Job 1:20 (DRB)

Passage

Then Job rose up, and rent his garments, and having shaven his head, fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

Nearby Context

Job 1:18 He was yet speaking, and behold another came in, and said: Thy sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother,

Job 1:19 A violent wind came on a sudden from the side of the desert, and shook the four corners of the house, and it fell upon thy children, and they are dead: and I alone have escaped to tell thee.

Job 1:20 Then Job rose up, and rent his garments, and having shaven his head, fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

Job 1:21 And said: Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: as it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord.

Job 1:22 In all these things Job sinned not by his lips, nor spoke he any foolish thing against God.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "A violent wind came on a sudden..." into verse 21's "And said Naked came I out of...", so "rose" 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 "rose" and "rent" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.