約伯失去健康
1又有一天，眾天使來朝見耶和華，撒旦也在他們當中。 2耶和華問撒旦：「你從哪裡來？」撒旦答道：「我在地上到處遊走。」 3耶和華問道：「你注意到我的僕人約伯了嗎？世上沒有人像他那樣純全正直，敬畏我，遠離罪惡。雖然你鼓動我無緣無故地攻擊他、毀滅他，他仍然持守自己的純正。」 4撒旦回答說：「人會以皮換皮，為了保全生命，情願捨棄一切。 5倘若你伸手傷害他的骨和肉，他必當面褻瀆你。」 6耶和華說：「好吧，他在你手中，但要留他一命。」 7於是，撒旦從耶和華面前退去，開始加害約伯，使他從頭到腳長毒瘡。 8約伯坐在爐灰中，拿瓦片刮身體。 9他的妻子對他說：「你還要持守自己的純正嗎？不如褻瀆上帝，死掉算了！」 10但約伯回答說：「你說話像個愚昧的婦人。難道我們只從上帝手裡接受祝福，卻不接受災殃嗎？」約伯遭此不幸，仍毫無怨言。
約伯的三個朋友
11約伯的三個朋友提幔人以利法、書亞人比勒達和拿瑪人瑣法聽到他的不幸遭遇，便各自從家鄉動身，相約一起來探望、安慰他。 12他們遠遠地看見約伯，幾乎認不出是他，禁不住放聲大哭，各自撕裂外袍，揚起塵土，讓土落在頭上。 13他們看到約伯極其痛苦，就陪著他在地上坐了七天七夜，沒有對他說一句話。
1On another day the angels2:1 Hebrew the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’
Satan answered the Lord, ‘From roaming throughout the earth, going to and fro on it.’
3Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no-one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.’
4‘Skin for skin!’ Satan replied. ‘A man will give all he has for his own life. 5But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.’
6The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.’
7So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. 8Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
9His wife said to him, ‘Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!’
10He replied, ‘You are talking like a foolish2:10 The Hebrew word rendered foolish denotes moral deficiency. woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
11When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathise with him and comfort him. 12When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognise him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No-one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
