Job acknowledges that he has come into the world naked
and that he will depart in the same way. Naked
does not only mean without clothes,
but also without possessions.
God is the One who gives to a person everything he has in life, and God is under no obligation to give.
Job says that he will depart
(or return) to his mother’s womb. Here, as in Psalm 139:13–15, the mother’s womb is viewed as part of the earth. It is part of the dust from which man has been made (Genesis 3:19).
Job says that the name of the Lord must be praised
(or blessed). The same word is used here as the word that Satan used when he predicted that Job will curse
God (Job 1:12). Job’s reaction is the opposite from what Satan expected, and Satan suffers his first defeat. Satan has attacked the invisible side of Job’s character—his motives—but now this invisible side has come to light. Job shows that he has always viewed his possessions as free gifts of God and that he did not serve God for the sake of these gifts.
21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”