Job's virtue and riches. Satan by permission from God strippeth him of
all his substance. His patience.
1:1. There was a man in the land of Hus, whose name was Job, and that
man was simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil.
Hus. . .The land of Hus was a part of Edom; as appears from Lam.
4.21.--Ibid. Simple. . .That is, innocent, sincere, and without guile.
1:2. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
1:3. And his possession was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand
camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and
a family exceedingly great: and this man was great among all the people
of the east.
1:4. And his sons went, and made a feast by houses, every one in his
day. And sending, they called their three sisters, to eat and drink
with them.
And made a feast by houses. . .That is, each made a feast in his own
house and had his day, inviting the others, and their sisters.
1:5. And when the days of their feasting were gone about, Job sent to
them, and sanctified them: and rising up early, offered holocausts for
every one of them. For he said: Lest perhaps my sons have sinned, and
have blessed God in their hearts. So did Job all days.
Blessed. . .For greater horror of the very thought of blasphemy, the
scripture both here and ver. 11, and in the following chapter, ver. 5
and 9, uses the word bless to signify its contrary.
1:6. Now on a certain day, when the sons of God came to stand before
the Lord, Satan also was present among them.
The sons of God. . .The angels.--Ibid. Satan also, etc. This passage
represents to us in a figure, accommodated to the ways and
understandings of men, 1. The restless endeavours of Satan against the
servants of God; 2. That he can do nothing without God's permission; 3.
That God doth not permit him to tempt them above their strength: but
assists them by his divine grace in such manner, that the vain efforts
of the enemy only serve to illustrate their virtue and increase their
merit.
1:7. And the Lord said to him: Whence comest thou? And he answered and
said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it.
1:8. And the Lord said to him: Hast thou considered my servant, Job,
that there is none like him in the earth, a simple and upright man, and
fearing God, and avoiding evil?
1:9. And Satan answering, said: Doth Job fear God in vain?
1:10. Hast thou not made a fence for him, and his house, and all his
substance round about, blessed the works of his hands, and his
possession hath increased on the earth?
1:11. But stretch forth thy hand a little, and touch all that he hath,
and see if he bless thee not to thy face.
1:12. Then the Lord said to Satan: Behold, all that he hath is in thy
hand: only put not forth thy hand upon his person. And Satan went forth
from the presence of the Lord.
1:13. Now upon a certain day, when his sons and daughters were eating
and drinking wine, in the house of their eldest brother,
1:14. There came a messenger to Job, and said: The oxen were ploughing,
and the asses feeding beside them,
1:15. And the Sabeans rushed in, and took all away, and slew the
servants with the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:16. And while he was yet speaking, another came, and said: The fire
of God fell from heaven, and striking the sheep and the servants, hath
consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:17. And while he also was yet speaking, there came another, and said:
The Chaldeans made three troops, and have fallen upon the camels, and
taken them; moreover, they have slain the servants with the sword: and
I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:18. He was yet speaking, and behold another came in, and said: Thy
sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their
eldest brother,
1:19. A violent wind came on a sudden from the side of the desert, and
shook the four corners of the house, and it fell upon thy children, and
they are dead: and I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:20. Then Job rose up, and rent his garments, and having shaven his
head, fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
1:21. And said: Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I
return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: as it hath
pleased the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord.
1:22. In all these things Job sinned not by his lips, nor spoke he any
foolish thing against God.