Study Desk

^(C1)Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and ^(F1)Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.

The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it."

The LORD said to Satan, "Have you ^(F1)considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man ^(F2)fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still ^(C1)holds firm to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ^(F3)ruin him without cause."

Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life.

"^(C1)However, reach out with Your hand now, and ^(C2)touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face!"

So the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your ^(F1)power, only spare his life."

Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with ^(C1)severe boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.

And Job took a piece of pottery to scrape himself while ^(C1)he was sitting in the ashes.

Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold firm your integrity? Curse God and die!"

But he said to her, "You are speaking as one of the foolish women speaks. ^(C1)Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?" ^(C2)Despite all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

Now when Job's three friends heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, they came, each one from his own place—Eliphaz the ^(C1)Temanite, Bildad the ^(C2)Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to ^(C3)sympathize with him and comfort him.

When they ^(F1)looked from a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them ^(C1)tore his robe, and they ^(C2)threw dust over their heads toward the sky.

^(C1)Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.