Job 15:4

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 15:4 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Yea, thou doest away with fear, And hinderest devotion before God.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Yea, thou doest away with fear, And hinderest devotion before God.
Job 15:4 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 15

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
4Yea, thou doest away with fear, And hinderest devotion before God.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Yea, thou castest off fear, etc.] Not of man; a slavish fear of man is to be cast off, because that brings a snare, deters men from their duty, and leads into sin; though there is a fear and reverence of men which ought to be given to them, “fear to whom fear”, ( <451307>Romans 13:7); but here the fear of God is meant, which is to be understood of the grace of fear, of which Job was possessed; that could not be cast off, for this is not what is in a man naturally, or is by the light of nature, and arises from natural conviction, which may be cast off, as was by Pharaoh; but this is a blessing of the covenant of grace, sure and firm, and is one of the gifts of grace that are without…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“fear--reverence for God (Job 4:6; Psa 2:11). prayer--meditation, in Psa 104:34; so devotion. If thy views were right, reasons Eliphaz, that God disregards the afflictions of the righteous and makes the wicked to prosper, all devotion would be at an end.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Yea, thou castest off fear - Margin, Makest void. Fear here means the fear or reverence of God; and the idea is, that Job had not maintained a proper veneration or respect for his Maker in his argument. He had defended principles and made assertions which implied great disrespect for the Deity. If those doctrines were true; if he was right in his views about God, then he was not a being who could be reverenced. No confidence could be placed in his government; no worship of such a being could be maintained. Eliphaz does not refer here so much to what was personal with Job, as to his principles. He does not mean so much to affirm that he himself had lost all reverence for God, as that his…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Castest off - Heb. thou makes void fear; the fear of God, piety and religion, by thy unworthy speeches of God, and by those false and pernicious principles, that God makes no difference between good and bad in the course of his providence, but equally prospers or afflicts both: thou dost that which tends to the subversion of the fear and worship of God. Restrainest prayer - Thou dost by thy words and principles, as far as in thee lies, banish prayer out of the world, by making it useless and unprofitable to men. Job 15:5”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“castest off: Heb. makest void, Job 4:5, Job 4:6, Job 6:14; Psa 36:1-3, Psa 119:126; Zep 1:6; Rom 3:31; Gal 2:21 restrainest: Job 5:8, Job 27:10; Ch1 10:13, Ch1 10:14; Hos 7:14; Amo 6:10; Luk 18:1 prayer: or, speech. Job 15:5”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification