Job 21:15

Job 21:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
• English Standard Version (ESV)What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?'
• New King James Version (NKJV)Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
• New Living Translation (NLT)Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him? What good will it do us to pray?’

Context of Job 21:15

13They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace. 14Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?’ 16But their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked. 17“Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger?

Job 21:15 word by word

מַה־שַׁדַּ֥י כִּֽי־נַֽעַבְדֶ֑נּוּ וּמַה־נּ֝וֹעִ֗יל כִּ֣י נִפְגַּע־בּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• the Almightyשַׁדַּיshadday · AlmightyH7706
• that we should serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• him? and what profitיָעַלya‛al · to gainH3276
• should we have, if we prayפָּגַעpâga‛ · to fall onH6293

Cross-references for Job 21:15

• Exodus 5:2Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”
• Psalms 12:4those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
• Proverbs 30:9Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
• Hosea 13:6When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.
• Job 34:9For he says, ‘There is no profit in trying to please God.’
• Job 35:3Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?’
• Isaiah 30:11Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!”
• Malachi 1:13And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the Lord Almighty. “When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the Lord.
• Isaiah 45:19I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.
• Matthew 7:7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
• John 16:24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Commentaries on Job 21:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15What 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.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? - compare for similar expressions, Exodus 5:2; Proverbs 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…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-16Verses 7-16 Job says, Remarkable judgments are sometimes brought upon notorious sinners, but not always. Wherefore is it so? This is the day of God's patience; and, in some way or other, he makes use of the prosperity of the wicked to serve his own counsels, while it ripens them for ruin; but the chief reason is, because he will make it appear there is another world. These prospering sinners make light of God and religion, as if because they have so much…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. (Compare Jr 2:20; Pr 30:9, Margin, Ex 5:2). what profit--(Job 35:3; Mal 3:14; Psa 73:13). 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."Read the comment

Topics related to Job 21:15

• Amusements and Worldly Pleasures
• Character
• Infidelity
• Prayer
• Prayerlessness
• Rich, the
• Scoffing
• Skepticism
• Vanity
• Wicked (People)
• Worldliness

In the dictionaries

• Intercession

Commentaries on Job 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings