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?—
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,
- KJV 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:
- 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,
- 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 stands alone, and who can oppose him? What his soul desires, even that he does.
- John 14:27Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
- Rom 8:31–34What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Ps 27:9Don’t hide your face from me. Don’t put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation.
- Isa 26:3You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.
- Phil 4:7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
- Ps 30:7You, Yahweh, when you favored me, made my mountain stand strong; but when you hid your face, I was troubled.
- Isa 32:17The work of righteousness will be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
- Jer 27:8“‘“‘It will happen that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish,’ says Yahweh, ‘with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
- Ps 143:7Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit.
- Job 12:14Behold, he breaks down, and it can’t be built again. He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
- Job 23:8–9“If I go east, he is not there; if west, I can’t find him;
- 2 Kgs 18:9–12In the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.
- Isa 14:3–8It will happen in the day that Yahweh will give you rest from your sorrow, from your trouble, and from the hard service in which you were made to serve,
- Ps 13:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
- 2 Sam 7:1When the king lived in his house, and Yahweh had given him rest from all his enemies all around,
- 2 Chr 36:14–17Moreover all the chiefs of the priests, and the people, trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted Yahweh’s house which he had made holy in Jerusalem.
- Job 29:1–3Job again took up 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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