Job 1-3  Christian Standard Bible Anglicised

Job and His Family

1 There was a man in the country of Uz^(A) named Job.^(B) He was a man of complete integrity,^(C) who feared God and turned away from evil.^{(D) 2} He had seven sons and three daughters.^{(E) 3} His estate included seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys,^(F) and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.^(G)

⁴ His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for^[a] all of them. For Job thought, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.’^(H) This was Job’s regular practice.

Satan’s First Test of Job

⁶ One day the sons of God^(I) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan^[b] also came with them. ⁷ The Lord asked Satan, ‘Where have you come from? ’

‘From roaming through the earth,’^(J) Satan answered him, ‘and walking around on it.’

⁸ 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,^(K) who fears God and turns away from evil.’^(L)

⁹ Satan answered the Lord, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing? ¹⁰ Haven’t you placed a hedge round^(M) him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and strike^(N) everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.’

¹² ‘Very well,’ the Lord told Satan, ‘everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.’ So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

¹³ One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, ¹⁴ a messenger came to Job and reported, ‘While the oxen were ploughing and the donkeys grazing nearby, ¹⁵ the Sabeans^(O) swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you! ’

¹⁶ He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, ‘God’s fire fell from heaven.^(P) It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you! ’

¹⁷ That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported, ‘The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you! ’

¹⁸ He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house. ¹⁹ Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you! ’

²⁰ Then Job stood up, tore^(Q) his robe, and shaved^(R) his head. He fell to the ground and worshipped, ²¹ saying:

²² Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.^[d](V)

Satan’s Second Test of Job

2 One day the sons of God^(W) 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,^(X) who fears God and turns away from evil.^(Y) 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^(Z) 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.^{(AA) 8} Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.^(AB)

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.^[e]

Job’s Three Friends

¹¹ Now when Job’s three friends – Eliphaz the Temanite,^(AC) Bildad the Shuhite,^(AD) 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 sympathise with him and comfort^(AE) him. ¹² When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognise him. They wept aloud,^(AF) and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head.^{(AG) 13} Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights,^(AH) but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering^(AI) was very intense.

Job’s Opening Speech

3 After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born. ² He said: