Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, July 29th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
Attention!
StudyLight.org has pledged to help build churches in Uganda. Help us with that pledge and support pastors in the heart of Africa.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

Complete Jewish Bible

Job 1:9

The Adversary answered Adonai , "Is it for nothing that Iyov fears God?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Accusation, False;   Falsehood;   Motive;   Persecution;   Satan;   Temptation;   Scofield Reference Index - Satan;   Thompson Chain Reference - Adversary;   Satan;   Satan's;   Satan-Evil Spirits;   Serpent;   Tempter;   Work, Satan's;   The Topic Concordance - Blessings;   Defense;   Evil;   Fear;   Uprightness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Devil, the;   Selfishness;   Temptation;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Job;   Poor;   Satan;   Suffering;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Fear;   Greatness of God;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Satan;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Devil;   Job;   Satan;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Affliction;   Job, the Book of;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Devil;   Sin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Demon, Demoniacal Possession, Demoniacs;   Fall;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Satan;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Devil;   Sa'tan;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Job, Book of;   Slander;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Angelology;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
Hebrew Names Version
Then Hasatan answered the LORD, and said, "Does Iyov fear God for nothing?
King James Version
Then Satan answered the Lord , and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
English Standard Version
Then Satan answered the Lord and said, "Does Job fear God for no reason?
New Century Version
But Satan answered the Lord , "Job honors God for a good reason.
New English Translation
Then Satan answered the Lord , "Is it for nothing that Job fears God?
Amplified Bible
Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
New American Standard Bible
Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
World English Bible
Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Satan answered the Lord, and sayde, Doeth Iob feare God for nought?
Legacy Standard Bible
And Satan answered Yahweh and said, "Does Job fear God without cause?
Berean Standard Bible
Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
Contemporary English Version
"Why shouldn't he respect you?" Satan remarked.
Darby Translation
And Satan answered Jehovah and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Easy-to-Read Version
Satan answered the Lord , "But Job has a good reason to respect you.
George Lamsa Translation
Then Satan answered the LORD and said, Does Job revere God for nought?
Good News Translation
Satan replied, "Would Job worship you if he got nothing out of it?
Lexham English Bible
Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
Literal Translation
And Satan answered Jehovah and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Sathan answered, and sayde vnto the LORDE: Doth Iob feare God for naught?
American Standard Version
Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Bible in Basic English
And the Satan said in answer to the Lord, Is it for nothing that Job is a god-fearing man?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Satan aunswered, and saide vnto the Lorde: Doth Iob feare God for naught?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said: 'Doth Job fear God for nought?
King James Version (1611)
Then Satan answered ye Lord, and sayd, Doeth Iob feare God for nought?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Then the devil answered, and said before the Lord, Does Job worship the Lord for nothing?
English Revised Version
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
To whom Sathan answeride, Whether Joob dredith God veynli?
Update Bible Version
Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?
Webster's Bible Translation
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for naught?
New King James Version
So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
New Living Translation
Satan replied to the Lord , "Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God.
New Life Bible
Then Satan answered the Lord, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
New Revised Standard
Then Satan answered the Lord , "Does Job fear God for nothing?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the accuser answered Yahweh, and said, Is it, for nought, that Job revereth God?
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Satan answering, said: Doth Job fear God in vain?
Revised Standard Version
Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nought?
Young's Literal Translation
And the Adversary answereth Jehovah and saith, `For nought is Job fearing God?
THE MESSAGE
Satan retorted, "So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does—he can't lose!
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing?

Contextual Overview

6 It happened one day that the sons of God came to serve Adonai , and among them came the Adversary . 7 Adonai asked the Adversary, "Where are you coming from?" The Adversary answered Adonai , "From roaming through the earth, wandering here and there." 8 Adonai asked the Adversary, "Did you notice my servant Iyov, that there's no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil?" 9 The Adversary answered Adonai , "Is it for nothing that Iyov fears God? 10 You've put a protective hedge around him, his house and everything he has. You've prospered his work, and his livestock are spread out all over the land. 11 But if you reach out your hand and touch whatever he has, without doubt he'll curse you to your face!" 12 Adonai said to the Adversary, "Here! Everything he has is in your hands, except that you are not to lay a finger on his person." Then the Adversary went out from the presence of Adonai .

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Doth Job: Job 1:21, Job 2:10, Job 21:14, Job 21:15, Malachi 1:10, Matthew 16:26, 1 Timothy 4:8, 1 Timothy 6:6

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 32:29 - possessions Job 4:6 - thy fear Jonah 1:9 - and I Matthew 4:3 - the tempter Romans 8:33 - Who Revelation 12:10 - the accuser

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:2
The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water.
Genesis 1:5
God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So there was evening, and there was morning, one day.
Genesis 1:6
God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the water; let it divide the water from the water."
Genesis 1:8
and God called the dome Sky. So there was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
Genesis 1:9
God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear," and that is how it was.
Genesis 1:11
God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, seed-producing plants, and fruit trees, each yielding its own kind of seed-bearing fruit, on the earth"; and that is how it was.
Genesis 1:28
God blessed them: God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth."
Genesis 1:29
Then God said, "Here! Throughout the whole earth I am giving you as food every seed-bearing plant and every tree with seed-bearing fruit.
Job 26:7
He stretches the north over chaos and suspends the earth on nothing.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, doth Job fear God for nought. Satan does not deny any part of Job's character, nor directly charge him with anyone sin; which shows what a holy man Job was, how exact in his life and conversation, that the devil could not allege any one thing against him; nor does he deny that he feared the Lord; nay, he owns it, only suggests there was a private reason for it; and this he dares not affirm, only puts it by way of question, giving an innuendo, which is a wretched way of slander many of his children have learnt from him: he insinuates that Job's fear of God, and serving him, was not "for nought", or "freely" s, it was not out of love to him, or with any regard to his will, or his honour and glory, but from selfish principles, with mercenary views, and for worldly ends and purposes: indeed no man fears and serves the Lord for nought and in vain, he is well paid for it; and godliness has a great gain along with it, the Lord bestows everything, both in a temporal and spiritual way, on them that fear him; so that eventually, and in the issue, they are great gainers by it; and they may lawfully look to these things, in order to encourage them in the service and worship of God, even as Moses had respect to the recompence of reward; when they do not make these, but the will and glory of God, the sole and chief cause and end thereof: but the intimation of Satan is, that Job's fear was merely outward and hypocritical, nor cordial, hearty, and disinterested, but was entirely for his own sake, and for what he got by it; and this he said as if he knew better than God himself, the searcher of hearts, who had before given such an honourable character of him. Sephorno observes, that he supposes that his fear was not a fear of the greatness of God, a reverence of his divine Majesty, but a fear of punishment; or what we call a servile fear, and not a filial one.

s חנם "gratis", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius Piscator, Schmidt, Schultens.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Doth Job fear God for nought? - “Is his religion disinterested? Would not anyone be willing to worship God in such circumstances?” The idea is that there was nothing genuine about his piety; that religion could not be tried in prosperity; that Job had an abundant compensation for serving God, and that if the favors conferred on him were taken away, he would be like the rest of mankind. Much of the apparent virtue and religion of the world is the result of circumstances, and the question here proposed “may,” it is to be feared, be asked with great propriety of many professors of religion who are rich; it “should” be asked by every professed friend of the Most High, whether his religion is not selfish and mercenary. Is it because God has blessed us with great earthly advantages? Is it the result of mere gratitude? Is it because he has preserved us in peril, or restored us from sickness? Or is it merely because we hope for heaven, and serve God because we trust he will reward us in a future world? All this may be the result of mere selfishness; and of all such persons it may be appropriately asked, “Do they fear God for nought?” True religion is not mere gratitude, nor is it the result of circumstances. It is the love of religion for its own sake - not for reward; it is because the service of God is right in itself, and not merely because heaven is full of glory; it is because God is worthy of our affections and confidence, and not merely because he will bless us - and this religion will live through all external changes, and survive the destruction of the world. It will flourish in poverty as well as when surrounded by affluence; on a bed of pain as well as in vigorous health; when we are calumniated and despised for our attachment to it, as well as when the incense of flattery is burned around us, and the silvery tones of praise fall on our ear; in the cottage as well as the palace; on the pallet of straw as well as on the bed of down.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 1:9. Doth Job fear God for naught? — Thou hast made it his interest to be exemplary in his conduct: for this assertion Satan gives his reasons in what immediately follows.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile