Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.
Parallel translations
- WEB For he has untied his cord, and afflicted me; and they have thrown off restraint before me.
- KJV Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.
- NKJV Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off restraint before me.
- NASB “Because He has undone my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off the bridle before me.
- NLT For God has cut my bowstring. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint.
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
Job attributes his humiliation to God, who has loosed his cord and afflicted him, emboldening his mockers.
Overview
Job traces his suffering back to God's hand, picturing God as having unstrung him like a slackened bow and removed his protection. With Job's strength and standing gone, his enemies cast off all restraint. This honest acknowledgment that God permits his affliction reflects Job's struggle to reconcile God's sovereignty with his innocent suffering, a tension resolved only in trusting God's ultimately good purposes (Romans 8:28).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Job 12:21He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
- Job 12:18He loosens the bonds placed by kings and fastens a belt around their waists.
- Ruth 1:21I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? After all, the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me.”
- Matt 27:39–44And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads
- Matt 26:67–68Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him
- Ps 32:9Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding; they must be controlled with bit and bridle to make them come to you.
- Ps 35:21They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
- Jas 1:26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
- 2 Sam 16:5–8As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 30:11 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.