Job 21:25 · Bible study
Job 21:25 Commentary: Death in Bitterness, Never Tasting Good
Hebrew · 7 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Job challenges retribution theology by showing that righteous and wicked alike die in contrasting circumstances.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Another person dies in deep inner bitterness, having never known good, proving that death's circumstances do not reveal God's moral verdict.
- Key words: nefesh marah ('bitter soul'), the inner self turned sour; lo akhal ba-tovah ('has not eaten in/with good'), the loss of even the experience of good.
- Main debate: Is the person in v. 25 a righteous sufferer (like Job) or another type of wicked man (Gill)? The context favors reading a righteous person, but the text does not specify.
- Theological theme: The mystery of providence; the refutation of retribution theology; the call to humility before God's inscrutable ways.
- Best use: A pastoral text for those who suffer without obvious cause, and a corrective against judging others by their prosperity or adversity.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Another dies in bitterness of soul, and never tastes of good.
KJV King James Version 1769
And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And another dieth in bitterness of soul, And never tasteth of good.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And this one dieth with a bitter soul, And have not eaten with gladness.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And another dieth in bitterness of soul, and hath not tasted good:
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
But another dieth in bitterness of soul without any riches:
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y estotro morirá en amargura de ánimo, y no habiendo comido jamás con gusto.
Porém outro morre com amargura de alma, nunca tendo experimentado a prosperidade.
L’ autre meurt, l’ amertume dans l’ âme,
jener aber stirbt mit betrübter Seele und hat nie mit Freuden gegessen;
De ander daarentegen sterft met een bittere ziel, en hij heeft van het goede niet gegeten.
L’altro muore con l’amarezza nell’anima, senz’aver mai gustato il bene.
Inny zaś umiera w gorzkości ducha, który nie jadał z uciechą.
А другой умирает с душею огорченною, не вкусив добра.
有人 至死 心中 痛苦，終身未 嘗 福樂的滋味；
And another comes to his end with a bitter soul, without ever tasting good.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Job 21:25
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Job 21:25 is a deliberate counterpoint to the preceding verse (Job 21:23, 24). Where one person dies in full health and prosperity, another dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted good. The point is not to describe two different moral types, one good and one wicked, but to show that outward circumstances at death do not reveal God's moral verdict. As the Cambridge Bible states, 'Their different fortune is not determined by their different character. The one is not good and the other wicked. But God distributes to them as He chooses.' Gill's Exposition notes that among wicked people themselves there is variety; some die in ease, others in misery. This observation directly refutes the friends' claim that suffering always proves guilt and prosperity proves righteousness. Keil and Delitzsch emphasize that Job is demonstrating that the friends' supposed law of retribution 'does not correspond to God's providence as actually seen in facts.' The verse thus serves as a crucial piece of Job's argument that God's ways are not so easily reduced to a formula.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Another wicked man: Gill and Wesley argue that the contrast is between two kinds of wicked people: one dies in prosperity, the other in misery.
- A righteous sufferer: Bar Tzemach (cited by Gill) reads v. 25 as describing a good man, like Job, who dies in poverty and distress. The context of Job's own situation supports this.
- A neutral observation: The Cambridge Bible and Lange do not assign moral labels; the point is simply that different fortunes happen regardless of character.
What is clear: Everyone agrees the verse serves to undermine the friends' claim that prosperity always rewards righteousness and suffering always punishes wickedness in this life.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of the one dying in bitterness | The verse describes a real human experience that Job uses to make a theological point. | Some (e.g., Gill, Wesley) see the bitter death as that of another wicked man, showing variety among the ungodly. Others (e.g., Bar Tzemach, implied by the Cambridge Bible) read it as a righteous sufferer, like Job himself. The text does not specify moral character, so both readings are possible. |
| Scope of the argument | Job is arguing against the friends' claim that suffering always indicates divine punishment. | Is Job only denying this-worldly retribution, or is he also questioning any future judgment? The friends never raise an afterlife; Job's focus remains on earthly experience. Later Christian readers see hints of a fuller hope, but the text itself does not develop it. |
| Application for today | The verse challenges us not to judge people's spiritual state by their outward circumstances. | Some traditions use this text to warn against prosperity theology. Others emphasize that God's justice may be hidden now but will be revealed at the final judgment. Both agree that present appearances are not the full story. |
| Emotional tone | The language ('bitterness of soul') conveys deep personal pain. | Does Job speak dispassionately as a debater, or is he crying out from his own bitter experience? Most see both: he argues from observation but also from the raw wound of his own suffering (cf. 7:11, 10:1). |
Historical & Cultural Context
The book of Job belongs to the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament, likely written during the exilic or post-exilic period (6th, 4th centuries BC). It wrestles with the classic problem of theodicy: how can a just God allow the innocent to suffer? Job's friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar) represent the traditional, Deuteronomistic view that God always rewards righteousness and punishes wickedness in this life. This perspective is grounded in texts like Deuteronomy 28 and Proverbs, where obedience brings blessing and disobedience brings curse.
Job 21 stands as a turning point in the dialogue. Job has already described the prosperity of the wicked (vv. 7, 13), to which his friends respond with shock and disbelief. In verses 22, 26, Job pushes further: he presents two contrasting deaths, one in full ease, one in bitterness, and declares that both end in the dust, covered by worms. This blunt observation shatters the friends' neat calculus. The Hebrew particle zeh (this one… that one) in verse 23 and 25 underlines the pairing: two people, identical in mortality, opposite in experience.
Culturally, death was seen as the great equalizer (Job 3:13, 19). But the friends had argued that the wicked would die prematurely or in terror (Job 15:20, 24, 20:5, 29). Job counters with real-world evidence: sometimes the wicked die peacefully, and the righteous die in agony. He argues from experience, not theory. The bitterness he describes (nefesh marah, 'bitter soul') echoes his own condition (Job 3:20, 7:11, 10:1) and points to a lived reality that theology must account for.
This passage thus challenges any system that claims to read God's favor or disfavor from external circumstances. It calls for humility before the mystery of divine providence.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Job 21:25. The Masoretic Text is stable across manuscripts. The main lexical nuance lies in the preposition bet of ba-tovah ('in/with good'): the KJV renders 'eateth with pleasure' (instrumental), while the WEB prefers 'tastes of good' (partitive). The difference is interpretive, not textual.
Reception History
Throughout church history, Job 21:25 has been cited in discussions of the problem of evil and the limits of retribution theology. Early church fathers such as Gregory the Great in his Moralia in Job used the verse to reflect on the mystery of suffering and the need for patience. Medieval commentators read it as a warning against judging by appearances. During the Reformation, Calvin and Luther both commented on Job's argument, noting that outward prosperity is no certain sign of God's favor. In modern times, the verse has been a key text for critics of prosperity gospel teaching, reminding believers that faithfulness does not guarantee earthly ease. It has also brought comfort to those who have died in difficult circumstances, assuring them that their suffering does not mean God has abandoned them.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The equal end: Both the prosperous and the bitter die and lie down in the dust (vv. 23, 26). Death levels all human distinctions.
- The unequal experience: One departs in fullness, the other in bitterness, yet neither experience proves moral character. God's distribution does not follow human expectations.
- The humility required: We cannot judge anyone's standing with God by their outward condition. Only God knows the heart; we must refrain from simplistic conclusions.
Five-point outline
- Two deaths, one destination: Verse 23 describes a death in full strength; verse 25 a death in bitterness. Verse 26 unites them in the dust.
- The friends' error: They insist that suffering always signals divine punishment. Job shows this is factually false.
- The mystery of providence: God distributes prosperity and adversity according to His own wise counsel (Wesley). We cannot reverse-engineer His judgments.
- Personal relevance for Job: Job himself is dying in bitterness (cf. 3:20, 7:11). The friends' doctrine would condemn him, but Job knows he is innocent.
- An invitation to trust: When life does not match our theology, we are called to trust the God who is greater than our systems.
Illustration hooks
- The hospital room: Two patients in the same ward. One leaves peacefully surrounded by family; the other dies alone in pain. No one assumes the first was more righteous than the second.
- The obituaries: Scanning a day's obituaries, you see a wealthy philanthropist who died at 95 and a young mother who died of cancer at 30. Life does not parcel out fairness in equal measure.
Questions your congregation is asking
- “Why did my godly loved one suffer so much at the end, while an unkind person died peacefully?”
- “Does God love me less because my life has been hard?”
- “If I can't read God's favor from my circumstances, how can I know I am right with Him?”
Leading a Discussion
Job 21:25 sits at the heart of one of the Bible's most honest conversations about suffering. Job's friends have a neat theory: good people prosper, bad people suffer. Job points to the messy exceptions. As you discuss this passage, resist the urge to 'solve' the problem. Instead, sit with the tension Job leaves unresolved.
Discussion questions
- Read Job 21:23, 25. What do the two deaths have in common? How are they different?
- Why does Job place these two portraits side by side? What point is he making to his friends?
- Verses 23, 24 describe abundant health ('full strength', 'full of milk'). Verse 25 describes 'bitterness of soul' and never tasting good. Have you known people who fit either description? How does that affect your view of God?
- Job's friends believed that suffering equals punishment. Where do we see similar thinking today, in churches, in culture, in our own hearts?
- How does verse 26 ('they lie down alike in the dust') undermine the friends' doctrine?
- If outward circumstances don't reveal God's verdict, how can we know we are in right relationship with Him? (Consider John 5:24, Romans 8:1, or 1 John 3:19, 20.)
- What does this passage teach us about comforting those who suffer? What would you say to someone who feels their suffering proves God is against them?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| II Samuel 17:8 | Hushai said moreover, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are fierce in their minds, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Your father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. |
| I Kings 17:12 | She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have anything baked, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” |
| Job 3:20 | “Why is light given to him who is in misery, life to the bitter in soul, |
| Job 7:11 | “Therefore I will not keep silent. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. |
| Job 9:18 | He will not allow me to catch my breath, but fills me with bitterness. |
| Job 10:1 | “My soul is weary of my life. I will give free course to my complaint. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. |
| Job 20:23 | When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating. |
| Proverbs 14:10 | The heart knows its own bitterness and joy; he will not share these with a stranger. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Christians who hold the view that God controls every event point to this verse, while others understand it as pointing to deeper spiritual realities. Both seek to be faithful to Scripture.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Geneva Bible Notes sees this verse as describing someone who dies in deep spiritual sorrow. They never again enjoy food because their heart is filled with pain.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill sees this verse as describing a good man who suffers bitterly in life and dies in distress, like Naomi or Job himself. His point is that outward circumstances at death—whether ease or misery—reveal nothing about a person's moral character, since both righteous and wicked can die in either condition.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch stresses that Job's friends presume to instruct God about justice, but God's rule extends even over the heavenly beings, who are imperfect before Him. The friends' neat law of reward and punishment collapses because experience shows both the wicked in full prosperity and the righteous in misery share the same fate in death.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange observes that Job shifts from personal defense to a calmer, more objective argument, directly challenging the friends' claim that the wicked always end in misery. Drawing from experience, Job shows the wicked often prosper until death while the righteous suffer, treating this contradiction not as an accusation against God but as a dark, unsettling enigma that demands reverent awe rather than blasphemy.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes some wicked people die in great comfort while others perish in deep sorrow. He believes this shows God does not always punish the wicked right away even when they live in ease.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights the striking variety in how God deals with wicked people: one enjoys great prosperity while another suffers severe affliction. This difference does not come from chance but from God's wise and secret counsel, which distributes blessings and trials according to purposes beyond human understanding.