Job 1 21

Job 1:21 kjv

And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Job 1:21 nkjv

And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD."

Job 1:21 niv

and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

Job 1:21 esv

And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

Job 1:21 nlt

He said, "I came naked from my mother's womb,
and I will be naked when I leave.
The LORD gave me what I had,
and the LORD has taken it away.
Praise the name of the LORD!"

Job 1 verses

Job 1 21 Meaning

Job 1:21 expresses Job's profound submission and worship of God in the face of devastating loss. He acknowledges his own transient existence and complete dependence on the Divine, recognizing God as the sovereign giver and taker of all things. His response culminates in an act of worship, blessing God's name despite unimaginable suffering. It is a powerful declaration of radical trust and theological clarity, affirming God's unchallengeable right to act as He pleases and maintaining Job's steadfast faith even when stripped of all earthly possessions and his children.

Job 1 21 Context

Job 1:21 stands as Job's immediate and unprompted response to the calamitous news delivered by three successive messengers. Prior to this, Job is depicted as an exemplary man: blameless, upright, fearing God, and shunning evil, immensely blessed with wealth and family. The preceding verses (Job 1:13-19) describe in rapid succession the total loss of all his oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, servants, and, most agonizingly, all ten of his children, who were killed when a great wind destroyed the house where they were feasting. This verse captures Job's raw, immediate reaction, revealing the depth of his character and faith. Historically, this expression defied the prevalent retribution theology, which linked suffering directly to sin, showcasing Job's profound and unwavering commitment to God independently of his circumstances, directly challenging Satan's cynical assertion that Job only served God for personal gain (Job 1:9-11).

Job 1 21 Word analysis

• Naked (עָרֹם, ‘ārôm): Literally refers to being without clothing or possessions. It symbolizes utter vulnerability, poverty, and dependence. It highlights humanity's complete lack of earthly security or inherent worth outside of God's provision. This emphasizes that material possessions are temporary loans, not permanent achievements.
• I came from my mother’s womb: A universal statement acknowledging the beginning of human life in a state of helplessness and complete dependence. It signifies our natural origin and immediate, fundamental reliance on others, and ultimately, on God.
• and naked I will depart: Refers to death. It underscores the universal truth that one takes nothing material from this world. This statement asserts radical detachment from worldly goods, emphasizing mortality and the transience of all earthly achievements. It implies returning to the earth as dust, as per Gen 3:19.
• The Lord (יְהוָה, YHWH - The tetragrammaton): This is the sacred, personal, covenantal name of God. Its use here is highly significant, identifying the speaker's object of worship not as a generic deity, but as the one true, covenant-keeping God of Israel. It affirms God's unique authority, presence, and intimate involvement in Job's life, even in suffering.
• gave (נָתַן, nāthan): Denotes divine bestowing and granting. This highlights God as the benevolent source of all good things – life, wealth, family, health. It refutes any notion of self-made prosperity, attributing all provision directly to God's hand.
• and the Lord has taken away (לָקַח, lāqaḥ): Implies God's sovereign right and active hand in removing what He has given. This is not a passive event or mere chance but a divine action. It portrays God not only as a Giver but also as a Sovereign with full discretion over His creation and provisions, highlighting His supreme authority even in what appears to be devastating loss. This also challenges the common belief that bad things happen without divine knowledge or permission.
• may the name of the Lord be praised (יְהִי שֵׁם יְהוָה מְבֹרָךְ, yehi shēm YHWH mĕvōrāḵ): This is a doxology, an act of worship and blessing God's character and being. The "Name" of God represents His entire essence, reputation, authority, and character (His power, goodness, holiness, sovereignty). To praise God's name amidst calamity is to affirm His goodness and righteousness, acknowledging His rightful place as sovereign Lord regardless of the circumstances. It’s an act of profound submission and defiant faith against despair.

Words-group analysis:

• "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart": This parallel structure establishes Job's fundamental understanding of human mortality and material impermanence. It asserts that everything gained in life is temporary and will be left behind at death. This radical perspective fosters detachment from worldly possessions and places value on something beyond material accumulation. It's a statement of ultimate humility and realism about human existence.
• "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away": This concise, balanced statement articulates God's absolute and comprehensive sovereignty. It posits God as the active agent in both the bestowal of blessings and the experience of loss. This isn't just about resignation but about theological affirmation—God is fully in control of all events, good and bad. It explicitly counters any attribution of events to chance, fate, or independent malevolent forces, placing ultimate responsibility and power solely with YHWH.
• "May the name of the Lord be praised": This is the culmination and the essence of Job's response. It’s not a complaint, a plea, or a question, but an act of worship. It implies that God is worthy of praise not only for what He gives but also in what He takes, and simply because of who He is. It affirms God's unchangeable character and inherent goodness, proving the genuineness of Job's faith even without the blessings. This doxology directly refutes Satan's challenge, showing that Job serves God for God's sake, not for profit.

Job 1 21 Bonus section

• Job's words are a direct polemic against the pagan notion of arbitrary, malevolent forces controlling destiny or a distant deity unconcerned with human suffering. He asserts the deliberate and sovereign hand of the personal God (YHWH).
• The profound detachment from material possessions articulated here challenges both ancient and modern materialism. It suggests that true richness lies not in what one accumulates but in one's relationship with God, who remains supreme even when all earthly things are gone.
• This verse represents an exemplary pattern for Christian grieving: to lament deeply, acknowledge loss fully, but ultimately to reaffirm God's sovereignty and respond with worship rather than resentment, trust rather than despair.
• Job’s response of blessing the Lord (to barak YHWH) indicates an intentional and conscious act of acknowledging God’s supreme rule, as opposed to a mere resigned acceptance. It's an active glorification, not passive submission.

Job 1 21 Commentary

Job 1:21 is one of the most poignant declarations of faith in all of Scripture. Job, having lost everything instantaneously—his wealth, his children, his social standing—responds not with bitterness or rebellion, but with profound theological insight and worship. His understanding of life begins with utter dependency ("naked I came") and ends with utter detachment ("naked I will depart"). This framework helps him grasp the transient nature of all earthly things, laying the groundwork for accepting loss. The core of his statement, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away," acknowledges God's absolute sovereignty over all of life's provisions and circumstances. This is not fatalism but deep theological clarity—God, YHWH, the covenant Lord, is the active and rightful agent in both prosperity and adversity.

The ultimate and most powerful expression is his final pronouncement: "May the name of the Lord be praised." This doxology elevates God above circumstances. It signifies that Job's faith is not transactional or conditional upon material blessings. Instead, it is rooted in God's inherent worth and character. By blessing God's name, Job blesses all that God is – His holiness, His justice, His power, and His unwavering nature. This response defies the immediate human inclination to blame, despair, or question God's goodness, and it utterly shatters Satan's cynical accusation that Job’s righteousness was merely a facade for prosperity. Job's words set the stage for the entire book, revealing that true piety is worshipping God simply because He is God, regardless of what one has or loses.

• Example 1: When a faithful believer faces significant job loss, yet responds, "God gave me that job, and now He has a new plan, blessed be His name."
• Example 2: A family grieving the sudden loss of a loved one, through tears, can still say, "The Lord gave us this precious life, and the Lord has called them home. Blessed be His name forever."