Job 12:18

"He leads counselors away stripped. He makes judges fools."

Key Reflection

In Job 12:18, Elihu expresses his frustration with God’s actions by stating that God leads counselors away stripped and makes judges fools. The original audience would have understood this to mean that even those who are wise and in positions of authority, like counselors and judges, can be left vulnerable or humbled by divine intervention. This verse reflects a tension between human wisdom and the unpredictable nature of God’s sovereignty, suggesting that sometimes even the most knowledgeable and powerful individuals can be overruled or mistaken by God's actions.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

He looseth the bond of kings -The bond of kings (מוּסרmûsâr) here means that by which they bind others. Their power over others he loosens or takes away. And girdeth their loins with a girdle -That is, he girds them with a rope or cord, and leads them away as prisoners. The whole series of remarks here refers to the reverses and changes in the conditions of life. The meaning here is, that the bonds of authority which they imposed on others are unbound, and that their own loins are bound with a girdle, not a girdle of royal dignity and ornament, but such a one as they are bound with who are servants, or who travel. “Pict.

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