Job 2
New King James Version
Satan Attacks Job’s Health
2 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. 2 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.”
3 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.”
4 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 (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!”
6 (H)And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”
7 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. 8 And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself (J)while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
9 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.
Job 2
New American Standard Bible
Job Loses His Health
2 (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. 2 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.” 3 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.” 4 Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life. 5 (C)However, reach out with Your hand now, and (D)touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face!” 6 So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your [e]power, only spare his life.”
7 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. 8 And Job took a piece of pottery to scrape himself while (F)he was sitting in the ashes.
9 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.
Job 2
The Message
The Second Test: Health
2 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.”
6 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.
9 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson