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The Adversary's Attack on Job's Person

¹ And then^[a] one day the sons of God^[b] came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan^[c] also came into their midst to present himself before Yahweh. ² So^[d] Yahweh asked^[e] Satan,^[f] "From where have you come?"

And Satan^[g] answered Yahweh and said, "From roaming on the earth and from walking about in it."

³ So^[h] Yahweh asked^[i] Satan,^[j] "Have you considered^[k] my servant Job? Indeed,^[l] there is no one like him on the earth—a blameless man and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil. And still he persists in his blamelessness even though^[m] you incited me against him to destroy him for nothing."

⁴ Then^[n] Satan^[o] answered him and said, "Skin for skin! All that that^[p] man has he will give for his life. ⁵ But stretch out^[q] your hand and touch his bones and his flesh, and see whether^[r] he will curse^[s] you to your face."^[t]

⁶ So^[u] Yahweh said to Satan,^[v] "All right,^[w] he is in your power.^[x] Only spare his life."

Job's Blameless Behavior

⁷ So^[y] Satan^[z] went out from Yahweh's presence,^[aa] and he inflicted Job with loathsome skin sores from the sole of his foot up to the crown of his head. ⁸ So^[ab] he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and he sat in the midst of the ashes.

⁹ Then^[ac] his wife said to him, "Are you still persisting in your blamelessness? Curse^[ad] God and die."

¹⁰ So^[ae] he said to her, "You speak like one of the foolish women speaks. Indeed, should we receive the good from God, but^[af] not receive the evil?" In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

¹¹ Thus^[ag] Job's three friends heard of this calamity that had come upon him. So^[ah] each set out from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. And they met^[ai] together to come to console him and to comfort him.

¹² Thus^[aj] they lifted up their eyes^[ak] from afar, but^[al] they did not recognize him, so^[am] they raised their voice, and they wept, and each man tore his outer garment^[an] and threw dust on their heads toward the sky.^{[ao] 13} Then^[ap] they sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, but^[aq] no one spoke^[ar] a word to him because they saw that his^[as] suffering was very great.