Job 1:9 (YLT)

Passage

And the Adversary answereth Jehovah and saith, `For nought is Job fearing God?

Nearby Context

Job 1:7 And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, `Whence comest thou?' And the Adversary answereth Jehovah and saith, `From going to and fro in the land, and from walking up and down on it.'

Job 1:8 And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, `Hast thou set thy heart against My servant Job because there is none like him in the land, a man perfect and upright, fearing God, and turning aside from evil?'

Job 1:9 And the Adversary answereth Jehovah and saith, `For nought is Job fearing God?

Job 1:10 Hast not Thou made a hedge for him, and for his house, and for all that he hath--round about?

Job 1:11 The work of his hands Thou hast blessed, and his substance hath spread in the land, and yet, put forth, I pray Thee, Thy hand, and strike against anything that he hath--if not: to Thy face he doth bless Thee!'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "adversary", "answereth", "jehovah", "saith", "nought", and "fearing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "adversary" and "answereth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary Hast..." into verse 10's "Hast not Thou made a hedge for...", so "adversary" and "answereth" 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 "adversary" and "answereth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.