“He makes priests walk barefoot, And overthrows the secure ones.
Parallel translations
- WEB He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty.
- KJV He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.
- BSB He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows the established.
- NKJV He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty.
- NLT He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power.
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 leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty. Even sacred and strong figures fall before Him.
Overview
Job declares that God humbles priests and topples the powerful, showing that no office or strength is secure apart from Him. Religious standing and human might alike depend on God's will. This points to the supremacy of Christ, our great High Priest, before whom every lesser authority must yield (Hebrews 7:23-28; Philippians 2:9-11).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Isa 37:36–38Yahweh’s angel went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
- Isa 45:1Yahweh says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and strip kings of their armor; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:
- Job 24:22Yet God preserves the mighty by his power. He rises up who has no assurance of life.
- 1 Sam 17:45–46Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
- Rev 19:19–21I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse, and against his army.
- Rev 17:14These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and those who are with him are called chosen and faithful.”
- Josh 10:24When they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who went with him, “Come near. Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” They came near, and put their feet on their necks.
- Josh 10:42Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time, because Yahweh, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
- Job 35:9“By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out. They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
- Job 34:28so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him. He heard the cry of the afflicted.
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 12:19 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.