Job 21:15
in Job 21Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
KJV
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
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This verse in Job 21
Commentary
10 notes on this verseVer. 15. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? 52. For the mind of man being miserably discharged without, is so dissipated in things corporeal, as neither to return to itself within, nor to be able to think of Him, Who is invisible. Thus carnal men setting at nought spiritual commands, because they do not see God with bodily sight, one time or another come to this pass, that they even imagine Him not to be. Hence it is written, The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
This site's exposition
Leave us alone
on Job 21:14-16
Job reports the wicked saying to God, "Leave us alone", the words Eliphaz will use of wicked men at 22:17. Job reports it and refuses it, "so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked". Delitzsch notes that the line keeps his observation apart from his conviction.
This site's exposition
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him
Barnes compares Exodus 5:2 and Proverbs 30:9, where men likewise refuse to serve God. The wicked ask what they would gain if they pray, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe that sinners ask only what is for self. Henry answers that prayer gains nothing for those who ask amiss.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Who is the Almighty that we should serve him?" which shows a defect of good works originating from the contempt of God, "and what comes to us if we adore him?" which shows a contempt of prayer because of a defect of hope.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Or, (2.) To lessen the difficulty. God suffers them to prosper; but let us not wonder at it, for the prosperity of fools destroys them, by hardening them in sin, Prov. i. See how light these prospering sinners make of God and religion, as if because they have so much of this world they had no need to look after another.
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?.... "Who is he" (t)? as some render it; or what is there in him, in his nature, in his excellencies and perfections, that should oblige us to serve him?
But, if we have not profit by prayer, it is our own fault ( Isa. lviii. 3, 4 ), it is because we ask amiss, Jam. iv. Religion itself is not a vain thing; if it be so to us, we may thank ourselves for resting in the outside of it, Jam. i.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? - compare for similar expressions, Exo 5:2; Pro 30:9. The meaning here is, “What claim has the Almighty, or who is he, that we should be bound to obey and worship him? What authority has he over us? Why should we yield our will to his, and why submit to his claims?” This is the language of the human heart everywhere. Man seeks to deny the authority of God over him, and to feel that he has no claim to his service. He desires to be independent.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Pr 30:9, Margin, Ex 5:2). what profit-- (Job 35:3; Sinners ask, not what is right, but what is for the profit of self. They forget, "If religion cost self something, the want of it will cost self infinitely more."
What is the Almighty - What allegiance do we owe to him? We feel no obligation to obey him; and what profit can we derive from prayer? We are as happy as flesh and blood can make us: our kingdom is of this world; we wish for no other portion than that which we have. Those who have never prayed as they ought know nothing of the benefits of prayer.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| שַׁדַּ֥י | shadai | [is the] Almighty | H7706 → | 48 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נַֽעַבְדֶ֑נּוּ | naavdenu | we will serve him | H5647 → | 288 times |
| וּמַה־ | umah- | and what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| נּ֝וֹעִ֗יל | noil | will we gain | H3276 → | 23 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִפְגַּע־ | nifga'- | we will entreat | H6293 → | |
| בּֽוֹ׃ | bo | <in> <the> him |
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
שַׁדַּ֥י[is the] Almighty
shadaiH7706 →48 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נַֽעַבְדֶ֑נּוּwe will serve him
naavdenuH5647 →288 times
וּמַה־and what?
umah-H4100 →752 times
נּ֝וֹעִ֗ילwill we gain
noilH3276 →23 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
נִפְגַּע־we will entreat
nifga'-H6293 →
בּֽוֹ׃<in> <the> him
bo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 30:9Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.
it leads to
- Hosea 13:6
When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.
- Deuteronomy 31:20
When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to…
- Ezekiel 16:49–50
Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.
- Deuteronomy 8:10–14
When you eat and are satisfied, you are to bless the LORD your God for the good land that He has given you.
- Deuteronomy 32:15
But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
- Hosea 13:6
Through
Exodus 5:2But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
it leads to
- Exodus 3:19
But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him.
- 2 Kings 18:35
Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”
- Exodus 3:19
Through
Psalms 12:4They say, “With our tongues we will prevail. We own our lips—who can be our master?”
it leads to
- James 3:5–6
In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.
- James 3:5–6
About Job
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XV; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.