< Job 2 >

1 And it came to pass on a certain day, that the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came amongst them to stand before the Lord.
On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.
2 And the Lord, said to the devil, Whence come you? Then the devil said before the Lord, I am come from going through the world, and walking about the whole earth.
“Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”
3 And the Lord said to the devil, Hast you then observed my servant Job, that there is none of [men] upon the earth like him, a harmless, true, blameless, godly man, abstaining from all evil? and he yet cleaves to innocence, whereas you has told [me] to destroy his substance without cause?
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”
4 And the devil answered and said to the Lord, Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give as a ransom for his life.
“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life.
5 Nay, but put forth your hand, and touch his bones and his flesh: verily he will bless you to [your] face.
But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
6 And the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I deliver him up to you; only save his life.
“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”
7 So the devil went out from the Lord, and struck Job with sore boils from [his] feet to [his] head.
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
8 And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge, and sat upon a dung-heap outside the city.
And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.
9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 But he looked on her, and said to her, You have spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things of the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things? In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned not at all with his lips before God.
“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
11 Now his three friends having heard of all the evil that was come upon him, came to him each from his own country: Eliphaz the king of the Thaemans, Baldad sovereign of the Saucheans, Sophar king of he Minaeans: and they came to him with one accord, to comfort and to visit him.
Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, each of them came from his home, and they met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him.
12 And when they saw him from a distance they did not know him; and they cried with a loud voice, and wept, and tore every one his garment, and sprinkled dust upon [their heads],
When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head.
13 and they sat down beside him seven days and seven nights, and no one of them spoke; for they saw that his affliction was dreadful and very great.
Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.

< Job 2 >