Job 1–2

Job, the Good Man

1A man named Job lived in the land of Uz. He was an honest and innocent man; he honored God and stayed away from evil. ²Job had seven sons and three daughters. ³He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys. He also had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

⁴Job’s sons took turns holding feasts in their homes and invited their sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵After a feast was over, Job would send and have them made clean. Early in the morning Job would offer a burnt offering for each of them, because he thought, “My children may have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job did this every time.

Satan Appears Before the Lord

⁶One day the angels came to show themselves before the Lord, and Satan ⁿ was with them. ⁷The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been wandering around the earth, going back and forth in it.”

⁸Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him. He is an honest and innocent man, honoring God and staying away from evil.”

⁹But Satan answered the Lord, “Job honors God for a good reason. ¹⁰You have put a wall around him, his family, and everything he owns. You have blessed the things he has done. His flocks and herds are so large they almost cover the land. ¹¹But reach out your hand and destroy everything he has, and he will curse you to your face.”

¹²The Lord said to Satan, “All right, then. Everything Job has is in your power, but you must not touch Job himself.” Then Satan left the Lord’s presence.

¹³One day Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine together at the oldest brother’s house. ¹⁴A messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were eating grass nearby, ¹⁵when the Sabeans attacked and carried them away. They killed the servants with swords, and I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”

¹⁶The messenger was still speaking when another messenger arrived and said, “Lightning from God fell from the sky. It burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”

¹⁷The second messenger was still speaking when another messenger arrived and said, “The Babylonians sent three groups of attackers that swept down and stole your camels and killed the servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”

¹⁸The third messenger was still speaking when another messenger arrived and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine together at the oldest brother’s house. ¹⁹Suddenly a great wind came from the desert, hitting all four corners of the house at once. The house fell in on the young people, and they are all dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”

²⁰When Job heard this, he got up and tore his robe and shaved his head to show how sad he was. Then he bowed down to the ground to worship God. ²¹He said:

“I was naked when I was born,

and I will be naked when I die.

The Lord gave these things to me,

and he has taken them away.

Praise the name of the Lord.”

²²In all this Job did not sin or blame God.

Satan Appears Before the Lord Again

2On another day the angels came to show themselves before the Lord, and Satan was with them again. ²The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been wandering around the earth, going back and forth in it.”

³Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him. He is an honest and innocent man, honoring God and staying away from evil. You caused me to ruin him for no good reason, but he continues to be without blame.”

⁴“One skin for another!” Satan answered. “A man will give all he has to save his own life. ⁵But reach out your hand and destroy his flesh and bones, and he will curse you to your face.”

⁶The Lord said to Satan, “All right, then. Job is in your power, but you may not take his life.”

⁷So Satan left the Lord’s presence. He put painful sores on Job’s body, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. ⁸Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, and he sat in ashes in misery.

⁹Job’s wife said to him, “Why are you trying to stay innocent? Curse God and die!”

¹⁰Job answered, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Should we take only good things from God and not trouble?” In spite of all this Job did not sin in what he said.

Job’s Three Friends Come to Help

¹¹Now Job had three friends: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. When these friends heard about Job’s troubles, they agreed to meet and visit him. They wanted to show their concern and to comfort him. ¹²They saw Job from far away, but he looked so different they almost didn’t recognize him. They began to cry loudly and tore their robes and put dirt on their heads to show how sad they were. ¹³Then they sat on the ground with Job seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him because they saw how much he was suffering.