On another day the angels[a](A) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them(B) to present himself before him. And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”(C)

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.(D) And he still maintains his integrity,(E) though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”(F)

“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has(G) for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones,(H) and he will surely curse you to your face.”(I)

The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands;(J) but you must spare his life.”(K)

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.(L) Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.(M)

His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity?(N) Curse God and die!”(O)

10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish[b] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”(P)

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.(Q)

11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite,(R) Bildad the Shuhite(S) and Zophar the Naamathite,(T) heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.(U) 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him;(V) they began to weep aloud,(W) and they tore their robes(X) and sprinkled dust on their heads.(Y) 13 Then they sat on the ground(Z) with him for seven days and seven nights.(AA) No one said a word to him,(AB) because they saw how great his suffering was.

Footnotes

  1. Job 2:1 Hebrew the sons of God
  2. Job 2:10 The Hebrew word rendered foolish denotes moral deficiency.

Satan Attacks Job’s Health

Again (A)there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”

(B)Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, (C)a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he (D)holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, (E)to [a]destroy him without cause.”

So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. (F)But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his (G)bone and his flesh, and he will surely [b]curse You to Your face!”

(H)And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils (I)from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself (J)while he sat in the midst of the ashes.

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? [c]Curse God and die!”

10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. (K)Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (L)In all this Job did not (M)sin with his lips.

Job’s Three Friends

11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the (N)Temanite, Bildad the (O)Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come (P)and mourn with him, and to comfort him. 12 And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and (Q)sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. 13 So they sat down with him on the ground (R)seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.

Footnotes

  1. Job 2:3 Lit. consume
  2. Job 2:5 Lit. bless, but in an evil sense; cf. Job 1:5
  3. Job 2:9 Lit. Bless, but in an evil sense; cf. Job 1:5

Job Loses His Health

(A)Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and [a]Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” The Lord said to Satan, “Have you [b]considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man [c]fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still (B)holds firm to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to [d]ruin him without cause.” Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life. (C)However, reach out with Your hand now, and (D)touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face!” So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your [e]power, only spare his life.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with (E)severe boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. And Job took a piece of pottery to scrape himself while (F)he was sitting in the ashes.

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold firm your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 But he said to her, “You are speaking as one of the foolish women speaks. (G)Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?” (H)Despite all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

11 Now when Job’s three friends heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, they came, each one from his own place—Eliphaz the (I)Temanite, Bildad the (J)Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to (K)sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they [f]looked from a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them (L)tore his robe, and they (M)threw dust over their heads toward the sky. 13 (N)Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

Footnotes

  1. Job 2:1 Heb ha-satan; i.e., the adversary, and so throughout the ch
  2. Job 2:3 Lit set your heart to
  3. Job 2:3 Or revering
  4. Job 2:3 Lit swallow him up
  5. Job 2:6 Lit hand
  6. Job 2:12 Lit raised their eyes

The Second Test: Health

1-3 One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan also showed up. God singled out Satan, saying, “And what have you been up to?” Satan answered God, “Oh, going here and there, checking things out.” Then God said to Satan, “Have you noticed my friend Job? There’s no one quite like him, is there—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil? He still has a firm grip on his integrity! You tried to trick me into destroying him, but it didn’t work.”

4-5 Satan answered, “A human would do anything to save his life. But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away his health? He’d curse you to your face, that’s what.”

God said, “All right. Go ahead—you can do what you like with him. But mind you, don’t kill him.”

7-8 Satan left God and struck Job with terrible sores. Job was ulcers and scabs from head to foot. They itched and oozed so badly that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, then went and sat on a trash heap, among the ashes.

His wife said, “Still holding on to your precious integrity, are you? Curse God and be done with it!”

10 He told her, “You’re talking like an empty-headed fool. We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?”

Not once through all this did Job sin. He said nothing against God.

Job’s Three Friends

11-13 Three of Job’s friends heard of all the trouble that had fallen on him. Each traveled from his own country—Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuhah, Zophar from Naamath—and went together to Job to keep him company and comfort him. When they first caught sight of him, they couldn’t believe what they saw—they hardly recognized him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and nights they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering.