Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.
Parallel translations
- WEB For he has untied his cord, and afflicted me; and they have thrown off restraint before me.
- BSB Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.
- 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 poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
- Job 12:18He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
- Ruth 1:21I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
- Matt 27:39–44And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
- Matt 26:67–68Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,
- Ps 32:9Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
- Ps 35:21Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.
- Jas 1:26If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
- 2 Sam 16:5–8And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.
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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 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
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