“All right, do with him as you please,” the Lord said to Satan. “But spare his life.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.”
- KJV And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save 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.”
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 10:13No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
- Luke 22:31–32The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat,
- Job 1:12Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only on himself don’t stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh.
- Rev 2:10Don’t be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested; and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life.
- Job 38:10–11marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors,
- Luke 8:29–33For Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For the unclean spirit had often seized the man. He was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters. Breaking the bands apart, he was driven by the demon into the desert.
- Ps 65:7who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.
- Rev 20:1–2I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
- Rev 20:7And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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.