Job 1:20 (ASV)

Passage

Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped;

Nearby Context

Job 1:18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother`s house;

Job 1:19 and, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

Job 1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped;

Job 1:21 and he said, Naked came I out of my mother`s womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah.

Job 1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "arose", "rent", "robe", "shaved", "head", "fell", "down", and "upon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "arose" and "rent", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "and behold there came a great wind..." into verse 21's "and he said Naked came I out...", so "arose" and "rent" belong inside that flow. In Job context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "arose" and "rent" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.