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.

Job Laments His Birth

After this Job (W)opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said:

(X)“Let the day perish on which I was born,
    and the night that said,
    ‘A man is conceived.’
Let that day be darkness!
    May God above not seek it,
    nor light shine upon it.
Let gloom and (Y)deep darkness claim it.
    Let clouds dwell upon it;
    let the blackness of the day terrify it.
That night—let thick darkness seize it!
    Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
    let it not come into the number of the months.
Behold, let that night be barren;
    let no joyful cry enter it.
Let those curse it who curse the day,
    who are ready to rouse up (Z)Leviathan.
Let the stars of its dawn be dark;
    let it hope for light, but have none,
    nor see (AA)the eyelids of the morning,
10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,
    nor hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “Why (AB)did I not die at birth,
    come out from the womb and expire?
12 Why did (AC)the knees receive me?
    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?
13 For then I would have lain down and been quiet;
    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,
14 with kings and counselors of the earth
    who (AD)rebuilt ruins for themselves,
15 or with princes who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not as a hidden (AE)stillborn child,
    as infants who never see the light?
17 There the wicked cease from troubling,
    and there the weary are at (AF)rest.
18 There the prisoners are at ease together;
    they hear not the voice of (AG)the taskmaster.
19 The small and the great are there,
    and the slave is free from his master.

20 “Why is light given to him who is in misery,
    and life to (AH)the bitter in soul,
21 who (AI)long for death, but it comes not,
    and dig for it more than for (AJ)hidden treasures,
22 who rejoice exceedingly
    and are glad when they find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose (AK)way is hidden,
    whom God has (AL)hedged in?
24 For my sighing comes (AM)instead of[b] my bread,
    and my (AN)groanings are poured out like water.
25 (AO)For the thing that I fear comes upon me,
    and what I dread befalls me.
26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
    I have no rest, but trouble comes.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11
  2. Job 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before

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.

Job Speaks

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.(AC) He said:

“May the day of my birth perish,
    and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’(AD)
That day—may it turn to darkness;
    may God above not care about it;
    may no light shine on it.
May gloom and utter darkness(AE) claim it once more;
    may a cloud settle over it;
    may blackness overwhelm it.
That night—may thick darkness(AF) seize it;
    may it not be included among the days of the year
    nor be entered in any of the months.
May that night be barren;
    may no shout of joy(AG) be heard in it.
May those who curse days[c] curse that day,(AH)
    those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.(AI)
May its morning stars become dark;
    may it wait for daylight in vain
    and not see the first rays of dawn,(AJ)
10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
    to hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “Why did I not perish at birth,
    and die as I came from the womb?(AK)
12 Why were there knees to receive me(AL)
    and breasts that I might be nursed?
13 For now I would be lying down(AM) in peace;
    I would be asleep and at rest(AN)
14 with kings and rulers of the earth,(AO)
    who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,(AP)
15 with princes(AQ) who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.(AR)
16 Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,(AS)
    like an infant who never saw the light of day?(AT)
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,(AU)
    and there the weary are at rest.(AV)
18 Captives(AW) also enjoy their ease;
    they no longer hear the slave driver’s(AX) shout.(AY)
19 The small and the great are there,(AZ)
    and the slaves are freed from their owners.

20 “Why is light given to those in misery,
    and life to the bitter of soul,(BA)
21 to those who long for death that does not come,(BB)
    who search for it more than for hidden treasure,(BC)
22 who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when they reach the grave?(BD)
23 Why is life given to a man
    whose way is hidden,(BE)
    whom God has hedged in?(BF)
24 For sighing(BG) has become my daily food;(BH)
    my groans(BI) pour out like water.(BJ)
25 What I feared has come upon me;
    what I dreaded(BK) has happened to me.(BL)
26 I have no peace,(BM) no quietness;
    I have no rest,(BN) but only turmoil.”(BO)

Footnotes

  1. Job 2:1 Hebrew the sons of God
  2. Job 2:10 The Hebrew word rendered foolish denotes moral deficiency.
  3. Job 3:8 Or curse the sea