Job 2
The Voice
2 Now one day, it was time for the sons of God, God’s heavenly messengers, to present themselves to the Eternal One to give reports and receive instructions. The Accuser[a] was with them there again, also ready to present himself to Him.
Eternal One (to the Accuser): 2 Where have you been?
The Accuser: Oh, roaming here and there, running about the earth and observing its inhabitants.
Eternal One: 3 Well, have you looked into the man, Job, My servant? He is unlike any other person on the whole earth—a very good man—his character spotless, his integrity unquestioned. In fact, he so believes in Me that he seeks, in all things, to honor Me and deliberately avoids evil in all of his affairs. And I have found him to be unswervingly committed, despite the fact that you provoked Me to wreck him for no particular reason, to take away My protection and his prosperity.
The Accuser: 4 Well, as they say, “Skin for skin!” It is easy to be so pious in the face of such health. Surely a man will give what he has for the sake of his own life, 5 so now extend Your hand! Afflict him, both bone and body, and he will curse You, right to Your face.
Eternal One: 6 Well then, this is how it will be: he is now in your hand. One thing, though: you will not take his life. Job must not be killed.
7 With that, the Accuser left the court and the Eternal’s presence, and he infected Job with a painful skin disease. From the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, his body was covered with boils. 8 Job took a broken piece of pottery to scrape his wounds, and while he sat in the ashes just outside of town, 9 his wife found him.
Job’s Wife: Will you still not swerve in your commitments? Curse God and die!
Job: 10 You’re speaking nonsense like some depraved woman. Are we to accept the good that comes from God, but not accept the bad?
Throughout all of this, Job did not sin with his mouth; he would not curse God as the Accuser predicted.
11 Now Job had three friends: Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamath. When these three received word of the horror that had befallen Job, they left their homes, and agreed to meet together to mourn with and comfort their friend.
These friends are from different regions: Eliphaz comes from Edomite lands to the southeast, while Bildad and Zophar come from more eastern lands.
12 They approached the town ash-heap, but they were still far off when they caught sight of Job. His sores were so severe and his appearance so changed by his condition that they almost didn’t recognize him. Upon seeing him and apprehending the extent of his suffering, they cried out, burst into tears, tore their robes, reached down into the dust and ashes at their feet, and threw ash into the air and onto their heads. 13 Then, they sat with him on the ground and stayed there with him for seven days and seven nights, mourning as if he were already dead. All the while no one spoke a single word because they saw his profound agony and grief.
Footnotes
- 2:1 Literally, the Satan
Job 2
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 2
Have You Paid Any Notice to My Servant Job?[a] 1 On another occasion the sons of God came forward to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan accompanied them. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “I have been roaming the earth and going back and forth in it.”
3 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you paid any notice to my servant Job? You will not find anyone like him on the entire earth. He is a good and righteous man who fears God and shuns evil. He still maintains his integrity, even though you incited me to ruin him without the slightest justification.”
4 Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin![b] A man will surrender everything he has to save his own life. 5 But now if you stretch forth your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, he will curse you to your face.” 6 The Lord said to Satan, “He is in your power, but you must spare his life.”
Job Did Not Utter a Single Sinful Word.[c] 7 Therefore, when Satan left the Lord’s presence, he afflicted Job with malignant sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Job took a potsherd to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.[d]
9 Then his wife said to him, “When will you give up persisting in your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. If we accept good things from God, should we not be willing to accept sorrows as well?” In all this, Job did not utter a single sinful word.
11 The Three Friends.[e] When three of Job’s friends heard of all the misfortunes that he had endured, each of them set out from his own home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. After they gathered together, they went forth to console and comfort him.[f]
12 However, when they first saw Job from a distance, they could hardly recognize him, and they wept aloud, tore their cloaks, and threw dust into the air over their heads. 13 Then they sat there with him upon the ground for seven days and seven nights. None of them spoke a word to him, for they could clearly see how greatly he was suffering.
Footnotes
- Job 2:1 Human beings are great before God when they patiently accept trials, but it is when suffering touches their very lives that they give the final proof of their fidelity.
- Job 2:4 Skin for skin: a proverbial expression that probably originated in the willingness to barter one animal skin for another. Here it means that Job is bearing his suffering with patience solely to avoid more severe suffering and to gain more favors from God.
- Job 2:7 Afflicted with a kind of leprosy, the sick man goes to live away from inhabited places atop a pile of dusty refuse that had accumulated over the years at the entrance to the city. The intervention of his wife in the guise of a temptress (see Gen 3:6-12; Jdg 16:4ff; Tob 2:14) puts the finishing touch to the trial of Job. His faith becomes even more heroic.
- Job 2:8 Sitting among ashes was a sign of mourning.
- Job 2:11 In the presence of Job, disfigured by suffering, his friends make use of rites of penitence and sorrow in common use: loud weeping, tearing of cloaks, throwing dirt over one’s head, and long silent prostration (see Gen 50:10; Jos 7:6; 2 Sam 1:2, 11; 3:31).
- Job 2:11 Teman, Shuh, and Naamath were in Arabia, a land noted at that time for its wise men (see Prov 30:1; Jer 49:7; Ob 8-9; Bar 3:22f).
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
