< Job 2 >
1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
On another day, the angels came again and gathered together in front of Yahweh, and Satan came too.
2 And the LORD said to Satan, From where comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down upon it.
Yahweh asked Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan replied, “I have come from the earth, where I have been traveling back and forth, seeing what is happening.”
3 And the LORD 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 turneth away from evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou didst move me against him, to destroy him without cause.
Yahweh asked Satan, “Have you (noticed/thought about) my [faithful] servant Job? He is very godly/righteous [DOU], he greatly respects/reveres me, and he [always] avoids doing evil things. And he still acts in a very godly/righteous manner, even though you persuaded me to [let you] cause disastrous things to happen to him for no reason.”
4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, even, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Satan replied to Yahweh, “He praises you only because you bless him [IDM]. People will give up everything they have to save their own lives.
5 But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
But if you harm his body [MTY], he will surely curse you openly [IDM]!”
6 And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand; but save his life.
Yahweh replied to Satan, “(All right/Okay), you may do to him whatever you want to do, but do not cause him to die.”
7 So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with severe boils from the sole of his foot to his crown.
So Satan left, and he caused Job to be afflicted with very painful boils, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.
8 And he took a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat down among the ashes.
Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped the boils on his skin, and he sat in ashes [as people did when they were mourning for those who had died].
9 Then said his wife to him, Dost thou still retain thy integrity? curse God, and die.
His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to (be loyal to/faithfully trust in) God? You should curse God, and then you will die.”
10 But he said to her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
But Job replied, “You talk like people who do not know God talk. (Should we accept only the good things that God [does for us]?/We should not accept only the good things that God [does for us].) [RHQ] We should also accept bad things.” So in spite of all these [things that happened to] Job, [he] did not say anything against God.
11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
Among Job’s friends were Eliphaz from Teman [town], Bildad from Shuah [land] and Zophar from Naamah [land]. When they heard about all the terrible things that had happened to Job, they left their home areas and went together to Job to console/comfort him [DOU].
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they raised their voice, and wept; and they tore every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
When they saw Job from a distance, they almost did not recognize him. They wailed loudly, they tore their robes, and they threw dust over their heads [to show how sorry they were because of what had happened to Job].
13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word to him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
Then they sat on the ground with Job for seven days. None of them said anything to Job, because they saw that he was suffering greatly, [and they did not think that anything that they said would lessen his pain].