“He breaks in pieces the mighty without investigation, And sets others in their place.
Parallel translations
- WEB He breaks in pieces mighty men in ways past finding out, and sets others in their place.
- KJV He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead.
- BSB He shatters the mighty without inquiry and sets up others in their place.
- NKJV He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry, And sets others in their place.
- NLT He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone, and he sets up others in their place.
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 shatters the mighty without inquiry and raises up others in their place. It shows His sovereign power to remove and appoint rulers.
Overview
Elihu describes God breaking powerful men 'in ways past finding out' and replacing them as He wills. God's governance of human affairs is beyond full human comprehension yet entirely just. This sovereignty over rulers reminds us that God 'removes kings and sets up kings' (Daniel 2:21), ordering history toward His purposes, fulfilled in the reign of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 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 94:5They break your people in pieces, Yahweh, and afflict your heritage.
- Ps 72:4He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces.
- Ps 2:9You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
- Ps 113:7–8He raises up the poor out of the dust. Lifts up the needy from the ash heap;
- 1 Kgs 14:7–8Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: “Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you prince over my people Israel,
- 1 Sam 2:30–36“Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me forever.’ But now Yahweh says, ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be lightly esteemed.
- Dan 2:34–35You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
- Dan 2:44–45In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
- Job 19:2“How long will you torment me, and crush me with words?
- Dan 5:28–31PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
- Job 12:19He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty.
- 1 Kgs 14:14Moreover Yahweh will raise up a king for himself over Israel, who will cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is the day! What? Even now.
- Jer 51:20–23“You are my battle ax and weapons of war. With you I will break the nations into pieces. With you I will destroy kingdoms.
- 1 Sam 15:28Samuel said to him, “Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you.
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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 34:24 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.