1
Again 1there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.
2
And the LORD said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it."
3
And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still 2holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him 3without reason."
4
Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.
5
But 4stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will 5curse you to your face."
6
And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life."
7
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome 6sores from 7the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
8
And he took 8a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in 9the ashes.
9
Then his wife said to him, "Do you still 10hold fast your integrity? 11Curse God and die."
10
But he said to her, "You speak as one of the 12foolish women would speak. 13Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?"a14In all this Job did not 15sin with his lips.
11
Now when Job's three 16friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz 17the Temanite, Bildad 18the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to 19show him sympathy and comfort him.
12
And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they 20tore their robes and sprinkled 21dust on their heads toward heaven.
13
And they sat with him on the ground 22seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.