Job 5:11

11 The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.

Job 5:11 in Other Translations

KJV
11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
ESV
11 he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
NLT
11 He gives prosperity to the poor and protects those who suffer.
MSG
11 He raises up the down-and-out, gives firm footing to those sinking in grief.
CSB
11 He sets the lowly on high, and mourners are lifted to safety.

Job 5:11 Meaning and Commentary

Job 5:11

To set up on high those that be low
Not the low plants, which, through rain, are made to run up on high, though there is a truth in that; but husbandmen and gardeners, and such like persons, in low circumstances, who, by means of showers of rain, which make their gardens, fields, and lands fruitful, are raised to enjoy good estates, and large possessions:

that those which mourn may be exalted to safety;
or "are black" F12, that are clothed in black, as a token of mourning; or whose faces are black with famine, see ( Lamentations 4:8 ) ( 5:10 ) ; or are in very distressed circumstances, and black through poverty, as the Targum, and mourn over and grieve at their sad and deplorable case; those, through rain and fruitful seasons, are brought out of such an uncomfortable situation, and put into a better condition of life, where they are as in a fortress, out of the reach of such sad calamities: some connect the words with the following, that in order to do this, to raise up the humble and exalt mourners, "he disappoints the devices of the crafty", &c. ( Job 5:12 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F12 (Myrdq) "denigrati", Montanus, Bolducius; "atrati", Cocceius, Schmidt, Michaelis; "pullati", Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Beza; "sordidati", Schultens.

Job 5:11 In-Context

9 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
10 He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside.
11 The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.
13 He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.

Cross References 3

  • 1. S 1 Samuel 2:7-8; S Job 4:7; Psalms 75:7; Psalms 113:7-8
  • 2. Isaiah 61:2; Matthew 5:4; Romans 12:15
  • 3. S Matthew 23:12; James 4:10
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