Job, the Good Man

1 There was a man named Job who lived in the country of Uz. He was a good, honest man. He respected God and refused to do evil. ² Job had seven sons and three daughters. ³ He owned 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 1000 oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He had many servants. He was the richest man in the east.

⁴ Job’s sons took turns having dinner parties in their homes, and they invited their sisters. ⁵ The day after each of these parties, Job got up early in the morning, sent for his children, and offered a burnt offering for each of them. He thought, “Maybe my children were careless and sinned against God at their party.” Job always did this so that his children would be forgiven of their sins.

⁶ Then the day came for the angels^[a] to meet with the Lord. Even Satan was there with them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you been?”

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been roaming around the earth, going from place to place.”

⁸ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him. He is a good, faithful man. He respects God and refuses to do evil.”

⁹ Satan answered the Lord, “But Job has a good reason to respect you. ¹⁰ You always protect him, his family, and everything he has. You have blessed him and made him successful in everything he does. He is so wealthy that his herds and flocks are all over the country. ¹¹ But if you were to destroy everything he has, I promise you that he would curse you to your face.”

¹² The Lord said to Satan, “All right, do whatever you want with anything that he has, but don’t hurt Job himself.”

Then Satan left the meeting.

Job Loses Everything

¹³ One day Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house. ¹⁴ A messenger came to Job and said, “We were plowing the fields with the oxen and the donkeys were eating grass nearby, ¹⁵ when some Sabeans^[b] attacked us and took your animals! They killed the other servants. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”

¹⁶ That messenger was still speaking when another one came in and said, “A bolt of lightning^[c] struck your sheep and servants and burned them up. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”

¹⁷ That messenger was still speaking when another one came in and said, “The Chaldeans^[d] sent out three raiding parties that attacked us and took the camels! They killed the other servants. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”

¹⁸ That messenger was still speaking when another one came in and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house. ¹⁹ A strong wind suddenly came in from across the desert and blew the house down. It fell on your sons and daughters, and they are all dead. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”

²⁰ When Job heard this, he got up, tore his clothes, and shaved his head to show his sadness. Then he fell to the ground to bow down before God ²¹ and said,

²² Even after all this, Job did not sin. He did not accuse God of doing anything wrong.

Satan Bothers Job Again

2 Then another day came for the angels^[e] to meet with the Lord. Satan joined them for this meeting with the Lord. ² The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you been?”

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been roaming around the earth, going from place to place.”

³ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him. He is a good, faithful man. He respects God and refuses to do evil. He is still faithful, even though you asked me to let you destroy, without reason, everything he has.”

⁴ Satan answered, “Skin for skin!^[f] A man will give everything he has to protect himself. ⁵ I swear, if you attack his flesh and bones, he will curse you to your face!”

⁶ So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, Job is in your hands, but you are not allowed to kill him.”

⁷ So Satan left the meeting with the Lord and gave Job painful sores all over his body, from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head. ⁸ Job sat on the pile of ashes where he was mourning and used a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores. ⁹ His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your faith? Why don’t you just curse God and die!”

¹⁰ Job answered, “You sound like one of those fools on the street corner! How can we accept all the good things that God gives us and not accept the problems?” So even after all that happened to Job, he did not sin. He did not accuse God of doing anything wrong.

⁹ So Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah obeyed the Lord. Then the Lord answered Job’s prayer.

¹⁰ Job prayed for his friends, and the Lord made Job successful again. The Lord gave him twice as much as he had before. ¹¹ Then all his brothers and sisters and all the people who knew him before came to his house. They all ate a big meal with him. They comforted him and were sorry that the Lord had brought him so much trouble. Each person gave Job a piece of silver and a gold ring.

¹² The Lord blessed Job with even more than he had in the beginning. Job got 14,000 sheep, 6000 camels, 2000 oxen, and 1000 female donkeys. ¹³ He also got seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ He named the first daughter Jemimah and the second daughter Keziah. He named the third daughter Keren Happuch. ¹⁵ Job’s daughters were among the most beautiful women in all the country. And, like their brothers, they each got a share of their father’s property.^[a]

¹⁶ So Job lived for 140 years more. He lived to see his children, his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren, and his great-great-grandchildren. ¹⁷ Job lived to be a very old man who had lived a good, long life.