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 also came among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still (B)holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him (C)without reason.” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But (D)stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will (E)curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome (F)sores from (G)the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took (H)a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in (I)the ashes.

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still (J)hold fast your integrity? (K)Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the (L)foolish women would speak. (M)Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”[a] (N)In all this Job did not (O)sin with his lips.

Job's Three Friends

11 Now when Job's three (P)friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz (Q)the Temanite, Bildad (R)the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to (S)show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they (T)tore their robes and sprinkled (U)dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground (V)seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

Footnotes

  1. Job 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11

Satan’s Second Test of Job

One day the sons of God(A) came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered Him, “and walking around on it.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity,(B) who fears God and turns away from evil.(C) He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him, to destroy him without just cause.”

“Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. But stretch out Your hand and strike(D) his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.(E) Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.[a](F)

His wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

10 “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.[b]

Job’s Three Friends

11 Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite,(G) Bildad the Shuhite,(H) and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort(I) him. 12 When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud,(J) and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head.(K) 13 Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights,(L) but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering(M) was very intense.

Footnotes

  1. Job 2:8 This custom demonstrated mourning.
  2. Job 2:10 Lit sin with his lips