If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?
Job 11:10 falls within the debate between Job and his three friends about Job's afflictions. It belongs to the arguments of Job's friends about the cause and purpose of suffering. It occurs in Zophar's first speech, in which Job is urged to repent. It has also been placed in Eliphaz's speech.
It asserts that no one can prevent or hinder God when he cuts off, shuts up, or gathers. It presents God's power as beyond human restraint, and his power and ways as exceeding human judgment. Its claim about God's power is part of the friends' teaching that was generally true but misapplied to Job's case. His suffering did not prove that God was displeased with him. What Job's friends say about God and Job, including this verse, cannot be treated as reliable simply because it appears in Scripture, but must be tested against inspired declarations elsewhere in the Bible.
Job 11:10 falls within the debate between Job and his three friends about Job's afflictions. It belongs to the arguments of Job's friends about the cause and purpose of suffering. It occurs in Zophar's first speech, in which Job is urged to repent. It has also been placed in Eliphaz's speech.
It asserts that no one can prevent or hinder God when he cuts off, shuts up, or gathers. It presents God's power as beyond human restraint, and his power and ways as exceeding human judgment. Its claim about God's power is part of the friends' teaching that was generally true but misapplied to Job's case. His suffering did not prove that God was displeased with him. What Job's friends say about God and Job, including this verse, cannot be treated as reliable simply because it appears in Scripture, but must be tested against inspired declarations elsewhere in the Bible.