Hi there!
I have been doing a little bit of work this evening on verses from Job. Maybe one of you can explain this to me. In Job 1:21, we have these famous words of Job:
21. And he said, “Naked, I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked, I will return. the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!”
My question has to do with the next verse. Here is what the Bible says:
22. In all this, Job did not sin, or accuse God of wrong.
But here is how certain Christian versions of the Bible have translated that verse:
New Living Translation
In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.New American Standard Bible
Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.Holman Christian Standard Bible
Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.
Now, if Job said in verse 21 that God “took away” his children and all his possessions, how is it that Job was not blaming God for doing so? If verse 21 is not Job holding God responsible for “taking away” his children and possessions, then what on earth did Job mean by saying, “the Lord has taken away”?
Thank you ahead of time for your explanations of how Job was not blaming God for anything when he said that God had taken away all that he had.
Pastor John