When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
Parallel translations
- WEB When he gives quietness, who then can condemn? When he hides his face, who then can see him? Alike whether to a nation, or to a man,
- BSB But when He remains silent, who can condemn Him? When He hides His face, who can see Him? Yet He watches over both man and nation,
- NKJV When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hides His face, who then can see Him, Whether it is against a nation or a man alone?—
- NASB When He keeps quiet, who can condemn? And when He hides His face, who then can look at Him, That is, regarding both nation and a person?—
- NLT But if he chooses to remain quiet, who can criticize him? When he hides his face, no one can find him, whether an individual or a nation.
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
Whether God grants peace or hides His face, none can overturn His will, and He governs nations and individuals alike. His sovereignty is absolute and beyond human challenge.
Overview
Elihu affirms that God's actions, whether bestowing quietness or withdrawing His favor, cannot be condemned or reversed by any creature. He rules equally over a whole nation or a single man, leaving no realm outside His authority. The hiddenness of God's face here points to the seriousness of divine judgment, ultimately answered in Christ, who endured God's hidden face so His people might see His favor.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Job 23:13But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
- John 14:27Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
- Rom 8:31–34What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
- Ps 27:9Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
- Isa 26:3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
- Phil 4:7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
- Ps 30:7LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
- Isa 32:17And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
- Jer 27:8And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
- Ps 143:7Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
- Job 12:14Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
- Job 23:8–9Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
- 2 Kgs 18:9–12And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.
- Isa 14:3–8And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
- Ps 13:1How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
- 2 Sam 7:1And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
- 2 Chr 36:14–17Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
- Job 29:1–3Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
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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 34:29 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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