the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
Parallel translations
- WEB and the Sabeans attacked, and took them away. Yes, they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
- KJV And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
- NKJV when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
- NASB and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
- NLT when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Raiding Sabeans seize the oxen and donkeys and kill the servants. Human evil is one instrument of Job's suffering.
Overview
The Sabean attack shows that Job's losses come partly through wicked human agents, not only natural disaster. Yet the reader knows these events trace back to the heavenly scene, revealing layered causes behind suffering. The refrain "I alone have escaped to tell you" begins, building unbearable tension as catastrophe follows catastrophe.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Gen 10:7The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. And the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
- Job 6:19The caravans of Tema look for water; the travelers of Sheba hope to find it.
- Ezek 23:42accompanied by the sound of a carefree crowd. Drunkards were brought in from the desert along with men from the rabble, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your head.
- Ps 72:10May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
- Job 1:16–17While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The fire of God fell from heaven. It burned and consumed the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
- 1 Sam 22:20–21But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar, and he fled to David.
- Gen 25:3Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites.
- Job 1:19when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
- Joel 3:8I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans—to a distant nation.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken.
- Gen 10:28Obal, Abimael, Sheba,
- Isa 45:14This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you; they will come over in chains and bow down to you. They will confess to you: ‘God is indeed with you, and there is no other; there is no other God.’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 1:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.