Job 6 · Verse 21

Job 6:21

For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.
Job 6:21, King James Version

Job 6:21 in other translations

BSBFor now you are of no help; you see terror, and you are afraid.
WEBFor now you are nothing. You see a terror, and are afraid.
ASVFor now ye are nothing; Ye see a terror, and are afraid.
YLTSurely now ye have become the same! Ye see a downfall, and are afraid.
DARBYSo now ye are nothing; ye see a terrible object and are afraid.
BBESo have you now become to me; you see my sad condition and are in fear.
WebsterFor now ye are nothing: ye see my casting down, and are afraid.

What does Job 6:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
21. As the dried-up brook is to the caravan, so are ye to me, namely, a nothing; ye might as well not be in existence [Umbreit]. The Margin "like to them," or "to it" (namely, the waters of the brook), is not so good a reading. ye see, and are afraid--Ye are struck aghast at the sight of my misery, and ye lose presence of mind. Job puts this mild construction on their failing to relieve him with affectionate consolation.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 For now ye are nothing - Ye are just to me as those deceitful torrents to the caravans of Tema and Sheba; they were nothing to them; ye are nothing to me. Ye see my casting down - Ye see that I have been hurried from my eminence into want and misery, as the flood from the top of the mountains, which is divided, evaporated, and lost in the desert. And are afraid - Ye are terrified at the calamity that has come upon me; and instead of drawing near to comfort me, ye start back at my appearance.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 6:14-30

In his prosperity Job formed great expectations from his friends, but now was disappointed. This he compares to the failing of brooks in summer. Those who rest their expectations on the creature, will find it fail when it should help them; whereas those who make God their confidence, have help in the time of need, He 4:16. Those who make gold their hope, sooner or later will be ashamed of it, and of their confidence…

Read the full comment on Job 6:14-30 →

Job 6:21 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
עַ֭תָּה'A.tahnowH6258
הֱיִ֣יתֶםhe.Yi.temyou have becomeH1961
ל֑וֹlo<into> it
תִּֽרְא֥וּtir.'Uyou have seenH7200
חֲ֝תַ֗תcha.Tata terrorH2866
וַתִּירָֽאוּ\׃va.ti.Ra.'uand you were afraidH3372

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 6:21

  • Psalms 38:11

    My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

  • 2 Timothy 4:16

    At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

  • Jeremiah 17:5-6

    Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

  • Job 13:4

    But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.

  • Job 6:15

    My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;

  • Matthew 26:56

    But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

  • Revelation 18:9-10

    And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

  • Psalms 62:9

    Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.

  • Matthew 26:31

    Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

  • Proverbs 19:7

    All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.

  • Revelation 18:17-18

    For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

  • Job 2:11-13

    Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
ye are nothing. or, ye are like to them. Heb. to it.
15; 13:4; Ps 62:9; Isa 2:22; Jer 17:5,6
nothing. Heb. not. ye see.
2:11-13; Ps 38:11; Pr 19:7; Jer 51:9; Mt 26:31,56; 2Ti 4:16
Re 18:9,10,17,18

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 6:20

    They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed.

  • Job 6:21

    For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.

  • Job 6:22

    Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance?

Read all of Job 6

Job 6:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Ahora ciertamente como ellas sois vosotros: que habéis visto el tormento, y teméis.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
De même maintenant vous n’êtes rien; vous avez vu un objet de terreur, et vous vous êtes effrayés.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Denn jetzt seid ihr zu nichts geworden; ihr sehet einen Schrecken und fürchtet euch.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Nunc venistis; et modo videntes plagam meam, timetis.