Job 7 · Verse 21

Job 7:21

And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
Job 7:21, King James Version

Job 7:21 in other translations

BSBWhy do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.”
WEBWhy do you not pardon my disobedience, and take away my iniquity? For now will I lie down in the dust. You will seek me diligently, but I will not be.”
ASVAnd why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? For now shall I lie down in the dust; And thou wilt seek me diligently, but I shall not be.
YLTThou dost not take away my transgression, And cause to pass away mine iniquity, Because now, for dust I lie down: And Thou hast sought me--and I am not!
DARBYAnd why dost not thou forgive my transgression and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I lie down in the dust, and thou shalt seek me early, and I shall not be.
BBEAnd why do you not take away my sin, and let my wrongdoing be ended? for now I go down to the dust, and you will be searching for me with care, but I will be gone.
WebsterAnd why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

What does Job 7:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
21. for now--very soon. in the morning--not the resurrection; for then Job will be found. It is a figure, from one seeking a sick man in the morning, and finding he has died in the night. So Job implies that, if God does not help him at once, it will be too late, for he will be gone. The reason why God does not give an immediate sense of pardon to awakened sinners is that they think they have a claim on God for it.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 And why dost thou not pardon - These words are spoken after the manner of men. If thou have any design to save me, if I have sinned, why dost thou not pardon my transgression, as thou seest that I am a dying man; and to-morrow morning thou mayest seek me to do me good, but in all probability I shall then be no more, and all thy kind thoughts towards me shall be unavailing? If I have sinned, then why should not I have a part in that mercy that flows so freely to all mankind? That Job does not criminate himself here, as our text intimates, is evident enough from his own repeated assertions of his innocence. And it is most certain that Bildad, who immediately answers, did not consider him as criminating but as justifying himself; and this is the very ground on which he takes up the subject. Were we to admit the contrary, we should find strange inconsistencies, if not contradictions, in Job's speeches: on such a ground the controversy must have immediately terminated, as he would then have acknowledged that of which his friends accused him; and here the book of Job would have ended.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 7:17-21

Job reasons with God concerning his dealings with man. But in the midst of this discourse, Job seems to have lifted up his thoughts to God with some faith and hope. Observe the concern he is in about his sins. The best men have to complain of sin; and the better they are, the more they will complain of it. God is the Preserver of our lives, and the Saviour of the souls of all that believe; but probably Job meant the…

Read the full comment on Job 7:17-21 →

Job 7:21 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.

וּמֶ֤ה\׀u.Mehand why?H4100
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
תִשָּׂ֣אti.Sa'will you forgiveH5375
פִשְׁעִי֮fish.'Itransgression myH6588
וְתַעֲבִ֪ירve.ta.'a.Virso may you take away?H5674
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
עֲוֹ֫נִ֥י'a.Vo.Niiniquity myH5771
כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
עַ֭תָּה'A.tahnowH6258
לֶעָפָ֣רle.'a.Farto the dustH6083
אֶשְׁכָּ֑ב'esh.KavI will lie downH7901
וְשִׁ֖חֲרְתַּ֣נִיve.Shi.char.Ta.niand you will look for meH7836
וְאֵינֶֽנִּי\׃\ \פve.'ei.Ne.niand there not [will be] meH369

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

Cross references for Job 7:21

  • Job 10:14

    If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.

  • Daniel 12:2

    And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

  • 1 John 1:9

    If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

  • Lamentations 5:20-22

    Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.

  • Isaiah 64:9

    Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.

  • Ecclesiastes 12:7

    Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

  • 2 Samuel 24:10

    And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

  • Hosea 14:2

    Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

  • Job 7:8

    The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.

  • Job 3:13

    For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

  • 1 John 3:5

    And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

  • Isaiah 26:19

    Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
why dost.
10:14; 13:23,24; Isa 64:9; La 3:42-44; 5:20-22
take away.
2Sa 24:10; Mic 7:18,19; Ho 14:2; Joh 1:29; Tit 2:14; 1Jo 1:9; 3:5
sleep.
3:13; 17:14; 21:32,33; Ec 12:7; Isa 26:19; Da 12:2
in the morning.
18
but I shall not be.
Ps 37:36; 103:15

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

Context

  • Job 7:20

    I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?

  • Job 7:21

    And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

Read all of Job 7

Job 7:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¿Y por qué no quitas mi rebelión, y perdonas mi iniquidad? porque ahora dormiré en el polvo, y si me buscares de mañana, ya no seré.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et pourquoi ne pardonnes-tu pas ma transgression, et ne fais-tu point passer mon iniquité? Car maintenant je me coucherai dans la poussière, et tu me chercheras, et je ne serai plus.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und warum vergibst du nicht meine Übertretung und lässest nicht vorübergehen meine Missetat? Denn nun werde ich in den Staub mich legen, und suchst du nach mir, so bin ich nicht mehr.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cur non tollis peccatum meum, et quare non aufers iniquitatem meam? ecce nunc in pulvere dormiam, et si mane me quæsieris, non subsistam.