Job 2 · Verse 4

Job 2:4

And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:4, King James Version

Job 2:4 in other translations

BSB“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life.
WEBSatan answered the LORD, and said, “Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
ASVAnd Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
YLTAnd the Adversary answereth Jehovah and saith, ‘A skin for a skin, and all that a man hath he doth give for his life.
DARBYAnd Satan answered Jehovah and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life;
BBEAnd the Satan said in answer to the Lord, Skin for skin, all a man has he will give for his life.
WebsterAnd Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, even, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

What does Job 2:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. Skin for skin--a proverb. Supply, "He will give." The "skin" is figurative for any outward good. Nothing outward is so dear that a man will not exchange it for some other outward good; "but" (not "yea") "life," the inward good, cannot be replaced; a man will sacrifice everything else for its sake. Satan sneers bitterly at man's egotism and says that Job bears the loss of property and children because these are mere outward and exchangeable goods, but he will give up all things, even his religion, in order to save his life, if you touch his bones and flesh. "Skin" and "life" are in antithesis [Umbreit]. The martyrs prove Satan's sneer false. Rosenmuller explains it not so well. A man willingly gives up another's skin (life) for his own skin (life). So Job might bear the loss of his children, &c., with equanimity, so long as he remained unhurt himself; but when touched in his own person, he would renounce God. Thus the first "skin" means the other's skin, that is, body; the second "skin," one's own, as in Ex 21:28.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 Skin for skin - That is, A man will part with all he has in the world to save his life; and he will part with all by piecemeal, till he has nothing left on earth, and even be thankful, provided his life be spared. Thou hast only destroyed his property; thou hast left him his life and his health. Thou hast not touched his flesh nor his bone; therefore he is patient and resigned. Man, through the love of life, will go much farther: he will give up one member to save the rest; yea, limb after limb as long as there is hope that, by such sacrifices, life may be spared or prolonged. This is the meaning given to the passage by the Targum; and, I believe, the true one; hence, Job 2:6, the Lord says, Save his life.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 2:1-6

How well is it for us, that neither men nor devils are to be our judges! but all our judgment comes from the Lord, who never errs. Job holds fast his integrity still, as his weapon. God speaks with pleasure of the power of his own grace. Self-love and self-preservation are powerful in the hearts of men. But Satan accuses Job, representing him as wholly selfish, and minding nothing but his own ease and safety. Thus…

Read the full comment on Job 2:1-6 →

Job 2:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּ֧עַןvai.Ya.'anand he answeredH6030
הַשָּׂטָ֛ןha.sa.Tanthe adversaryH7854
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
וַיֹּאמַ֑רvai.yo.Marand he saidH559
ע֣וֹרorskinH5785
בְּעַד\־be.'ad-forH1157
ע֗וֹרorskinH5785
וְכֹל֙ve.Kholand allH3605
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherthatH834
לָאִ֔ישׁla.'Ish[belongs] to the manH376
יִתֵּ֖ןyi.Tenhe will giveH5414
בְּעַ֥דbe.'AdforH1157
נַפְשֽׁוֹ\׃naf.Sholife hisH5315

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 2:4

  • Philippians 3:8-10

    Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

  • Matthew 6:25

    Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

  • Matthew 16:26

    For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

  • Jeremiah 41:8

    But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.

  • Esther 7:3-4

    Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.

  • Acts 27:18-19

    And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
all that.
Es 7:3,4; Isa 2:20,21; Jer 41:8; Mt 6:25; 16:26; Ac 27:18,19
Php 3:8-10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 2:3

    And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

  • Job 2:4

    And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

  • Job 2:5

    But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Read all of Job 2

Job 2:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y respondiendo Satán dijo á Jehová: Piel por piel, todo lo que el hombre tiene dará por su vida.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Satan répondit à l’ Éternel et dit: Peau pour peau, et tout ce qu’un homme a, il le donnera pour sa vie;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Satan antwortete Jehova und sprach: Haut um Haut, ja, alles, was der Mensch hat, gibt er um sein Leben.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cui respondens Satan, ait: Pellem pro pelle, et cuncta quæ habet homo dabit pro anima sua;