Job 2 · Verse 6

Job 2:6

And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Job 2:6, King James Version

Job 2:6 in other translations

BSB“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”
WEBThe LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.”
ASVAnd Jehovah said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand; only spare his life.
YLTAnd Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, ‘Lo, he is in thy hand; only his life take care of.'
DARBYAnd Jehovah said to Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand; only spare his life.
BBEAnd the Lord said to the Satan, See, he is in your hands, only do not take his life.
WebsterAnd the LORD said to Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand; but save his life.

What does Job 2:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
6. but save--rather, "only spare his life." Satan shows his ingenuity in inflicting pain, and also his knowledge of what man's body can bear without vital injury.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 But save his life - His body thou shalt have permission to afflict, but against his life thou shalt have no power; therefore take care of his life. The original, נפשו שמר naphsho shemor, may be translated, keep his soul; but the word also signifies life; yet in the hands of the destroyer the life of this holy man is placed! How astonishing is the economy of salvation! It is so managed, by the unlimited power and skill of God, that the grand adversary of souls becomes himself, by the order of God, the preserver of that which the evil of his nature incessantly prompts him to destroy!

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 2:6 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.

וַיֹּ֧אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
יְהוָ֛הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הַשָּׂטָ֖ןha.sa.Tanthe adversaryH7854
הִנּ֣וֹhi.Nothere heH2005
בְיָדֶ֑ךָve.ya.De.kha[is] in hand yourH3027
אַ֖ךְ'akhsurelyH389
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
נַפְשׁ֥וֹnaf.Sholife hisH5315
שְׁמֹֽר\׃she.MorpreserveH8104

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

Cross references for Job 2:6

  • 1 Corinthians 10:13

    There 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 22:31-32

    And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

  • Revelation 2:10

    Fear 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 1:12

    And 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.

  • 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.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. …

  • Job 38:10-11

    And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

  • Revelation 20:7

    And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

  • Revelation 20:1-2

    And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

  • Psalms 65:7

    Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Behold.
1:12
but. or, only. save.
38:10,11; Ps 65:7; Lu 8:29-33; 22:31,32; 1Co 10:13; Re 2:10
Re 20:1,2,7
his life.By {naphsho,} "his soul," Maimonides understands "his mind," or intellectual powers.

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

Context

  • Job 2:5

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

  • Job 2:6

    And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

  • Job 2:7

    So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

Read all of Job 2

Job 2:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y Jehová dijo á Satán: He aquí, él está en tu mano; mas guarda su vida.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et l’ Éternel dit à Satan: Le voilà entre tes mains, seulement épargne sa vie.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Jehova sprach zum Satan: Siehe, er ist in deiner Hand; nur schone seines Lebens.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixit ergo Dominus ad Satan: Ecce in manu tua est: verumtamen animam illius serva.