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Read the Bible
King James Version
Job 12:21
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
He pours out contempt on noblesand disarms the strong.
He pours contempt on princes, And loosens the belt of the strong.
He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong.
He brings disgrace on important people and takes away the weapons of the strong.
He pours contempt on noblemen and disarms the powerful.
"He pours contempt on princes and nobles And loosens the belt of the strong [disabling them].
"He pours contempt on nobles, And loosens the belt of the strong.
He pours contempt on princes, And loosens the belt of the strong.
He powreth contempt vpon princes, and maketh the strength of the mightie weake.
He pours contempt on noblesAnd loosens the belt of the strong.
He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
puts mighty kings to shame, and takes away their power.
He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong.
He poureth contempt upon nobles, and slackeneth the girdle of the mighty;
He brings disgrace to important people. He takes power away from rulers.
He pours contempt upon princes, and weakens the strength of the mighty.
He disgraces those in power and puts an end to the strength of rulers.
He pours contempt on noblemen, and he loosens the girdle of the mighty.
He pours scorn on nobles, and He loosens the girdle of the mighty;
He poureth out confucion vpon prynces, and coforteth them that haue bene oppressed.
He poureth contempt upon princes, And looseth the belt of the strong.
He puts shame on chiefs, and takes away the power of the strong;
He poureth contempt upon princes, and looseth the belt of the strong.
He powreth contempt vpon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mightie.
He powreth contempt vpon princes, and maketh the strength of the mightie weake.
He pours dishonour upon princes, and heals the lowly.
He poureth contempt upon princes, and looseth the belt of the strong.
He schedith out dispisyng on princes, and releeueth hem, that weren oppressid.
He pours contempt on princes, And looses the belt of the strong.
He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty.
He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong.
He pours anger on rulers, and takes away the strength of the strong.
He pours contempt on princes, and looses the belt of the strong.
Pouring contempt upon nobles, and, the girdle of the mighty, hath He loosed:
He poureth contempt upon princes, and relieveth them that were oppressed.
He pours contempt on princes, and looses the belt of the strong.
Pouring contempt upon princes, And the girdle of the mighty He made feeble.
"He pours contempt on nobles And loosens the belt of the strong.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
poureth: Exodus 8:2, Exodus 16:24, 1 Kings 21:23, 1 Kings 21:24, 2 Kings 9:26, 2 Kings 9:34-37, Psalms 107:40, Isaiah 23:9, Isaiah 24:21, Isaiah 24:22, Isaiah 37:38, Daniel 2:21, Daniel 2:22, Daniel 4:32, Daniel 4:33, Matthew 2:12, Matthew 2:13, Acts 12:23
weakeneth the strength of the mighty: or, looseth the girdle of the strong, Isaiah 5:27, Isaiah 11:5, Isaiah 22:21, Ephesians 6:10, Ephesians 6:14
Reciprocal: Job 30:11 - loosed Job 34:19 - princes Isaiah 23:10 - no more Isaiah 40:23 - General Isaiah 45:5 - I girded thee 1 Corinthians 2:6 - of the
Gill's Notes on the Bible
He poureth contempt upon princes,.... Not on good princes, such as rule in righteousness, and decree judgment and govern their subjects according to good laws, in a mild and gentle manner, and answer to their name of free, liberal, beneficent and munificent. These, as there is an honour due unto them, it is the will of God they should have it; much less are princes, in a figurative sense, meant, good men, the children of God, who are born of him the King of kings, and so princes in all the earth; but, in a literal sense, bad princes, that oppress their subjects, and rule them with rigour, and persecute good men; such as rose up against Christ, as Herod and Pontius Pilate; persecutors of the saints, as the Roman emperors, and the antichristian princes in the papacy; these God sometimes brings into contempt with their subjects, deposes them from their government, reduces them to a mean, abject, and servile state; or they die a shameful death, as Herod was eaten with worms, and many of the Heathen emperors died miserable deaths; and the vials of God's wrath will be poured out upon all the antichristian states, and their princes: pouring denotes the abundance of shame they are put to, as if they were clothed and covered with it, it being plentifully poured out like water, or as water was poured upon them, which is sometimes done by way of contempt, see Psalms 107:40;
and weakeneth the strength of the mighty; the strength of men, hale and robust, by sending one disease or another upon them, which takes it away from them; or by "the mighty" are meant men in power and authority; kings, as the Targum paraphrases it, mighty monarchs, whose strength lies in their wealth and riches, in their fortresses and powerful armies; all which God can deprive them of in an instant, and make them as weak as other men. Some render it, "and looseneth the girdle of the mighty" b, the same as loosening the loins of kings,
Isaiah 14:1; ungirding them, and taking away their power and authority from them, rendering them unfit for business, or unable to keep their posts and defend their kingdom.
b ומזיח אפיקים רפה "et zonam potentium laxat", Tigurine version, Piscator, Beza, Schmidt; so Jarchi, Ben Gersom, Bar Tzemach, & Ben Melech.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
He poureth contempt upon princes - He has power to hurl them from their thrones, and to overwhelm them with disgrace.
And weakeneth the strength of the mighty - Margin, as in Hebrew “looseth the girdle of the strong.” The Orientals wore loose flowing robes, which were secured by a girdle around the loins. When they labored, ran, or traveled, their robes were girded up. But this is common everywhere. Wrestlers, leapers, and runners, put a girdle around them, and are able thus to accomplish much more than they otherwise could. To loosen that, is to weaken them. So Job says that God had power to loosen the strength of the mighty. He here seems to labor for expressions, and varies the form of the image in every way to show the absolute control which God has over people, and the fact that his power is seen in the reverses of mankind. Lucretius has a passage strongly resembling this in the general sentiment:
Usque adeo res humanas vis abdita quaedam
Obterit; et pulchros fasces, saevasque secures,
Proculcare, atque ludibrio sibi habere, videtur.
Lib. v. 1232.
So from his awful shades, some Power unseen
O’erthrows all human greatness! Treads to dust
Rods, ensigns, crowns - the proudest pomps of state;
And laughs at all the mockery of mad!
Good.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 12:21. He poureth contempt upon princes — נדיבים nedibim, "those of royal extraction;" widely different from the כהנים cohanim mentioned Job 12:19.
Weakeneth the strength of the mighty. — אפיקים aphikim, the compact; the well-strung together; the nervous and sinewy. Perhaps there is a reference here to the crocodile, as the same term is applied, Job 40:13, to the compactness of his bones: and as רפה מזיח rippah meziach, which we translate weakeneth the strength, signifies more properly looseth the girdle, as the margin has properly rendered it, the reference seems still more pointed; for it is known that "the crocodile, from the shoulders to the extremity of the tail, is covered with large square scales, disposed like parallel girdles, fifty-two in number. In the middle of each girdle are four protuberances, which become higher as they approach the end of the tail, and compose four rows." See the quotation in Parkhurst, under the word אפק aphak. What is human strength against this? We may say as the Lord said, Job 40:19: He that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. He alone can loose the girdles of this mighty one.
