Bible Strands
Job 21:15
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker, grouped with the wicked in Job 21, addresses God directly in a defiant rhetorical question. This occurs during Job's discourse on the prosperity of the wicked, immediately following their declaration that they have no desire to know God's ways.
The words — The Hebrew term שַׁדַּי (sha.Dai) translates literally to "Almighty," while נִפְגַּע (nif.ga') means "we will entreat" or "pray." These terms anchor the speaker's challenge to God's identity and the perceived utility of worship.
The thread — This defiant posture echoes Pharaoh’s refusal in Exodus 5:2 and parallels the cynical claim in Job 34:9 that delighting in God profits nothing. Malachi 1:13 later records God rebuking a similar attitude of treating worship as a burden.
Why it lands — The verse forces a reader to confront the pragmatic calculus that reduces worship to a transaction for personal gain. It demands an examination of whether one's service to God stems from reverence or from a calculation of expected benefits.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
Cross-references
- 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.”
- Job 34:9 For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.’
- Malachi 1:13 You 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.
- Psalms 12:4 They say, “With our tongues we will prevail. We own our lips—who can be our master?”
- 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.
- Isaiah 30:11 Get out of the way; turn off the road. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel!”
- Job 35:3 For you ask, ‘What does it profit me, and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’
- Isaiah 45:19 I 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.
- 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.
- 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.