What is the meaning of Job 27:21?

The east wind carries him away

- In Scripture the east wind often symbolizes sudden, destructive judgment (Genesis 41:6, Hosea 13:15, Jonah 4:8).

- Job pictures the wicked man as lightweight chaff, powerless against God’s appointed storm (Psalm 1:4: “the wicked are like chaff blown away by the wind”).

- The action is decisive—God does not merely warn; He removes. Just as Pharaoh’s crops withered under the east wind, the sinner’s security evaporates.

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and he is gone

- The result is instant disappearance; nothing of lasting substance remains (Psalm 37:10).

- This echoes Proverbs 10:25: “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are secure forever.”

- The brevity reminds us that earthly prosperity is fragile; only righteousness endures (1 John 2:17).

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it sweeps him out of his place

- “His place” speaks of home, wealth, status—everything he thought immovable (Job 18:14, “He is torn from the shelter of his tent”).

- God’s judgment uproots, leaving no trace (Isaiah 40:24).

- The picture contrasts with the righteous, who are “like a tree planted by streams of water” (Psalm 1:3).

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summary

Job 27:21 paints a vivid, literal portrait of divine judgment on the unrepentant. Like a scorching east wind, God’s power sweeps in, abruptly carrying the wicked away, erasing their presence, and uprooting them from every earthly stronghold. The verse calls believers to rest in the unshakable security found only in righteousness and obedience to the Lord.