1 There was a man in the country of Uz ⓝ named Job. ⓐ He was a man of complete integrity, ⓑ who feared God and turned away from evil. ⓒ
2 He had seven sons and three daughters. ⓓ
3 His estate included seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, ⓔ and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east. ⓕ
4 His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
5 Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for [1] all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.” ⓖ This was Job’s regular practice.
6 One day the sons of God ⓗ came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan [2] also came with them.
7 The LORD asked Satan, “Where have you come from?” “From roaming through the earth,” ⓘ Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, ⓙ who fears God and turns away from evil.” ⓚ
9 Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
10 Haven’t you placed a hedge around ⓛ him, his household, and everything 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 ⓜ everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12 “Very well,” the LORD told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the LORD’s presence.
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,
14 a messenger came to Job and reported: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby,
15 the Sabeans ⓝ swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
16 He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “God’s fire fell from heaven. ⓐ It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
17 That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
18 He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house.
19 Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, 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 leave this life. [3] ⓔ The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD. ⓕ
22 Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything. [4] ⓖ