The Adversary’s Attack on Job’s Person

2 ⌊And then⌋a one day the sons of Godb came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satanc also came into their midst to present himself before Yahweh. 2 Sod Yahweh ⌊asked⌋e Satan,f “From where have you come?”

And Satang answered Yahweh and said, “From roaming on the earth and from walking about in it.”

3 Soh 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 Thenn Satano answered him and said, “Skin for skin! All that ⌊that⌋p man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch outq your hand and touch his bones and his flesh, and see ⌊whether⌋r he will ⌊curse⌋s you to your face.”t

6 Sou Yahweh said to Satan,v “⌊All right⌋,w he is in your ⌊power⌋.x Only spare his life.”

Job’s Blameless Behavior

7 Soy Satanz went out from ⌊Yahweh’s presence⌋,a and he inflicted Job with loathsome skin sores from the sole of his foot up to the crown of his head. 8 ⌊So⌋b he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and he sat in the midst of the ashes.

9 Thenc his wife said to him, “Are you still persisting in your blamelessness? ⌊Curse⌋d God and die.”

10 Soe he said to her, “You speak like one of the foolish women speaks. Indeed, should we receive the good from God, butf not receive the evil?” In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

11 Thusg Job’s three friends heard of this calamity that had come upon him. Soh each set out from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. And they meti together to come to console him and to comfort him.

12 Thusj they lifted up their eyesk from afar, butl they did not recognize him, som they raised their voice, and they wept, and each man tore his outer garmentn and threw dust on their heads ⌊toward the sky⌋.o 13 Thenp they sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, butq no one spoker a word to him because they saw that ⌊his⌋s suffering was very great.