He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist.
Parallel translations
- WEB He loosens the bond of kings. He binds their waist with a belt.
- KJV He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
- BSB He loosens the bonds placed by kings and fastens a belt around their waists.
- NKJV He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt.
- NASB “He undoes the binding of kings, And ties a loincloth around their waist.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God loosens the authority of kings and then binds them as captives. He raises and removes rulers as He pleases.
Overview
Job affirms that God strips kings of their power and can reduce them to bondage. Earthly authority is entirely subject to the King of kings. Scripture consistently teaches that God removes and sets up rulers, a sovereignty perfectly displayed in the exaltation of Christ above all rule and authority (Daniel 2:21; Ephesians 1:20-22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Dan 2:21He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding;
- Ps 116:16Yahweh, truly I am your servant. I am your servant, the son of your servant. You have freed me from my chains.
- 2 Chr 33:11–14Therefore Yahweh brought on them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
- Jer 52:31–34In the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and released him from prison;
- Rev 19:16He has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 12:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.