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¹ And on a day the children of God came and stoode before the Lorde, and Satan came also among the, and stoode before the Lorde.² And the Lorde sayde vnto Satan: From whence commest thou? Satan aunswered the Lorde, and sayd: I haue gone about the lande, walked thorow it.³ And the Lorde sayde vnto Satan: Hast thou not considered my seruaunt Iob? howe there is none like vnto hym in the earth, a perfect and a iust man? one that feareth God, and eschueth euil, & continueth still in his vprightnesse, although thou mouedst me against hym, to destroy him without cause.⁴ And Satan aunswered the Lord, and sayd, Skinne for skinne, yea a man wil geue al that euer he hath for his life.⁵ But lay thyne hande nowe vpon hym, and touch [once] his bone and his fleshe, and he shall curse thee to thy face.⁶ And the Lord sayde vnto Satan: Lo, he is in thyne hand, but saue his lyfe.

⁷ So went Satan foorth from the presence of the Lorde, and smote Iob with sore byles, from the sole of his foote vnto his crowne.⁸ And he toke a potsharde to scrape hym: and he sat downe among the asshes.⁹ Then sayd his wyfe vnto him: Doest thou continue yet in thy perfectnesse? curse God, and dye.¹⁰ But he sayde vnto her, Thou speakest like a foolish woman: shal we receaue good at the hande of God, and not receaue euyll? In all these thinges did not Iob sinne with his lippes.

¹¹ Nowe when Iobs three friendes heard of all the trouble that came vpon him, they came euery one fro his owne place [namely] Eliphas the Themanite, Bildad the Suhite, and Zophad the Naamathite: for they were agreed together to come to shewe their compassion vpon him, and to comfort hym.¹² So when they lift vp their eyes a farre of, they knew him not: then they cryed and wept, and euery one of them rent his clothes, and sprinckled dust vpon their heades in the ayre.¹³ They sate them downe by him also vpon the grounde seuen dayes & seuen nightes, and none spake a worde vnto him: for they sawe that his greefe was very great.