Job 1:14 (GNV)

Passage

There came a messenger vnto Iob, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding in their places,

Nearby Context

Job 1:12 Then the Lord sayde vnto Satan, Lo, all that he hath is in thine hand: onely vpon himselfe shalt thou not stretch out thine hand. So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

Job 1:13 And on a day, when his sonnes and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brothers house,

Job 1:14 There came a messenger vnto Iob, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding in their places,

Job 1:15 And the Shabeans came violently, and tooke them: yea, they haue slayne the seruants with the edge of the sworde: but I onely am escaped alone to tell thee.

Job 1:16 And whiles he was yet speaking, another came, and sayde, The fire of God is fallen from the heauen, and hath burnt vp the sheepe and the seruants, and deuoured them: but I onely am escaped alone to tell thee.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "came", "messenger", "vnto", "said", "oxen", "plowing", "asses", and "feeding". 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 on a day when his sonnes..." into verse 15's "And the Shabeans came violently and tooke...", 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.