“Where are you coming from?” Where is the place about which you may say, “From this place I come”?

maintains Heb. מחזיק, holds, as in (Exod. 4:4) “and he held (ויחזק) onto it”; (Prov. 26:17), “One who holds (מחזיק) onto a dog’s ears.”

Yet you enticed Me against him You enticed Me to destroy him. Every expression of הֲסָתָה is only an expression of attracting a person to his counsel.

Skin for skin One limb for another limb. It is human nature that, when one sees a sword coming toward his head, he protects it with his arm in front of it. Surely a person will give all the money he has.

for his life For his life to protect it. Because this person knows that he is liable to lose his life, he does not worry about his money.

But Heb. אולם, but.

will he not Will You not see immediately that he will blaspheme You to Your face?

but preserve his life that it does not go out. From here the Sages said, “The Adversary’s pain was greater than Job’s. This is analogous to one saying to his friend, ‘Break this barrel but preserve its wine.’”

to scratch himself with Heb. להתגרד. This word is spelled with a “dalet.” It is a Mishnaic expression (Rosh Hashanah 27b): “If he scraped it (גרדו) and reduced it to its normal size,” but גורר with a “reish” is only an expression of dragging, like (Shabbath 29b), “A person may drag a bed or a bench.”

maintain Heb. מחזיק, hold.

and die Heb. ומת. This is an imperative expression, as (Deut. 32: 50), “And die on the mountain.”

also Is it not enough that He created us? Should we also accept the good, but not accept the evil? This is a wonder.

with his lips but in his heart he did sin.

Job’s three friends Heb. רעי, those who loved him.

to bemoan Heb. לנוד, as in (Isa. 51:19): “who will lament (ינוד) for you?”; (Jer. 22:10), “neither bemoan (תנדו) him.”

but they did not recognize him because his face had changed as a result of the agonies.

towards heaven i.e., high over their heads. That was their mourning custom.

on the ground On the ground, to share his pain.