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

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.