Job 2: The satan again, Job's sores, and the three friends
A free study, verse by verse. Text: World English Bible. Notes come from the Hebrew. How to read a study
What happens?
On another day the sons of God come before Yahweh, and Yahweh and the satan speak again about Job. Yahweh puts Job in the satan's hand but tells him to spare his life, and the satan strikes Job with painful sores from his foot to his head. Job sits among the ashes, his wife speaks to him, and three friends come, weep, and sit with him on the ground seven days and seven nights without a word.
Who is speaking?
The narrator tells the story. Yahweh speaks in 3 of the 13 verses (2, 3 and 6), in his talk with the satan. The satan speaks in verses 2, 4 and 5. Job's wife speaks in verse 9, and Job answers her in verse 10. Job's three friends speak no words in this chapter: no one spoke to Job for seven days. God's own words are printed in gold, and those verses are marked God speaks
1Again, on the day when God’s sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan came also among them to present himself before Yahweh.
In plain English: Again, on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan (the Hebrew says: the satan) also came among them to present himself before Yahweh.
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2Yahweh said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “From going back and forth on the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”God speaks
In plain English: Yahweh said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered Yahweh and said, "From going back and forth on the earth, and from walking up and down in it."
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3Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited me against him, to ruin him without cause.”God speaks
In plain English: Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you set your heart on my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. He still holds fast to his integrity, although you incited me against him to ruin him without cause."
The Hebrew words: "Without cause" is chinnam, the same word as "for nothing" in , where the note gives the dictionary meaning and the counts. "Integrity" is tummah, which the dictionary gives as "innocence". It is in 4 verses of Job, and the WEB says "integrity" in all 4. Two of them are in this chapter, here and verse 9.
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4Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
In plain English: Satan answered Yahweh and said, "Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
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5But stretch out your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to your face.”
In plain English: But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce (the Hebrew word is: bless) you to your face."
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6Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.”God speaks
In plain English: Yahweh said to Satan, "Look, he is in your hand. Only keep his life safe (or: preserve his life)."
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7So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head.
In plain English: So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh and struck Job with painful sores, from the sole of his foot to his head.
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8He took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself with, and he sat among the ashes.
In plain English: He took a potsherd (a piece of broken pottery) to scrape himself with, and he sat among the ashes.
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9Then his wife said to him, “Do you still maintain your integrity? Renounce God, and die.”
In plain English: Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Renounce (the Hebrew word is: bless) God, and die."
The Hebrew word: "Renounce" is barak, the same word as in and , where the note gives the dictionary meaning and the counts. The Hebrew reads "bless God, and die".
What changes: With "bless", she tells him to bless God and die. With "renounce" or "curse", she tells him to turn from God and die. The text gives her words and does not say what she meant.
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10But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job didn’t sin with his lips.
In plain English: But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
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11Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come on him, they each came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.
In plain English: Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come on him. Each came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together by appointment to come to show sympathy to him and to comfort him.
Good to know: These three friends are named here for the first time. The text gives each one a name and a family word: "the Temanite", "the Shuhite" and "the Naamathite". It gives no more about them.
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12When they lifted up their eyes from a distance, and didn’t recognize him, they raised their voices, and wept; and they each tore his robe, and sprinkled dust on their heads toward the sky.
In plain English: They lifted up their eyes from a distance and did not recognize him. They lifted up their voices and wept. Each tore his robe, and they sprinkled dust on their heads toward the sky.
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13So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
In plain English: They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights. No one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.
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