He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders.
Answering his friend Zophar, Job lists what God does to the people everyone else leans on — kings, judges, priests, princes. Here the loss falls on speech and judgment: is Job telling plain truth about God, or has grief left him seeing only half the picture?
What Is Taken Away
The verse names two kinds of respected people: those others rely on for advice, and elders whose long experience earned them a hearing. One writer traces what God removes from each.
Leslie M. GrantGod takes from counsellors the value of their counsel. So man's wisdom comes to nothing, and the judges become foolish. Man's authority becomes as useless as his wisdom. People who were thought dependable lose their speech and their power to help others. Even elders known for their experience find their discernment taken away.
Nothing Among Men Stands Still
Job is not just describing God's power. He is arguing. If God keeps overturning the great, then no one's present position shows God's settled verdict — and that is what his three friends had built their case on.
William KellyThere are all kinds of change. There is nothing therefore that shows the settled judgment of God. Everything among men is in a state of flux — a constant flow and change. So nothing could be more foolish than the ground the three friends stood on in their attack on Job… And that is what happens where people trust in men.
Where Trust Runs Out
These were the recognised experts of their day — the people you would naturally ask. That is what makes their failure worth noticing.
William KellyNo doubt those counsellors and judges were people well known for their knowledge, and assumed to be wise as well. But there is always a limit in this world, and disappointment often comes at the point where you lean hardest.
True — But Only One Side
Commentators are careful here. What Job says is accurate, yet his suffering has narrowed what he is willing to see.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinJob outdoes Zophar's speech in every way. He is ahead in the argument… he now declares that with God are wisdom and might; He has counsel and understanding. But what follows, though true in itself, is only one side of what God does. It is the darkest pessimism, and it suited the state of his mind.
The missing half is any hint that those brought low might deserve it.
Samuel RidoutNo one, however high, can escape Him. He breaks down, and ruin is the result. He shuts, and no one can open… This Almighty One holds them all up to contempt — judges, kings, princes and priests. This is right, if they deserve it, but Job leaves that side out.
Power Without Refuge
Described this way, God's power is overwhelming but offers nothing to hold on to. Faith speaks of the same God in a very different tone.
Samuel RidoutIt is indeed a great picture of God's power, but a very dark one. We can only shudder at the awful sight. Job's misery has cast a grim light over all God's greatness. How different is the language of faith: "God is our refuge and strength… therefore we will not fear… Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46).
The God Who Uncovers Darkness
Job says that God uncovers what is hidden in the dark. He does not see that he himself is the case in point.
Leslie M. GrantIn fact, Job was going through the pains of darkness himself. He could not uncover deep things out of the darkness, nor bring light from the shadow of death, but he realised God can do this. Could He not do it in Job's case? Yes indeed, and He did so before long.
Summary
- Removed. God takes the counsellor's voice and the elder's judgment — the very things that made them worth asking.
- Reversed. Everything among men is in constant flux, so no one's present standing proves God's settled verdict on them.
- Relied on. Human ability always has a limit. Disappointment comes where you leaned hardest.
- Restricted. Job's words are true, yet he tells only the dark half — he never allows that those brought low might deserve it.
- Restored. The God who uncovers deep things out of darkness did that for Job in the end. Faith calls that same power a refuge, where Job could only shudder at it.