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.

²² And Moses ^(A)was instructed in ^(B)all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was ^(C)mighty in his words and deeds.

²³ “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart ^(D)to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. ²⁴ And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. ²⁵ He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. ^26 (E)And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ ²⁷ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ^(F)‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? ²⁸ Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ ²⁹ At this retort ^(G)Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, ^(H)where he became the father of two sons.

³⁰ “Now when forty years had passed, ^(I)an angel appeared to him ^(J)in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ^32 (K)‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. ³³ Then the Lord said to him, ^(L)‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. ^34 (M)I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and ^(N)have heard their groaning, and ^(O)I have come down to deliver them. ^(P)And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

³⁵ “This Moses, whom they rejected, ^(Q)saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer ^(R)by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ^36 (S)This man led them out, performing ^(T)wonders and signs ^(U)in Egypt and ^(V)at the Red Sea and ^(W)in the wilderness for ^(X)forty years. ³⁷ This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you ^(Y)a prophet like me from your brothers.’ ³⁸ This is the one ^(Z)who was in the congregation in the wilderness with ^(AA)the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. ^(AB)He received ^(AC)living ^(AD)oracles to give to us. ³⁹ Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and ^(AE)in their hearts they turned to Egypt, ⁴⁰ saying to Aaron, ^(AF)‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ⁴¹ And ^(AG)they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and ^(AH)were rejoicing in ^(AI)the works of their hands. ⁴² But ^(AJ)God turned away and ^(AK)gave them over to worship ^(AL)the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: