And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.”
- BSB “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”
- NKJV And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”
- NASB So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”
- NLT “All right, do with him as you please,” the Lord said to Satan. “But spare his life.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God permits Satan to afflict Job's body but commands he spare his life. Again suffering is allowed only within strict limits.
Overview
The LORD hands Job over to severe affliction yet sets an absolute boundary at his life. This reaffirms that even intense suffering is bounded and purposeful under God's hand. Believers are reminded that nothing touches them apart from the Father's permission and care, a care fully secured in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Cor 10:13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
- Luke 22:31–32And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
- Job 1:12And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
- Rev 2:10Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
- Job 38:10–11And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
- Luke 8:29–33(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
- Ps 65:7Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
- Rev 20:1–2And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
- Rev 20:7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 2:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.