selves
before Jehovah, Satan came also to present himself before Jehovah. And
Jehovah said to Satan, Whence comest thou? And Satan answered Jehovah, and
said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down on
it. And Jehovah said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? For
there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who
fears God, and turns away from evil; and he still remains steadfast in his
piety, although thou incitest me against him, to destroy him without
cause. And Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that
a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thy hand now, and
touch his bone and his flesh; surely he will curse thee to thy face. And
Jehovah said to Satan, Behold, he is in thy power: only spare his life.

[Sidenote: Job 2:7, 8]
So Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah, and smote Job with a
malignant eruption from the sole of his foot to his crown. And he took a
potsherd with which to scrape himself; and he sat among the ashes.

[Sidenote: Job 2:9, 10]
Then said his wife to him, Do you still remain steadfast in your piety?
Curse God, and die. But he said to her, You speak like one of the foolish
women. We receive good at the hand of God, shall we not also receive evil?
In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

[Sidenote: Job 2:11-13]
Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon
him, they came each from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad
the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment
together to come to show their sympathy for him and to comfort him. And
when they lifted up their eyes afar off and knew him not, they raised
their voice and wept; and all tore their robes, and sprinkled dust upon
their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him on the ground seven
days and seven nights, without any one speaking a word to him, for they
saw that his pain was very great.

[Sidenote: Job 3:2, 11, 13-15, 17-19]
Then Job began to speak and said:

Why did I not die before birth?
Why did I not expire when my mother bore me?
For now would I have lain down and been quiet,
I would have slept, then had I been at rest,
With kings and counsellors of the earth,
Who built up ruins for themselves;
Or with princes who possessed gold,
Who filled their houses with silver.
There the wicked cease from raging,
And the weary are at rest.
There the prisoners have peace as we