Job 2

¹ Once again the Sons of God came to attend on Yahweh, and among them was Satan.

² So Yahweh said to Satan, ‘Where have you been?’ ‘Round the earth’, he answered ‘roaming about.’

³ So Yahweh asked him, ‘Did you notice my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth: a sound and honest man who fears God and shuns evil. His life continues blameless as ever; in vain you provoked me to ruin him.’

⁴ ‘Skin for skin!’ Satan replied. ‘A man will give away all he has to save his life.

⁵ But stretch out your hand and lay a finger on his bone and flesh; I warrant you, he will curse you to your face.’

⁶ ‘Very well,’ Yahweh said to Satan ‘he is in your power. But spare his life.’

⁷ So Satan left the presence of Yahweh. He struck Job down with malignant ulcers from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.

⁸ Job took a piece of pot to scrape himself, and went and sat in the ashpit.

⁹ Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you now still mean to persist in your blamelessness? Curse God, and die.’

¹⁰ ‘That is how foolish women talk’ Job replied. ‘If we take happiness from God’s hand, must we not take sorrow too?’ And in all this misfortune Job uttered no sinful word.

¹¹ The news of all the disasters that had fallen on Job came to the ears of three of his friends. Each of them set out from home – Eliphaz of Teman, Bildad of Shuah and Zophar of Naamath[*a] – and by common consent they decided to go and offer him sympathy and consolation.

¹² Looking at him from a distance, they could not recognise him; they wept aloud and tore their garments and threw dust over their heads.

¹³ They sat there on the ground beside him for seven days and seven nights. To Job they spoke never a word, so sad a sight he made.