He does not keep the wicked alive, but He grants justice to the afflicted.
Parallel translations
- WEB He doesn’t preserve the life of the wicked, but gives to the afflicted their right.
- KJV He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor.
- NKJV He does not preserve the life of the wicked, But gives justice to the oppressed.
- NASB “He does not keep the wicked alive, But gives justice to the afflicted.
- NLT He does not let the wicked live but gives justice to the afflicted.
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 does not preserve the wicked but grants the afflicted their right. He upholds justice for the oppressed.
Overview
Elihu affirms God's moral governance: the wicked do not endure, and the afflicted receive justice. This reflects a general biblical principle that God defends the cause of the righteous and humble (Ps. 140:12). While the full reckoning may await eternity, the verse assures sufferers that God sees and will vindicate, a hope secured in the just Judge who is also our Redeemer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 72:12–14For he will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper.
- Ps 140:12I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy.
- Job 21:7–9Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?
- Ps 72:4May he vindicate the afflicted among the people; may he save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.
- Job 5:15He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.
- 2 Pet 2:9if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
- Exod 22:22–24You must not mistreat any widow or orphan.
- Isa 11:4but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.
- Ps 9:12For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
- Ps 82:1–4A Psalm of Asaph. God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods:
- Prov 22:22–23Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,
- Job 29:12–17because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.
- Jer 12:1–2Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?
- Ps 55:23But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
- Job 21:30Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.
- Ps 10:14–15But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
- Job 8:22Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 36:6 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.