Satan replies in verse 9 using a rhetorical question, one which does not seek a reply: Does Job fear God for nought? Satan is referring to Yahweh’s observation in verse 8, “He worships me.” Satan is saying “Job does not worship God for nothing,” or positively, “Job worships God because he gets something in return.” When addressing Yahweh Satan does not call him by this name but by ʾElohim. In some languages this rhetorical question will require a negative response; for example, “Does Job worship God for nothing? No!” It is sometimes better to shift the question to a statement, negative or positive, as stated above. In some languages rhetorical questions are used when the speaker wants to make a certain point or create a certain atmosphere between speakers, such as doubt, rebuke, or indifference. The translator should not translate automatically using a rhetorical question until he has examined the implication this kind of device has for the speaker and hearer. If we can assume that the rhetorical questions used by Satan in verses 9 and 10 are a device used by the author to depict Satan’s character as deceptive, then the translator must use the forms (implicit or explicit) which will reflect the author’s intention.

In some languages Satan, or “The accuser,” will say “you” instead of “God,” as in Good News Translation, thus making the question more direct. To ask the question as it is in Hebrew and Revised Standard Version would in some languages refer to another god. Furthermore, in some languages it will be more natural for Satan to avoid Job’s name, since he has already been identified by his role of “servant,” and to say, for example, “Does that servant of yours serve you for nothing? Of course not,” “Your servant serves you because you reward him for it,” or “Your servant doesn’t serve you for nothing.”

The Hebrew word translated for nought occurs in 2.3 with the meaning “for no reason at all.” The same word occurs in 2 Samuel 24.24, but there with the meaning “for which nothing has been paid.” The common meaning element is lack of payment on one side or the other, whether of goods or actions, as the English word “gratuitous” may mean either “costing nothing” or “unjustifiable.” The traditional teaching put forward by Satan here, that wealth and good fortune are the reward for piety, is supported by such passages as Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 11.8-15; 28.1-14; Psalms 1, 37, 49, 73; Jeremiah 7.5-7; 12.14-17; Ezekiel 18.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .