Job 17:4

Job 17:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.
• New International Version (NIV)You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore you will not let them triumph.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Since you have closed their hearts to understanding, therefore you will not let them triumph.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For You have hidden their heart from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them.

Context of Job 17:4

2I am surrounded by mockers. I watch how bitterly they taunt me. 3“You must defend my innocence, O God, since no one else will stand up for me. You have closed their minds to understanding, but do not let them triumph. 5They betray their friends for their own advantage, so let their children faint with hunger. 6“God has made a mockery of me among the people; they spit in my face.

Job 17:4 word by word

כִּֽי־לִ֭בָּם צָפַ֣נְתָּ מִּשָּׂ֑כֶל עַל־כֵּ֝֗ן לֹ֣א תְרֹמֵֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For thou hast hidצָפַןtsâphan · to treasureH6845
• their heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• from understandingשֵׂ֫כֶלώekel ώêkel · understandingH7922
• therefore shalt thou not exaltרוּםrûm · to exaltH7311

Cross-references for Job 17:4

• 2 Samuel 15:31When someone told David that his adviser Ahithophel was now backing Absalom, David prayed, “O Lord, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!”
• 2 Samuel 17:14Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “Hushai’s advice is better than Ahithophel’s.” For the Lord had determined to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better plan, so that he could bring disaster on Absalom!
• 2 Chronicles 25:16But the king interrupted him and said, “Since when have I made you the king’s counselor? Be quiet now before I have you killed!” So the prophet stopped with this warning: “I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this and have refused to accept my counsel.”
• Isaiah 19:14The Lord has sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so all their suggestions are wrong. They cause Egypt to stagger like a drunk in his vomit.
• Matthew 11:25At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.
• Matthew 13:11He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
• Romans 11:8As the Scriptures say, “God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.”
• 1 Corinthians 1:20So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.

Commentaries on Job 17:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4For thou hast hid their heart - This address is to God; and here he is represented as doing that which in the course of his providence he only permits to be done. Shalt thou not exalt them - This was exactly fulfilled: not one of Job's friends was exalted; on the contrary, God condemned the whole; and they were not received into the Divine favor till Job sacrificed, and made intercession for them.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4For thou hast hid their heart from understanding - That is, the heart of his professed friends. Job says that they were blind and perverse, and indisposed to render him justice; and he therefore pleads that he may carry his cause directly before God. He attributes their want of understanding to the agency of God in accordance with the doctrine which prevailed in early times, and which is so often expressed in the Scriptures, that God is the source of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-5Give me, I pray, the pledge You demand (literally please keep my pledge with yourself): A pledge (Hebrew ‘erabon) can be a deposit that guarantees payment (Genesis 38:17–20; Exodus 22:26–27; Deuteronomy 24:10–14; see Proverbs 20:16; 27:13). So, this might suggest God forgiving sin (making atonement). It might also refer to Job’s wish for an advocate to support his cause (see study note on Job 16:19–21).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. their heart--The intellect of his friends. shalt ... exalt--Rather imperative, "exalt them not"; allow them not to conquer [Umbreit], (Is 6:9, 10).Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Extinct
• Hold
• Exalt
• Job, Book of

Commentaries on Job 17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings