Job and His Family

1 There was a man in the country of Uz^(A) named Job.^(B) He was a man of perfect integrity,^(C) who feared God and turned away from evil.^{(D) 2} He had seven sons and three daughters. ³ His estate included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.

⁴ His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for^[a] all of them. For Job thought: Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts. This was Job’s regular practice.

Satan’s First Test of Job

⁶ One day the sons of God^(E) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan^[b] also came with them. ⁷ The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“From roaming through the earth,”^(F) Satan answered Him, “and walking around on it.”

⁸ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

⁹ Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? ¹⁰ Haven’t You placed a hedge around^(G) him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But stretch out Your hand and strike^(H) everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

¹² “Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, you must not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

¹³ One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴ a messenger came to Job and reported: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby, ¹⁵ the Sabeans^(I) swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁶ He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “A lightning storm^[c] struck from heaven.^(J) It burned up the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁷ That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁸ He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. ¹⁹ Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

²⁰ Then Job stood up, tore^(K) his robe, and shaved^(L) his head.^[d] He fell to the ground and worshiped, ²¹ saying:

²² Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.^[f](P)