You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
Parallel translations
- WEB You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
- KJV Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
- NKJV You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
- NASB “You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of orphans has been crushed.
- NLT You must have sent widows away empty-handed and crushed the hopes of orphans.
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
Eliphaz accuses Job of sending widows away with nothing and crushing the orphans. He charges Job with the very sins God most condemns.
Overview
Care for widows and orphans is central to biblical righteousness (Ex 22:22; James 1:27), so Eliphaz aims his accusation at the gravest social sins. The charge is false, for Job will testify he rescued the fatherless and widow (Job 29:12-13). Eliphaz's words reveal a counselor more concerned to be right than to be just toward his suffering friend.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Job 24:21They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
- Job 24:3They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
- Ezek 22:7Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.
- Job 31:21if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,
- Isa 10:2to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.
- Ps 37:17For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
- Job 29:12–13because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.
- Ps 94:6They kill the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.
- Job 31:16–18If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,
- Ezek 30:22Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand.
- Isa 1:17Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”
- Deut 27:19‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Exod 22:21–24You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
- Isa 1:23Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
- Mal 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Luke 18:3–5And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
- Ps 10:15Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found.
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 22:9 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
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