He does not preserve the life of the wicked, But gives justice to the oppressed.
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.
- BSB He does not keep the wicked alive, but He grants justice to the afflicted.
- 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 when he cries; the poor, who has no helper.
- Ps 140:12I know that Yahweh will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the needy.
- Job 21:7–9“Why do the wicked live, become old, yes, and grow mighty in power?
- Ps 72:4He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces.
- Job 5:15But he saves from the sword of their mouth, even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
- 2 Pet 2:9the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment;
- Exod 22:22–24“You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child.
- Isa 11:4but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.
- Ps 9:12For he who avenges blood remembers them. He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted.
- Ps 82:1–4A Psalm by Asaph. God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods.
- Prov 22:22–23Don’t exploit the poor, because he is poor; and don’t crush the needy in court;
- Job 29:12–17Because I delivered the poor who cried, and the fatherless also, who had no one to help him,
- Jer 12:1–2You are righteous, Yahweh, when I contend with you; yet I would reason the cause with you: why does the way of the wicked prosper? why are all they at ease who deal very treacherously?
- Ps 55:23But you, God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in you.
- Job 21:30that the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity, That they are led out to the day of wrath?
- Ps 10:14–15But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless.
- Job 8:22Those who hate you shall be clothed with shame. The tent of the wicked shall be no more.”
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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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