Job 1:20–22

Context

The first chapter of the Book of Job is a narrative that alternates between scenes of the heavenly council and events on earth. Satan claims that Job's piety stems from the blessings he has received, asking, "Doth Job fear God for nought?" (Job 1:9), and asserts that if everything Job has is struck, he will curse God. After God permits this, four servants arrive one after another, reporting the loss of Job's livestock, his servants, and even his ten children. Verses 20–22 record Job's response to this news, and verse 22 is the narrator's assessment. Job makes his confession without knowing of the conversation that has taken place in heaven.

Interpretation

• A reading of mourning and worship: Tearing one's mantle and shaving one's head were mourning customs in the ancient Near East. Many commentators observe that Job did not suppress his grief but mourned fully, while at the same time he "fell down upon the ground, and worshipped." In this reading, faith does not mean eliminating emotion but drawing near to God in the midst of sorrow.
• A reading of providence: The word "naked" here refers to the unclothed body. The confession that a person comes into the world empty-handed and leaves it empty-handed echoes Ecclesiastes 5:15. The Reformed tradition reads this passage as a confession of God's providence, by which He governs all things. Questions 27–28 of the Heidelberg Catechism teach that health and sickness, riches and poverty, all come from God's hand, and they call for patience in adversity. John Calvin is also known to have preached a series of sermons on the Book of Job.
• A reading of narrative structure: Verse 22 is the first answer to Satan's claim. After the second test, the narrator repeats a similar assessment (Job 2:10). Here it becomes clear that Job's faith is not motivated by reward.

Questions Concerning Application

• Who "hath taken away"?: Within the narrative, the calamities are directly caused by Satan, acting with God's permission, and by raiders and natural disasters. Yet Job attributes them to the LORD, and the narrator does not regard this as sin. Interpreters differ on this point. Those who strongly emphasize God's sovereignty read it as an expression of God's rule, which encompasses even what He permits. Others contend that the passage should be read not as a doctrinal statement explaining the cause of every misfortune but as the confession of faith of a suffering person.
• The problem of using the passage to suppress grief: In chapter 3, Job curses the day of his birth and laments deeply. Nevertheless, in chapter 42 God declares that Job, unlike his friends, spoke what was right (Job 42:7–10). For this reason, some pastors observe that using this passage to press grieving people not to complain is inconsistent with the overall movement of the Book of Job.
• Translation: The Hebrew word rendered "foolishly" in verse 22 conveys the sense of "impropriety" or "unseemliness." Translations therefore differ, rendering the phrase either as charging God foolishly or as attributing wrongdoing to God. Among English versions, for example, the KJV reads "charged God foolishly," while the NIV reads "charging God with wrongdoing."

In the Korean Church

Verse 21 is frequently read at funeral services and at services of comfort for bereaved families, and it is commonly quoted in condolence messages and memorial writings. Matt Redman's worship song "Blessed Be Your Name" is based on this passage; it has also been translated into Korean and is sung in worship.

Related Passages

• Job 2:10
• Job 13:15
• Ecclesiastes 5:15
• Job 42:7–10