He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.
The saying belongs to the extended debate about his afflictions carried on between Job and his three friends, stretching from chapter 4 through chapter 31 in three rounds of speeches. It stands within Job's own argument, and its place there does not establish that every statement made by his friends is true or was correctly applied to his suffering. It declares that God rules over human affairs, leading counselors away defeated and spoiled into captivity and making judges lose wisdom so that the wise are made to appear foolish. The confusion and defeat of rulers and advisers are thus acts wrought under His sovereign power. That power over counselors and judges bears directly upon the course of national history and upon its leaders.
The saying belongs to the extended debate about his afflictions carried on between Job and his three friends, stretching from chapter 4 through chapter 31 in three rounds of speeches. It stands within Job's own argument, and its place there does not establish that every statement made by his friends is true or was correctly applied to his suffering. It declares that God rules over human affairs, leading counselors away defeated and spoiled into captivity and making judges lose wisdom so that the wise are made to appear foolish. The confusion and defeat of rulers and advisers are thus acts wrought under His sovereign power. That power over counselors and judges bears directly upon the course of national history and upon its leaders.