Job 2

Satan’s Second Test of Job

1 One day the sons of God  * 2:1 Gn 6:2,4; Jb 1:6; 38:7 came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord asked Satan, "Where have you come from? "

"From roaming through the earth," Satan answered him, "and walking around on it."

3 Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity,  * 2:3 Jb 6:29 who fears God and turns away from evil.  * 2:3 Jb 1:1,8; 28:28; Pr 3:7 He still retains his integrity, even though you incited me against him, to destroy him for no good reason."

4 "Skin for skin! " Satan answered the Lord. "A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike  * 2:5 Jb 1:11; 4:5; 19:21 his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."

6 "Very well," the Lord told Satan, "he is in your power; only spare his life." 7 So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.  * 2:7 Dt 28:27,358 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.  * 2:8 2Sm 13:19; Jb 42:6

9 His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die! "

10 "You speak as a foolish woman speaks," he told her. "Should we accept only good from God and not adversity? " Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.  * 2:10 Lit sin with his lips

Job’s Three Friends

11 Now when Job’s three friends — Eliphaz the Temanite,  * 2:11 Gn 36:34; 1Ch 1:45; Jb 42:9 Bildad the Shuhite,  * 2:11 Gn 25:2; Jb 8:1; 18:1 and Zophar the Naamathite — heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort  * 2:11 Jb 42:11; Ps 69:20; Jr 16:5 him. 12 When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud,  * 2:12 Jdg 21:2; Ru 1:9,14; 2Sm 13:36 and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head.  * 2:12 Jos 7:6; Lm 2:10; Ezk 27:3013 Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights,  * 2:13 Gn 50:10; Ezk 3:15; 45:21 but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering  * 2:13 Gn 34:5; Jb 16:6; Ps 39:2 was very intense.