Job’s Character and Wealth

1 There was a man in the ^(A)land of Uz whose name was ^(B)Job; and that man was ^(C)blameless, upright, ^(D)fearing God and ^(E)turning away from evil. ^2 (F)Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. ^3 (G)His possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was ^(H)the greatest of all the ^[a]men of the east. ⁴ His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send word and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send word to them and consecrate them, getting up early in the morning and offering ^(I)burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “^(J)Perhaps my sons have sinned and ^(K)cursed God in their hearts.” Job did so continually.

^6 (L)Now there was a day when the ^[b](M)sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and ^[c]Satan also came among them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “^(N)From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” ⁸ The Lord said to Satan, “Have you ^[d]considered ^(O)My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, ^(P)a blameless and upright man, ^[e]fearing God and turning away from evil.” ⁹ Then ^(Q)Satan answered the ^[f]Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? ^10 (R)Have You not made a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? ^(S)You have blessed the work of his hands, and his ^(T)possessions have increased in the land. ^11 (U)But reach out with Your hand now and ^(V)touch all that he has; he will certainly curse You to Your face.” ¹² Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your ^[g]power; only do not reach out and put your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

Satan Allowed to Test Job

¹³ Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴ a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the female donkeys feeding beside them, ¹⁵ and ^[h]the ^(W)Sabeans ^[i]attacked and took them. They also ^[j]killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and ^[k]I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another came and said, “^(X)The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The ^(Y)Chaldeans formed three units and made a raid on the camels and took them, and ^[l]killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁸ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

²⁰ Then Job got up, ^(Z)tore his robe, and shaved his head; then he fell to the ground and worshiped. ²¹ He said,

^22 (AC)Despite all this, Job did not sin, nor did he ^[m]blame God.

Job Loses His Health

2 ^(AD)Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and ^[n]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 ^[o]considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man ^[p]fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still ^(AE)holds firm to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ^[q]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 (AF)However, reach out with Your hand now, and ^(AG)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 ^[r]power, only spare his life.”

⁷ Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with ^(AH)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 ^(AI)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. ^(AJ)Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?” ^(AK)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 ^(AL)Temanite, Bildad the ^(AM)Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to ^(AN)sympathize with him and comfort him. ¹² When they ^[s]looked from a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them ^(AO)tore his robe, and they ^(AP)threw dust over their heads toward the sky. ^13 (AQ)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.

²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not ^[a]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became ^(A)futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened.

⁴ Or do you think lightly of ^(A)the riches of His ^(B)kindness and ^[a](C)restraint and ^(D)patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? ⁵ But ^[b]because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart ^(E)you are storing up wrath for yourself ^(F)on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, ^6 (G)who will repay each person according to his deeds:

¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “^(A)For this very reason I raised you up, in order to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed ^[a]throughout the earth.” ¹⁸ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He ^(B)hardens whom He desires.

The Appearance of False Prophets

2 But ^(A)false prophets also appeared among the people, just as there will also be ^(B)false teachers ^(C)among you, who will ^(D)secretly introduce ^(E)destructive heresies, even ^(F)denying the ^(G)Master who ^(H)bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. ² Many will follow their ^(I)indecent behavior, and because of them ^(J)the way of the truth will be ^(K)maligned; ³ and in their ^(L)greed they will ^(M)exploit you with ^(N)false words; ^(O)their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

⁴ For ^(P)if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into ^[a]hell and ^(Q)committed them to ^[b]pits of darkness, held for judgment; ⁵ and did not spare ^(R)the ancient world, but protected ^(S)Noah, a ^[c]preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a ^(T)flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ and if He ^(U)condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an ^(V)example ^[d]of what is coming for the ^(W)ungodly; ⁷ and if He ^(X)rescued righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the ^(Y)perverted conduct of ^[e](Z)unscrupulous people ⁸ (for by what he saw and heard that ^(AA)righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), ^9 (AB)then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from ^[f]a trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the ^(AC)day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who ^[g](AD)indulge the flesh in its corrupt passion, and ^(AE)despise ^[h]authority.

^[i]Reckless, ^(AF)self-centered, they ^(AG)speak abusively of angelic ^[j]majesties without trembling, ^11 (AH)whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a demeaning judgment against them before the Lord. ¹² But ^(AI)these, like unreasoning animals, ^(AJ)born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, using abusive speech where they have no knowledge, will in ^[k]the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, ¹³ suffering wrong as ^(AK)the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to ^(AL)revel in the ^(AM)daytime. They are stains and blemishes, ^(AN)reveling in their ^[l]deceptions as they ^(AO)feast with you, ¹⁴ having eyes full of adultery ^[m]that never cease from sin, ^(AP)enticing ^(AQ)unstable souls, having hearts trained in ^(AR)greed, ^(AS)accursed children; ¹⁵ abandoning ^(AT)the right way, they have gone astray, having followed ^(AU)the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved ^(AV)the ^[n]reward of unrighteousness; ¹⁶ but he received a rebuke for his own offense, ^(AW)for a mute donkey, speaking with a human voice, restrained the insanity of the prophet.

¹⁷ These are ^(AX)springs without water and mists driven by a storm, ^(AY)for whom the ^[o]black darkness has been reserved. ¹⁸ For, while speaking out ^(AZ)arrogant words of no ^(BA)value they ^(BB)entice by fleshly desires, by ^(BC)indecent behavior, those who barely ^(BD)escape from the ones who live in error, ¹⁹ promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for ^(BE)by what anyone is overcome, by this he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if, after they have ^(BF)escaped the defilements of the world by ^(BG)the knowledge of the ^(BH)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again ^(BI)entangled in them and are overcome, ^(BJ)the last state has become worse for them than the first. ^21 (BK)For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from ^(BL)the holy commandment ^(BM)handed on to them. ^22 [p]It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “^(BN)A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”