Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
Parallel translations
- WEB What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What profit should we have, if we pray to him?’
- KJV What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
- NKJV Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
- NASB ‘Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’
- NLT Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him? What good will it do us to pray?’
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
The wicked scorn serving God, asking what profit there is in prayer. They reduce religion to a cost-benefit calculation and reject it.
Overview
Job quotes the godless reasoning of the wicked, who see no advantage in worship or prayer. This echoes the cynicism later voiced in Malachi 3:14. Their question reveals a heart that worships only self-interest. True faith, by contrast, serves God for who He is, not merely for what He gives, as Job himself has demonstrated (Job 1:9-22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Exod 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.”
- Job 34:9For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.’
- Mal 1:13–14You also say: ‘Oh, what a nuisance!’ And you turn up your nose at it,” says the LORD of Hosts. “You bring offerings that are stolen, lame, or sick! Should I accept these from your hands?” asks the LORD.
- Isa 30:11Get out of the way; turn off the road. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel!”
- Prov 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.
- Ps 12:4They say, “With our tongues we will prevail. We own our lips—who can be our master?”
- Isa 45:19I have not spoken in secret, from a place in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a wasteland.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I say what is right.
- Job 35:3For you ask, ‘What does it profit me, and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’
- Hos 13:6When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.
- Matt 7:7Ask, 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, so that your joy may be complete.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 21:15 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.