¹ Another day, the sons of God came to attend on Yahweh and Satan came with them too.

² So Yahweh said to Satan, 'Where have you been?' 'Prowling about on earth,' he answered, 'roaming around there.'

³ So Yahweh asked him, 'Did you pay any attention to my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth: a sound and honest man who fears God and shuns evil. He persists in his integrity still; you achieved nothing by provoking me to ruin him.'

⁴ 'Skin after skin!' Satan replied. 'Someone will give away all he has to save his life.

⁵ But stretch out your hand and lay a finger on his bone and flesh; I warrant you, he will curse you to your face.'

⁶ 'Very well,' Yahweh said to Satan, 'he is in your power. But spare his life.'

⁷ So Satan left the presence of Yahweh. He struck Job down with malignant ulcers from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.

⁸ Job took a piece of pot to scrape himself, and went and sat among the ashes.

⁹ Then his wife said to him, 'Why persist in this integrity of yours? Curse God and die.'

¹⁰ 'That is how a fool of a woman talks,' Job replied. 'If we take happiness from God's hand, must we not take sorrow too?' And in all this misfortune Job uttered no sinful word.

¹¹ The news of all the disasters that had fallen on Job came to the ears of three of his friends. Each of them set out from home -- Eliphaz of Teman, Bildad of Shuah and Zophar of Naamath -- and by common consent they decided to go and offer him sympathy and consolation.

¹² Looking at him from a distance, they could not recognise him; they wept aloud and tore their robes and threw dust over their heads.

¹³ They sat there on the ground beside him for seven days and seven nights. To Job they spoke never a word, for they saw how much he was suffering.