Job 1:11 (DRB)

Passage

But stretch forth thy hand a little, and touch all that he hath, and see if he bless thee not to thy face.

Nearby Context

Job 1:9 And Satan answering, said: Doth Job fear God in vain?

Job 1:10 Hast thou not made a fence for him, and his house, and all his substance round about, blessed the works of his hands, and his possession hath increased on the earth?

Job 1:11 But stretch forth thy hand a little, and touch all that he hath, and see if he bless thee not to thy face.

Job 1:12 Then the Lord said to Satan: Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand: only put not forth thy hand upon his person. And Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

Job 1:13 Now upon a certain day, when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine, in the house of their eldest brother,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "stretch", "forth", "hand", "little", "touch", "hath", "bless", and "thee". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "stretch" and "forth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Hast thou not made a fence for..." into verse 12's "Then the Lord said to Satan Behold...", so "stretch" and "forth" 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 "stretch" and "forth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.