Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Job 7:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21And 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Job 7:21 closes the thought unit with the words “And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep….” Job develops the next stated step through “And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep…” as part of Job Reverses Psalmic Wonder into a Plea for Space.
Psalmic wonder is turned inside out
This verse is one part of that explanation in Job 7:17–7:21. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Job 7:17–7:21
Read Job 7:21 with 7:17–7:21. Read alone, “And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep…” could lose its speaker, the question or claim it develops, and the unit's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Job asks why God magnifies and continually tests a mortal, admits the possibility of sin without conceding the friends' case, and pleads for pardon before death.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Job continues from Job 7:7–7:16: Job asks God to remember his breath-like life, describes descent to the grave as irreversible within his horizon, and says dreams and bodily misery make death seem preferable. Job 7:17–7:21 now develops the next distinct movement: Job asks why God magnifies and continually tests a mortal, admits the possibility of sin without conceding the friends' case, and pleads for pardon before death. Within that relationship, Job 7:21 closes the thought unit through “And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep….”
Read Job 7:17–21 together
Why these verses belong together: Job 7:17–7:21 follows the pinned KJV paragraphing and holds together one sustained speech movement: “Job Reverses Psalmic Wonder into a Plea for Space.” The next unit begins with a new stanza, question sequence, scene, speaker response, or rhetorical turn.
Verse 17. 17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
Verse 18. 18 And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
Verse 19. 19 How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
Verse 20. 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?
Verse 21. 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.
What Remains True
Job asks why God magnifies and continually tests a mortal, admits the possibility of sin without conceding the friends' case, and pleads for pardon before death. Job's testimony and protest deserve a full hearing without making any isolated poetic claim the book's exhaustive final word. Job 7:21 carries that bounded truth through “And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep….”
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Job 7:17–7:21 — Job Reverses Psalmic Wonder into a Plea for SpaceSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Job 7:17–7:21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Job
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Job.xml, OSIS 7:17–7:21
Open the fixed Hebrew Job file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Job
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Job's difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, textual issues, speech boundaries, and alternatives in Job 7:17–7:21.
Exact location: Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 7:17–7:21
Open the official NET Job PDF ↗