Job 21:15 BSB — MannaFest

Job 21:15

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

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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Commentary

4 voices

Gregory the Dialogist

Morals on the Book of Job, Book XV (604)

Ver. 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.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

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.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

9 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
מַה־	mah-	what?	H4100 →
שַׁדַּ֥י	sha.Dai	[is the] Almighty	H7706 →
כִּֽי־	ki-	that	H3588 →
נַֽעַבְדֶ֑נּוּ	na.'av.De.nu	we will serve him	H5647 →
וּמַה־	u.mah-	and what?	H4100 →
נּ֝וֹעִ֗יל	no.'Il	will we gain	H3276 →
כִּ֣י	ki	that	H3588 →
נִפְגַּע־	nif.ga'-	we will entreat	H6293 →
בּֽוֹ׃	bo	<in> <the> him

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Proverbs 30:9
Otherwise, 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.
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.
Through
Exodus 5:2
But 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.”
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?”
Through
Psalms 12:4
They say, “With our tongues we will prevail. We own our lips—who can be our master?”
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.

About Job

Job Hears of His Misfortunes — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Job: the study guide →Read chapter 21 →The featured study →

Continue: Job 21 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Job

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Job