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Satan Appears Before the Lord Again

·On another day [or One day] the ·angels [L the sons of God] came to ·show themselves [L stand] before the Lord, and Satan [1:6] was with them again. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been ·wandering around [roaming] the earth, ·going back and forth in [patrolling] it.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job [1:8]? No one else on earth is like him. He is an honest and innocent man, honoring God and staying away from evil [1:1]. You ·caused [or enticed] me to ·ruin [injure] him for no good reason, but he ·continues to be without blame [or maintains his innocence].”

“One skin for another [L Skin for skin; C a proverb meaning that people only react if they are affected directly]!” Satan [1:6] answered. “A man will give all he has to save his own life. But reach out your hand and ·destroy [afflict; L touch] his bones and flesh, and he will ·curse [L bless; C a euphemism for “curse”; 1:5] you to your face.”

The Lord said to Satan [1:6], “All right, then. Job is in your ·power [L hand], but you ·may not take [L must preserve] his life.”

So Satan [1:6] left the Lord’s presence. He put ·painful sores [horrible boils] on Job’s body, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. Job took a ·piece of broken [shard of] pottery to scrape himself, and he sat in ashes in misery.

Job’s wife said to him, “Why are you ·trying to stay innocent [maintaining your innocence]? Curse [2:5] God and die!”

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Job Loses His Health

Again there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming around on the earth and from walking around on it.” The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God]. And still he maintains and holds tightly to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to destroy him without cause.” Satan answered the Lord, “[a]Skin for skin! Yes, a man will give all he has for his life. But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh [and severely afflict him]; and he will curse You to Your face.” So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, only spare his life.”

So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome boils and agonizingly painful sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And Job took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself, and he sat [down] among the ashes (rubbish heaps).

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still cling to your integrity [and your faith and trust in God, without blaming Him]? Curse God and die!”

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Footnotes

  1. Job 2:4 This probably refers to a trade of one animal skin for another, but even so its application here is unclear. One possibility is that according to Satan, Job would be willing to give up his wife (his remaining loved one) to save his own life, thus surrendering his integrity (v 3). Another is that Satan is hypothetically offering to give up his own life if Job is actually willing to die for his integrity. In any case, this is a bluff on Satan’s part, probably to make what he really wants (v 5) appear less drastic.