He seals up the hand of every man, so that all men may know His work.
Parallel translations
- WEB He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he has made may know it.
- KJV He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work.
- NKJV He seals the hand of every man, That all men may know His work.
- NASB “He seals the hand of every person, So that all people may know His work.
- NLT Then everyone stops working so they can watch his power.
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 seals up everyone's hand in winter so all may know His work. He halts human labor so people will recognize His power.
Overview
Elihu observes that wintry weather can stop human activity, sealing up people's hands from work, so that all may acknowledge God's doing. Nature's seasons are designed to turn human attention to the Maker. The verse teaches that even interruptions to our plans serve God's purpose of revealing Himself, calling us to recognize His hand in all of life and to trust His providence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 111:2Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
- Ps 109:27Let them know that this is Your hand, that You, O LORD, have done it.
- Eccl 8:17I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning; even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend.
- Job 36:24Remember to magnify His work, which men have praised in song.
- Job 9:7He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars.
- Job 5:12He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
- Isa 5:12At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.
- Ps 64:9Then all mankind will fear and proclaim the work of God; so they will ponder what He has done.
- Ps 92:4For You, O LORD, have made me glad by Your deeds; I sing for joy at the works of Your hands.
- Ps 46:8Come, see the works of the LORD, who brings devastation upon the earth.
- Job 12:14What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released.
- Isa 26:11O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!
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 37:7 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.