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 Tests Job Again

When the day came for the heavenly beings to appear before the Lord again, Satan was there among them. The Lord asked him, “Where have you been?”

Satan answered, “I have been walking here and there, roaming around the earth.”

“Did you notice my servant Job?” the Lord asked. “There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil. You persuaded me to let you attack him for no reason at all, but Job is still as faithful as ever.”

Satan replied, “A person will give up everything in order to stay alive. But now suppose you hurt his body—he will curse you to your face!”

So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, he is in your power, but you are not to kill him.”

Then Satan left the Lord's presence and made sores break out all over Job's body. Job went and sat by the garbage dump and took a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores. His wife said to him, “You are still as faithful as ever, aren't you? Why don't you curse God and die?”

10 Job answered, “You are talking nonsense! When God sends us something good, we welcome it. How can we complain when he sends us trouble?” Even in all this suffering Job said nothing against God.

Job's Friends Come

11 Three of Job's friends were Eliphaz, from the city of Teman, Bildad, from the land of Shuah, and Zophar, from the land of Naamah. When they heard how much Job had been suffering, they decided to go and comfort him. 12 While they were still a long way off they saw Job, but did not recognize him. When they did, they began to weep and wail, tearing their clothes in grief and throwing dust into the air and on their heads. 13 Then they sat there on the ground with him for seven days and nights without saying a word, because they saw how much he was suffering.

Attack on Job’s Health

One day the heavenly beings[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and the accuser[b] also came among them to present himself before the Lord.(A) The Lord said to the accuser,[c] “Where have you come from?” The accuser[d] answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it.”(B) The Lord said to the accuser,[e] “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.”(C) Then the accuser[f] answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that the man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”(D) The Lord said to the accuser,[g] “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.”(E)

So the accuser[h] went out from the presence of the Lord and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.(F) Job[i] took a potsherd with which to scrape himself and sat among the ashes.(G)

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse[j] God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive good from God and not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.(H)

Job’s Three Friends

11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him.(I) 12 When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads.(J) 13 They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.(K)

Footnotes

  1. 2.1 Heb sons of God
  2. 2.1 Heb the satan
  3. 2.2 Heb the satan
  4. 2.2 Heb The satan
  5. 2.3 Heb the satan
  6. 2.4 Heb the satan
  7. 2.6 Heb the satan
  8. 2.7 Heb the satan
  9. 2.8 Heb He
  10. 2.9 Heb Bless

Job’s Adversary refuses to give up

One day the divine beings came to present themselves before the Lord. The Adversary also came among them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord said to the Adversary, “Where have you come from?”

The Adversary answered the Lord, “From wandering throughout the earth.”

The Lord said to the Adversary, “Have you thought about my servant Job, for there is no one like him on earth, a man who is honest, who is of absolute integrity, who reveres God and avoids evil? He still holds on to his integrity, even though you incited me to ruin him for no reason.”

The Adversary responded to the Lord, “Skin for skin—people will give up everything they have in exchange for their lives. But stretch out your hand and strike his bones and flesh. Then he will definitely curse[a] you to your face.”

The Lord answered the Adversary, “There he is—within your power; only preserve his life.”

The test intensifies

The Adversary departed from the Lord’s presence and struck Job with severe sores from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. Job took a piece of broken pottery to scratch himself and sat down on a mound of ashes. Job’s wife said to him, “Are you still clinging to your integrity? Curse[b] God, and die.”

10 Job said to her, “You’re talking like a foolish woman. Will we receive good from God but not also receive bad?” In all this, Job didn’t sin with his lips.

Job’s three friends come to comfort him

11 When Job’s three friends heard about all this disaster that had happened to him, they came, each one from his home—Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah. They agreed to come so they could console and comfort him. 12 When they looked up from a distance and didn’t recognize him, they wept loudly. Each one tore his garment and scattered dust above his head toward the sky. 13 They sat with Job on the ground seven days and seven nights, not speaking a word to him, for they saw that he was in excruciating pain.

Footnotes

  1. Job 2:5 Or bless
  2. Job 2:9 Or bless