But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives us songs in the night,
Parallel translations
- WEB But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
- KJV But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;
- NKJV But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night,
- NASB “But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night,
- NLT Yet they don’t ask, ‘Where is God my Creator, the one who gives songs in the night?
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
Elihu laments that the oppressed cry out but no one asks, 'Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night?' True comfort comes from seeking God Himself.
Overview
Elihu's critique is that sufferers often cry from pain without turning to seek their Maker. God 'gives songs in the night,' granting joy and hope even in darkness (cf. Ps. 42:8; Acts 16:25). The verse calls the afflicted to seek the Lord, not merely relief, a seeking that finds its rest in Christ, who is our song and consolation in every trial.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 42:8The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day, and at night His song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life.
- Acts 16:25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
- Ps 149:5Let the saints exult in glory; let them shout for joy upon their beds.
- Ps 77:6At night I remembered my song; in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:
- Isa 51:13But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You live in terror all day long because of the fury of the oppressor who is bent on destruction. But where is the fury of the oppressor?
- Eccl 12:1Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,”
- 1 Pet 4:19So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
- Isa 54:5For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
- Job 36:13The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He binds them, they do not cry for help.
- Job 27:10Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?
- 2 Chr 28:22–23In the time of his distress, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.
- Isa 8:21They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.
- Job 32:22For I do not know how to flatter, or my Maker would remove me in an instant.
- Job 36:3I get my knowledge from afar, and I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
- 1 Chr 10:13–14So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,
- Ps 119:62At midnight I rise to give You thanks for Your righteous judgments.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 35:10 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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