| 2:1 | One day when the angels came to report to GOD, Satan also showed up. |
| 2:2 | GOD singled out Satan, saying, "And what have you been up to?" Satan answered GOD, "Oh, going here and there, checking things out." |
| 2:3 | Then GOD said to Satan, "Have you noticed my friend Job? There's no one quite like him, is there--honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil? He still has a firm grip on his integrity! You tried to trick me into destroying him, but it didn't work." |
| 2:4 | Satan answered, "A human would do anything to save his life. |
| 2:5 | But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away his health? He'd curse you to your face, that's what." |
| 2:6 | GOD said, "All right. Go ahead--you can do what you like with him. But mind you, don't kill him." |
| 2:7 | Satan left GOD and struck Job with terrible sores. Job was ulcers and scabs from head to foot. |
| 2:8 | They itched and oozed so badly that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, then went and sat on a trash heap, among the ashes. |
| 2:9 | His wife said, "Still holding on to your precious integrity, are you? Curse God and be done with it!" |
| 2:10 | He told her, "You're talking like an empty-headed fool. We take the good days from God--why not also the bad days?" Not once through all this did Job sin. He said nothing against God. |
| 2:11 | Three of Job's friends heard of all the trouble that had fallen on him. Each traveled from his own country--Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuhah, Zophar from Naamath--and went together to Job to keep him company and comfort him. |
| 2:12 | When they first caught sight of him, they couldn't believe what they saw--they hardly recognized him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. |
| 2:13 | Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and nights they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering. |
Job 2 - The Message Bible
