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v1

And then ^[Literally “And it came to be,” or “and it happened”] one day the sons of God ^[Or “the heavenly beings,” or “the angels”] came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan ^[Hebrew “the accuser,” or “the adversary”] also came into their midst to present himself before Yahweh.

v2

So ^[Hebrew “And”] Yahweh asked ^[Literally “said to”] Satan, ^[Hebrew “the accuser,” or “the adversary”] “From where have you come?” And Satan ^[Hebrew “the accuser,” or “the adversary”] answered Yahweh and said, “From roaming on the earth and from walking about in it.”

v3

So ^[Hebrew “And”] Yahweh asked ^[Literally “said to”] Satan, ^[Hebrew “the accuser,” or “the adversary”] “Have you considered ^[Literally “set your heart”] my servant Job? Indeed, ^[Or “For” or “Because”] there is no one like him on the earth—a blameless man and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil. And still he persists in his blamelessness even though ^[Hebrew “and”] you incited me against him to destroy him for nothing.”

v4

Then ^[Hebrew “And”] Satan ^[Hebrew “the accuser,” or “the adversary”] answered him and said, “Skin for skin! All that that ^[Literally “the”] man has he will give for his life.

v5

But stretch out ^[Or “please”] your hand and touch his bones and his flesh, and see whether ^[Literally “if not”] he will curse ^[Literally “bless”—negative meaning by context] you to your face.” ^[Hebrew “your faces”]

v6

So ^[Literally “And it happened the/one day”] Yahweh said to Satan, ^[Hebrew “the accuser,” or “the adversary”] “All right, ^[Literally “Look”] he is in your power. ^[Literally “hand”] Only spare his life.”

v7

So ^[Hebrew “And”] Satan ^[Hebrew “the accuser,” or “the adversary”] went out from Yahweh’s presence, ^[Literally “the faces of Yahweh”] and he inflicted Job with loathsome skin sores from the sole of his foot up to the crown of his head.

v8

So ^[Hebrew “And”] he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and he sat in the midst of the ashes.

v9

Then ^[Hebrew “And”] his wife said to him, “Are you still persisting in your blamelessness? Curse ^[Literally “Bless”—negative meaning by context] God and die.”

v10

So ^[Hebrew “And”] he said to her, “You speak like one of the foolish women speaks. Indeed, should we receive the good from God, but ^[Or “and”] not receive the evil?” In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

v11

Thus ^[Hebrew “And”] Job’s three friends heard of this calamity that had come upon him. So ^[Hebrew “And”] each set out from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. And they met ^[Or “they agreed”] together to come to console him and to comfort him.

v12

Thus ^[Hebrew “And”] they lifted up their eyes ^[Or “they gazed”] from afar, but ^[Hebrew “and”] they did not recognize him, so ^[Hebrew “and”] they raised their voice, and they wept, and each man tore his outer garment ^[Or “robe”] and threw dust on their heads toward the sky. ^[Or “in the air”; literally “to the heavens”]

v13

Then ^[Hebrew “And”] they sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, but ^[Hebrew “and”] no one spoke ^[Or “there was no speaking”] a word to him because they saw that his ^[Literally “the”] suffering was very great.