Job 1:13–2:10

¹³Now upon a certain day, when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine, in the house of their eldest brother,

¹⁴There came a messenger to Job, and said: The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them,

¹⁵And the Sabeans rushed in, and took all away, and slew the servants with the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.

¹⁶And while he was yet speaking, another came, and said: The fire of God fell from heaven, and striking the sheep and the servants, hath consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.

¹⁷And while he also was yet speaking, there came another, and said: The Chaldeans made three troops, and have fallen upon the camels, and taken them; moreover, they have slain the servants with the sword: and I alone have escaped to tell thee.

¹⁸He was yet speaking, and behold another came in, and said: Thy sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother,

¹⁹A violent wind came on a sudden from the side of the desert, and shook the four corners of the house, and it fell upon thy children, and they are dead: and I alone have escaped to tell thee.

²⁰Then Job rose up, and rent his garments, and having shaven his head, fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

²¹And said: Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: as it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord.

²²In all these things Job sinned not by his lips, nor spoke he any foolish thing against God.

Chapter 2

And it came to pass, when on a certain day the sons of God came, and stood before the Lord, and Satan came amongst them, and stood in his sight,

²That the Lord said to Satan: Whence comest thou? And he answered, and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it.

³And the Lord said to Satan: Hast thou considered my servant, Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a man simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil, and still keeping his innocence? But thou hast moved me against him, that I should afflict him without cause.

⁴And Satan answered, and said: Skin for skin; and all that a man hath, he will give for his life:

⁵But put forth thy hand, and touch his bone and his flesh, and then thou shalt see that he will bless thee to thy face.

⁶And the Lord said to Satan: Behold, he is in thy hand, but yet save his life.

⁷So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with a very grievous ulcer, from the sole of the foot even to the top of his head:

⁸And he took a potsherd and scraped the corrupt matter, sitting on a dunghill.

⁹And his wife said to him: Dost thou still continue in thy simplicity? bless God and die.

¹⁰And he said to her: Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women: If we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not receive evil? In all these things Job did not sin with his lips.