Job’s Character and Wealth

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. ² He had seven sons and three daughters, ³ and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.

⁴ Job’s sons would take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

⁵ And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings^* for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed^* God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

Satan’s First Attack

⁶ One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan^* also came with them.

⁷ “Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan.

“From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”

⁸ Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.”

⁹ Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing?^{* 10} Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You^* to Your face.”

¹² “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Job Loses His Children and Possessions

¹³ One day, while Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴ a messenger came and reported to Job: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, ¹⁵ the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The fire of God fell from heaven. It burned and consumed the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels, and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁸ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

²⁰ Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, ²¹ saying:

“Naked^* I came^* from my mother’s womb,

and naked^* I will return.

The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

²² In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.