Job is Tempted to Sin

Job 1:1-3; 2:1-10

¹ There was a man named Job who lived in the country of Uz. He was a good, honest man. He respected God and refused to do evil. ² Job had seven sons and three daughters. ³ He owned 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 1000 oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He had many servants. He was the richest man in the east.

2 ¹ Then another day came for the angels^a to meet with the Lord. Satan^bwas also there with them. ²The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you been?”

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been roaming around the earth, going from place to place.”

³ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him. He is a good, faithful man. He respects God and refuses to do evil. He is still faithful, even though you asked me to let you destroy, without reason, everything he has.”

⁴ Satan answered, “Skin for skin!^c A man will give everything he has to protect himself. ⁵ I swear, if you attack his flesh and bones, he will curse^dyou to your face!”

⁶ So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, Job is in your hands, but you are not allowed to kill him.”

⁷ So Satan left the meeting with the Lord and gave Job painful sores all over his body, from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head. ⁸Job sat on the pile of ashes where he was mourning^e and used a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores. ⁹ His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your faith? Why don’t you just curse God and die!”

¹⁰ Job answered his wife, “You sound like one of those fools on the street corner! How can we accept all the good things that God gives us, and then not accept the problems?” So even after all of that, Job did not sin. He did not accuse God of doing anything wrong.

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a 2:1 angels Literally, “sons of God.”

b 2:1 Satan A name for the devil meaning “the enemy,” or “the accuser.”

c 2:4 Skin for skin This means a person will do anything to avoid pain.

d 2:5 curse To ask for bad things to happen to a person or thing. As a noun it is a request for or warning about bad things to come.

e 2:8 mourning To express sorrow for someone who has died or for something lost. In ancient Israel people often put on special clothes, cried very loudly, and put ashes on their head to show their sadness. Professional “mourners” were sometimes paid to do this at a funeral.