He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor.
Parallel translations
- WEB He doesn’t preserve the life of the wicked, but gives to the afflicted their right.
- BSB He does not keep the wicked alive, but He grants justice to the afflicted.
- 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 shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
- Ps 140:12I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.
- Job 21:7–9Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
- Ps 72:4He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
- Job 5:15But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
- 2 Pet 2:9The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
- Exod 22:22–24Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
- Isa 11:4But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
- Ps 9:12When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
- Ps 82:1–4God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
- Prov 22:22–23Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
- Job 29:12–17Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
- Jer 12:1–2Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
- Ps 55:23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
- Job 21:30That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
- Ps 10:14–15Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
- Job 8:22They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.
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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 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
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