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Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.”
Job 1:8 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant, Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil.”
  • KJV And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
  • NKJV Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”
  • NASB The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”
  • NLT Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”

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

God Himself draws attention to Job's unequalled righteousness, calling him "my servant." God commends the very man about to be tested.

Overview

Remarkably, God initiates the focus on Job, praising his blameless, God-fearing life. This shows that Job's trial begins not because of his sin but because of his godliness, and that God takes delight in genuine faith. The title "my servant" anticipates the ultimate righteous Servant, Christ, in whom God was well pleased and who suffered to accomplish redemption.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 27

  • Job 2:3Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”
  • Job 1:1There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil.
  • Num 12:7–8But this is not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house.
  • 2 Kgs 23:25Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses.
  • Prov 8:13To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
  • Isa 1:16Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
  • Job 8:20Behold, God does not reject the blameless, nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers.
  • Ps 84:11For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
  • Num 12:3Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth.
  • Job 23:11–12My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside.
  • Job 42:7–8After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has.
  • Ps 18:23And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.
  • Job 17:8–9The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent are stirred against the godless.
  • Isa 42:1“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
  • Luke 23:39–40One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him. “Are You not the Christ?” he said. “Save Yourself and us!”
  • Job 9:22–23It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
  • 1 Kgs 4:30–31Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
  • Job 12:4I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.
  • Job 34:14If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath,
  • Josh 1:7Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.
  • Ezek 40:4“Son of man,” he said to me, “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Report to the house of Israel everything you see.”
  • Ps 36:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
  • Ps 34:14Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
  • Neh 5:15The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do this because of my fear of God.
  • Ps 37:27Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever.
  • John 1:47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”
  • Ps 89:20I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Job videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Job 1:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JobMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 1:8 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.