< Job 2 >
1 Again it happened on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, that Satan came also among them to present himself 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 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, and said, "From going back and forth on the earth, and from walking up and down on it."
“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 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly to his integrity, although you incited me against him, to ruin him 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 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, "Skin for skin. Indeed, all that a man has he will give for his life.
“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life.
5 But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse 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 The LORD said to Satan, "Look, he is in your power. Only preserve his life."
“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”
7 So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the top of 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 for himself a potsherd to scrape himself with while he sat among the ashes.
And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold firmly to your 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 said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we indeed accept good at the hand of God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
“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 when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come on him, they each came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort 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 When they lifted up their eyes from a distance, and did not recognize him, they raised their voices, and wept; and they each tore his robe, and threw dust in the air over 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 So 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 pain was 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.