Limitless Word
Another dies in bitterness of soul, and never tastes of good.
Job 21:25 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure.
  • BSB Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.
  • NKJV Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, Never having eaten with pleasure.
  • NASB While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting anything good.
  • NLT Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

In contrast, another person dies in bitterness, having never enjoyed any good in life. Suffering and prosperity are not distributed according to a clear moral pattern.

Overview

Job sets the embittered, deprived person beside the comfortable one of verses 23-24. Life's hardships and blessings fall unevenly and not according to the formula his friends preach. This sober observation drives the reader toward hope beyond this life, where God's justice is finally and perfectly displayed.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Ezek 4:16–17Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They will eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and in dismay;
  • 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.
  • Ezek 12:18“Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and with fearfulness.
  • Job 9:18He will not allow me to catch my breath, but fills me with bitterness.
  • Job 3:20“Why is light given to him who is in misery, life to the bitter in soul,
  • 1 Kgs 17:12She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have a cake, but 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.”
  • Eccl 6:2a man to whom God gives riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God gives him no power to eat of it, but an alien eats it. This is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
  • Isa 38:15–17What will I say? He has both spoken to me, and himself has done it. I will walk carefully all my years because of the anguish of my soul.
  • 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 20:23When 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.
  • 2 Sam 17:8Hushai 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.
  • Prov 14:10The heart knows its own bitterness and joy; he will not share these with a stranger.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Job videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Job 21:25YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JobMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.

How Job 21:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.