2. Doubting Job's Righteousness (Job 1:6-12)

6 And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord; Satan also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to Satan, 'Where have you come from?' And Satan answered the Lord, and said, I have walked on the earth, and have gone round it. 8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou paid attention unto my servant Job? for there is none like him on earth: a man blameless, just, God-fearing, and shunning evil. 9 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Is it for nothing that Job fears God? 10 Hast thou not enclosed him round about, and his house, and all that he has? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his flocks are spread over the earth; 11 but stretch out thy hand, and touch all that he has, and shall he bless thee? 12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand; only do not stretch out your hand against him. And Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

This is one of the first direct references to Satan in the Bible. Literally, this word means "adversary". He is depicted standing among angels and is represented not so much as the devil in the Christian sense of the word, but as an "angel-accuser". This episode was used by Goethe in Faust. Job is called the "servant" or "servant" of Yahweh, which is a reference to the image of the Servant in Isaiah II. Satan questions the unselfishness of Job's faith.

3. Job's Afflictions and His Endurance (Job 1:13-22; 2:1-10)

13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their firstborn brother. 14 And behold, a messenger came to Job, and said, 15 The oxen were ploughing, and the asses were grazing beside them, when the Shebeans fell upon them, and took them, and smote the youths with the edge of the sword. and I alone have been saved, to tell thee. 16 And he was saying, as another came, and said, The fire of God fell from heaven, and scorched the sheep and the young men, and devoured them. and I alone have been saved, to tell thee. 17 And he was saying, when another came, and said, The Chaldeans encamped in three companies, and rushed upon the camels, and took them, and smote the youths with the edge of the sword. and I alone have been saved, to tell thee. 18 And this one spoke, and another came, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters have eaten, and drunk wine, in the house of their firstborn brother; 19 And behold, a great wind came out of the wilderness, and swept over the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon the youths, and they died; and I alone have been saved, to tell thee. 20 Then Job arose, and tore his outer garment, and shaved his head, and fell to the ground, and bowed down, 21 and said, 'Naked I came out of my mother's womb, naked and I will return.' The Lord gave, and the Lord took away; blessed be the name of the Lord! 22 In all these things Job did not sin, nor did he say anything foolish about God.

1 And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord; Satan also came among them to stand before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, 'Where have you come from?' And Satan answered the Lord, and said, I have walked on the earth, and have gone round it. 3 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou paid attention unto my servant Job? for there is none like him on earth: a man blameless, just, God-fearing, and shunning evil, and to this day is firm in his integrity; but thou hast stirred Me up against him, that thou mayest destroy him innocently. 4 And Satan answered the Lord, saying, "Skin for skin, and for his life a man shall give all that he has; 5 but stretch out thy hand, and touch his bone and his flesh, and shall he bless thee? 6 And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand, only save his life. 7 And Satan departed from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with a fierce leprosy from the sole of his foot to the very top of his head. 8 And he took for himself a tile to scrape himself with it, and sat down in the ashes. 9 And his wife said unto him, Thou art still firm in thy integrity. blaspheme God and die. 10 But he said to her, 'You say like one of the fools, 'Shall we receive good from God, and not receive evil?' In all this Job did not sin with his mouth.

4. Job's Friends (Job 2:11-13)

11 And the three friends of Job heard of all these afflictions that had come upon him, and they went each one out of his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Sabhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and came together to go together to mourn with him, and to comfort him. 12 And when they lifted up their eyes from afar, they did not recognize him; and they lifted up their voices and wept; And every man tore his outer garments, and threw dust over their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the earth seven days and seven nights; and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

5. Job curses the day of his birth (Job 3)

From this point on, the text of the book is poetic.

1 And after these things Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day. 2 And Job began and said, "3 The day in which I was born perish, and the night in which it is said, 'A man was conceived!' 4 That day shall be darkness; let not God seek him from above, and let not the light shine upon him! 5 Let darkness darken him, and the shadow of death, let a cloud envelop him, let them fear him like scorching heat! 6 That night, let darkness possess it, let it not be numbered in the days of the year, let it not be included in the number of months! 7 Oh! that night - let it be deserted; let no merriment enter into it! 8 May those who curse the day curse her, who are able to awaken the leviathan! 9 Let the stars of her dawn be darkened: let her wait for the light, and it does not come, and let her not see the eyelashes of Lucifer, 10 because she did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, and hid sorrow from my eyes! 11 Why did I not die when I came out of the womb, and did I not die when I came out of the womb? 12 Why did the knees receive me? Why did I need to suck my nipples? 13 Now would I lie and rest; I would sleep, and I would be at peace 14 with the kings and counselors of the earth who built up deserts for themselves, 15 or with princes who had gold, and who filled their houses with silver; 16 Or like a miscarriage hidden, I would not exist, like babes that have not seen the light. 17 There the wicked cease to be afraid, and there the exhausted rest. 18 There the prisoners enjoy peace together, and do not hear the cries of the warden. 19 The small and the great are equal there, and the servant is free from his master. 20 Wherefore is light given to the afflicted, and life to those who are grieved in soul, 21 who await death, and there is none, who would dig it out more gladly than a treasure, 22 would rejoice to the point of delight, would be delighted that they had found the tomb? 23 For what is light given to a man whose way is closed, and whom God has surrounded with darkness? 24 My sighs warn my bread, and my groans pour out like water, 25 for the terrible thing that I was terrified of has come upon me; and what I feared came to me. 26 There is no peace for me, no rest, no comfort: misfortune has come upon me.