Job 1:14 (ASV)

Passage

that there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them;

Nearby Context

Job 1:12 And Jehovah said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah.

Job 1:13 And it fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother`s house,

Job 1:14 that there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them;

Job 1:15 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.

Job 1:16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "came", "messenger", "said", "oxen", "plowing", "asses", "feeding", and "beside". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "came" and "messenger", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "And it fell on a day when..." into verse 15's "and the Sabeans fell upon them and...", so "came" and "messenger" belong inside that flow. In Job context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "came" and "messenger" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.