Job's Character and Wealth

1 There was a man in the land of ^(A)Uz whose name was ^(B)Job, and that man was ^(C)blameless and upright, one who ^(D)feared God and ^(E)turned away from evil. ² There were born to him ^(F)seven sons and three daughters. ³ He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all ^(G)the people 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 and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and ^(H)consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and ^(I)offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and ^(J)cursed^[a] God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

Satan Allowed to Test Job

⁶ Now there was a day when ^(K)the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and ^(L)Satan^[b] also came among them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From ^(M)going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” ⁸ And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you ^(N)considered my ^(O)servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, ^(P)a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” ⁹ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? ¹⁰ Have you not put ^(Q)a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have ^(R)blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But ^(S)stretch out your hand and ^(T)touch all that he has, and he will ^(U)curse you ^(V)to your face.” ¹² And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Satan Takes Job's Property and Children

¹³ Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, ¹⁴ and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, ¹⁵ and ^(W)the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants^[c] with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁶ While he was yet speaking, there came another 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 yet speaking, there came another and said, ^(Y)“The Chaldeans formed ^(Z)three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁸ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, ^(AA)“Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, ¹⁹ and behold, a great wind came across ^(AB)the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

²⁰ Then Job arose and ^(AC)tore his ^(AD)robe and ^(AE)shaved his head ^(AF)and fell on the ground and worshiped. ²¹ And he said, ^(AG)“Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I ^(AH)return. The Lord ^(AI)gave, and the Lord has taken away; ^(AJ)blessed be the name of the Lord.”

^22 (AK)In all this Job did not sin or charge God with ^(AL)wrong.

Satan Attacks Job's Health

2 Again ^(AM)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. ² 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.” ³ 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 ^(AN)holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him ^(AO)without reason.” ⁴ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. ⁵ But ^(AP)stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will ^(AQ)curse you to your face.” ⁶ And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

⁷ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome ^(AR)sores from ^(AS)the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. ⁸ And he took ^(AT)a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in ^(AU)the ashes.

⁹ Then his wife said to him, “Do you still ^(AV)hold fast your integrity? ^(AW)Curse God and die.” ¹⁰ But he said to her, “You speak as one of the ^(AX)foolish women would speak. ^(AY)Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”^{[d] (AZ)}In all this Job did not ^(BA)sin with his lips.

Job's Three Friends

¹¹ Now when Job's three ^(BB)friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz ^(BC)the Temanite, Bildad ^(BD)the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to ^(BE)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 ^(BF)tore their robes and sprinkled ^(BG)dust on their heads toward heaven. ¹³ And they sat with him on the ground ^(BH)seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

7 Since we have these promises, beloved, ^(A)let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body^[a] and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Paul's Joy

^2 (B)Make room in your hearts^[b] for us. ^(C)We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. ³ I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that ^(D)you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ⁴ I am acting with ^(E)great boldness toward you; ^(F)I have great pride in you; ^(G)I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

⁵ For even ^(H)when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—^(I)fighting without and fear within. ⁶ But ^(J)God, who comforts the downcast, ^(K)comforted us by the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. ⁸ For ^(L)even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though ^(M)I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. ⁹ As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but ^(N)because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

¹⁰ For ^(O)godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas ^(P)worldly grief produces death. ¹¹ For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, ^(Q)what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. ¹² So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one ^(R)who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. ¹³ Therefore ^(S)we are comforted.

And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit ^(T)has been refreshed by you all. ¹⁴ For ^(U)whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you ^(V)was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. ¹⁵ And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers ^(W)the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. ¹⁶ I rejoice, because I have complete ^(X)confidence in you.

Encouragement to Give Generously

8 We want you to know, brothers,^[c] about the grace of God that has been ^(Y)given among the churches of Macedonia, ² for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and ^(Z)their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³ For they gave ^(AA)according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, ⁴ begging us earnestly ^(AB)for the favor^[d] of taking part in ^(AC)the relief of the saints— ⁵ and this, not as we expected, but they ^(AD)gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. ⁶ Accordingly, ^(AE)we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you ^(AF)this act of grace. ⁷ But as ^(AG)you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you^[e]—^(AH)see that you excel in this act of grace also.

^8 (AI)I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ^(AJ)though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. ¹⁰ And in this matter ^(AK)I give my judgment: ^(AL)this benefits you, who ^(AM)a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. ¹¹ So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. ¹² For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable ^(AN)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³ For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness ¹⁴ your abundance at the present time should supply ^(AO)their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. ¹⁵ As it is written, ^(AP)“Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

Commendation of Titus

¹⁶ But ^(AQ)thanks be to God, ^(AR)who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. ¹⁷ For ^(AS)he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going^[f] to you of his own accord. ¹⁸ With him we are sending^{[g] (AT)}the brother who is famous among ^(AU)all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. ¹⁹ And not only that, but he has been ^(AV)appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of ^(AW)grace that is being ministered by us, ^(AX)for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. ²⁰ We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, ²¹ for ^(AY)we aim at what is honorable ^(AZ)not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man. ²² And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. ²³ As for Titus, he is ^(BA)my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers^[h] of the churches, the glory of Christ. ²⁴ So give proof before the churches of your love and of ^(BB)our boasting about you to these men.