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And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, and Satan also came among them to present himself before Jehovah.

And Jehovah said to Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

And Jehovah said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and abstaineth from evil? and still he remaineth firm in his integrity, though thou movedst me against him, to swallow him up without cause.

And Satan answered Jehovah and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life;

but put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, [and see] if he will not curse thee to thy face!

And Jehovah said to Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand; only spare his life.

And Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah; and he smote Job with a grievous botch from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

And he took a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat among the ashes.

And his wife said to him, Dost thou still remain firm in thine integrity? curse God and die.

10 But he said to her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. We have also received good from God, and should we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

11 And three friends of Job heard of all this evil that was come upon him. And they came each one from his place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to condole with him and to comfort him.

12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept. And they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward the heavens.

13 And they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights; and none spoke a word to him; for they saw that [his] anguish was very great.

Satan’s Second Test of Job

One day the sons of God(A) came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

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

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,(B) who fears God and turns away from evil.(C) He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him, to destroy him without just cause.”

“Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. But stretch out Your hand and strike(D) his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.(E) Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.[a](F)

His wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

10 “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.[b]

Job’s Three Friends

11 Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite,(G) Bildad the Shuhite,(H) and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort(I) him. 12 When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud,(J) and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head.(K) 13 Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights,(L) but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering(M) was very intense.

Footnotes

  1. Job 2:8 This custom demonstrated mourning.
  2. Job 2:10 Lit sin with his lips

On another day the angels[a](A) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them(B) to present himself before him. And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”(C)

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.(D) And he still maintains his integrity,(E) though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”(F)

“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has(G) for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones,(H) and he will surely curse you to your face.”(I)

The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands;(J) but you must spare his life.”(K)

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.(L) Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.(M)

His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity?(N) Curse God and die!”(O)

10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish[b] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”(P)

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.(Q)

11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite,(R) Bildad the Shuhite(S) and Zophar the Naamathite,(T) heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.(U) 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him;(V) they began to weep aloud,(W) and they tore their robes(X) and sprinkled dust on their heads.(Y) 13 Then they sat on the ground(Z) with him for seven days and seven nights.(AA) No one said a word to him,(AB) because they saw how great his suffering was.

Footnotes

  1. Job 2:1 Hebrew the sons of God
  2. Job 2:10 The Hebrew word rendered foolish denotes moral deficiency.