Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore he takes knowledge of their works. He overturns them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
- BSB Therefore, He recognizes their deeds; He overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.
- NKJV Therefore He knows their works; He overthrows them in the night, And they are crushed.
- NASB “Therefore He knows their deeds, And He overthrows them in the night, And they are crushed.
- NLT He knows what they do, and in the night he overturns and destroys them.
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
Because God knows their deeds, He overthrows the wicked suddenly and destroys them. It affirms that God's judgment is based on full knowledge.
Overview
Elihu teaches that God takes full account of people's works and, knowing them, overturns the guilty 'in the night' so that they are destroyed. Divine judgment flows directly from God's perfect knowledge of human conduct. This warns against presuming on God's patience and points to the certainty of a final judgment, from which only those in Christ are secure.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Job 34:20In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.
- Hos 7:2And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.
- Isa 15:1The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;
- Isa 66:18For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
- 1 Th 5:2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
- Amos 8:7The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
- Ps 33:15He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
- Song 3:8They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
- Rev 20:12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
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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 34:25 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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