Job2
New King James Version
1Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.
2And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
3Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”
4So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
5But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
6And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”
7So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
8And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
9Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him.
12And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven.
13So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Job 2.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Satan obtains leave to try Job. (1–6). Job's sufferings. (7–10). His friends come to comfort him. (11–13).
vv1-6
How well is it for us, that neither men nor devils are to be our judges! but all our judgment comes from the Lord, who never errs. Job holds fast his integrity still, as his weapon. God speaks with pleasure of the power of his own grace. Self-love and self-preservation are powerful in the hearts of men. But Satan accuses Job, representing him as wholly selfish, and minding nothing but his own ease and safety. Thus are the ways and people of God often falsely blamed by the devil and his agents. Permission is granted to Satan to make trial, but with a limit. If God did not chain up the roaring lion, how soon would he devour us! Job, thus slandered by Satan, was a type of Christ, the first prophecy of whom was, that Satan should bruise his heel, and be foiled.
vv7-10
The devil tempts his own children, and draws them to sin, and afterwards torments, when he has brought them to ruin; but this child of God he tormented with affliction, and then tempted to make a bad use of his affliction. He provoked Job to curse God. The disease was very grievous. If at any time we are tried with sore and grievous distempers, let us not think ourselves dealt with otherwise than as God sometimes deals with the best of his saints and servants. Job humbled himself under the mighty hand of God, and brought his mind to his condition. His wife was spared to him, to be a troubler and tempter to him. Satan still endeavours to draw men from God, as he did our first parents, by suggesting hard thoughts of Him, than which nothing is more false. But Job resisted and overcame the temptation. Shall we, guilty, polluted, worthless creatures, receive so many unmerited blessings from a just and holy God, and shall we refuse to accept the punishment of our sins, when we suffer so much less than we deserve? Let murmuring, as well as boasting, be for ever done away. Thus far Job stood the trial, and appeared brightest in the furnace of affliction. There might be risings of corruption in his heart, but grace had the upper hand.
vv11-13
The friends of Job seem noted for their rank, as well as for wisdom and piety. Much of the comfort of this life lies in friendship with the prudent and virtuous. Coming to mourn with him, they vented grief which they really felt. Coming to comfort him, they sat down with him. It would appear that they suspected his unexampled troubles were judgments for some crimes, which he had vailed under his professions of godliness. Many look upon it only as a compliment to visit their friends in sorrow; we must look life. And if the example of Job's friends is not enough to lead us to pity the afflicted, let us seek the mind that was in Christ.
Key Words
יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
אֱלֹהִים: gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
יָצַב: to place (any thing so as to stay); reflexively, to station, offer, continue
שָׂטָן: an opponent; especially (with the article prefixed) Satan, the arch-enemy of good
תָּוֶךְ: a bisection, i.e. (by implication) the centre
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
אֵל: near, with or among; often in general, to
אַי: where? hence how?
Cross References
Job 2Direct parallel structure depicting the sons of God and Satan presenting themselves before the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Repeats the Lord's question and Satan's response about walking up and down in the earth.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallel commendation of Job's perfect and upright character, adding his continued integrity.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Uses identical Hebrew phrasing for malignant boils from sole of foot to crown of head.
Supported by JFB
New Testament parallel of Satan walking about as a roaring lion seeking whom to devour.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Job later vindicates God's assessment, declaring he will not remove his integrity from him.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Sitting in ashes as a profound sign of deep mourning, distress, and self-abasement.
Supported by JFB
A wife used as an instrument of temptation, urging her husband to turn from God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Illustrates the scriptural connection between moral folly, sin, and spiritual blindness.
Supported by JFB
Identifies Teman as a descendant of Esau, establishing Eliphaz's Idumean lineage.
Supported by JFB
Parallels sitting in silence on the ground as the ultimate expression of overwhelming grief.
Supported by JFB
Satan demanding to sift a believer, obtaining limited divine permission for testing.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Paul's thorn in the flesh, described as a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Sprinkling dust upon their heads toward heaven as a visible token of intense lamentation.
Supported by JFB