. The Lord then spoke of a time during the premortal existence “when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” These shouts of joy occurred during the Council in Heaven when Heavenly Father presented His plan for our progression. Regarding this period, President Thomas S. Monson taught: “We lived before our birth into mortality. In our premortal state, we were doubtless among the sons and daughters of God who shouted for joy because of the opportunity to come to this challenging yet necessary mortal existence. We knew that our purpose was to gain a physical body, to overcome trials, and to prove that we would keep the commandments of God.”

In His words to Job, the Lord mentioned two large creatures—behemoth and leviathan—that symbolized untamable forces of nature. The Hebrew word behemoth is the plural form of “beast.” In the book of Job, the word is used to describe a large land animal, possibly a poetic reference to a hippopotamus or some mythological beast. A leviathan is a large sea creature. The word is possibly used as a poetic depiction of a crocodile or a mythological creature described in ancient Canaanite texts. The Lord referred to these creatures to help Job understand the great power God has over all of creation.

In the King James Version of the Bible, the word “myself” is italicized, which means it does not appear in the original Hebrew text. To make sense of this unclear passage, translators have often chosen to add the word “myself” to make Job the object of the verb abhor. However, the Hebrew verb translated as “abhor” can also mean to renounce or reject. Therefore, Job may have been saying, “Therefore do I recant [or renounce], and I repent in dust and ashes.” President Henry B. Eyring taught, “After Job repented of calling God unfair, Job was permitted to see his trials in a higher and holier way.”

• Dale G. Renlund, “Trust God and Let Him Prevail,” Liahona, Aug. 2022, 4–7

• D. Todd Christofferson, “Our Relationship with God,” Liahona, May 2022, 78–81

• David A. Bednar, “We Will Prove Them Herewith,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 8–11

• “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” (Hymns, no. 136)