^6 (A)Now there was a day when the ^[a](B)sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and ^[b]Satan also came among them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “^(C)From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” ⁸ The Lord said to Satan, “Have you ^[c]considered ^(D)My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, ^(E)a blameless and upright man, ^[d]fearing God and turning away from evil.” ⁹ Then ^(F)Satan answered the ^[e]Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? ^10 (G)Have You not made a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? ^(H)You have blessed the work of his hands, and his ^(I)possessions have increased in the land. ^11 (J)But reach out with Your hand now and ^(K)touch all that he has; he will certainly curse You to Your face.” ¹² Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your ^[f]power; only do not reach out and put your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

Job Loses His Health

2 ^(A)Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and ^[a]Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. ² The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” ³ The Lord said to Satan, “Have you ^[b]considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man ^[c]fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still ^(B)holds firm to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ^[d]ruin him without cause.” ⁴ Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life. ^5 (C)However, reach out with Your hand now, and ^(D)touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face!” ⁶ So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your ^[e]power, only spare his life.”

⁷ Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with ^(E)severe boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. ⁸ And Job took a piece of pottery to scrape himself while ^(F)he was sitting in the ashes.

⁹ Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold firm your integrity? Curse God and die!” ¹⁰ But he said to her, “You are speaking as one of the foolish women speaks. ^(G)Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?” ^(H)Despite all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

^8 (A)See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through ^(B)philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the ^(C)elementary principles of the world, ^[a]rather than in accordance with Christ. ⁹ For in Him all the ^(D)fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been ^(E)made ^[b]complete, and ^(F)He is the head ^[c]over every ^(G)ruler and authority; ¹¹ and in Him ^(H)you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of ^(I)the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been ^(J)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also ^(K)raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who ^(L)raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And ^[d]when you were ^(M)dead ^[e]in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He ^(N)made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, ¹⁴ having canceled ^(O)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and ^(P)He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ When He had ^[f](Q)disarmed the ^(R)rulers and authorities, He ^(S)made a public display of them, having ^(T)triumphed over them through ^[g]Him.

⁷ But ^(A)to each one of us ^(B)grace was given ^(C)according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore ^[a]it says,

⁹ (Now this expression, “He ^(F)ascended,” what ^[b]does it mean except that He also ^[c]had descended into ^(G)the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is Himself also He who ascended ^(H)far above all the heavens, so that He might ^(I)fill all things.)