Job 1:9 (DRB)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Job 1:7 And the Lord said to him: Whence comest thou? And he answered and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it.

Job 1:8 And the Lord said to him: Hast thou considered my servant, Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a simple and upright man, and fearing God, and avoiding evil?

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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "satan", "answering", "said", "doth", "fear", and "vain". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "satan" and "answering", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "And the Lord said to him Hast..." into verse 10's "Hast thou not made a fence for...", so "satan" and "answering" 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 "satan" and "answering" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.