to open wide (literally or figuratively) · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
bond
מוּסַ֣רmu.Sar
H4148
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
kings
מְלָכִ֣יםme.la.Khim
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine plural absolute
girdeth
וַיֶּאְסֹ֥רvai.ye'.Sor
H631
to yoke or hitch · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
loins
בְּמָתְנֵיהֶֽםbe.ma.te.nei.Hem
H4975
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
girdle
אֵ֝ז֗וֹר'e.Zor
H232
something girt · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Daniel 2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them th…
Psalms 116:16 O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
2 Chronicles 33:11-14 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him wi…
Jeremiah 52:31-34 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twen…
Revelation 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 12:12–end
This is a noble discourse of Job's concerning the wisdom, power, and sovereignty of God, in ordering and disposing of all the affairs of the children of men, according to the counsel of his own will, which none dares gainsay or can resist. Take both him and them out of the controversy in which they were so warmly engaged, and they all spoke admirably well; but, in that, we sometimes scarcely know what to make of them. It were well if wise and good men, that differ in their apprehensions about minor things, would see it to be for their honour and comfort, and the edification of others, to dwell most upon those great things in which they are agreed. On this subject Job speaks like himself. Her…
He looseth the bond of kings--He looseth the authority of kings--the "bond" with which they bind their subjects (Isa 45:1; Gen 14:4; Dan 2:21).
a girdle--the cord, with which they are bound as captives, instead of the royal "girdle" they once wore (Isa 22:21), and the bond they once bound others with. So "gird"--put on one the bonds of a prisoner instead of the ordinary girdle (Joh 21:18).
John Gill on Job 12:18
He looseth the bonds of kings,.... Not with which they themselves may be bound, being taken prisoners, or being so before made kings, and brought from thence to reign, as in Ecclesiastes 4:14; but that which they bind on their subjects, a yoke of bondage, tyranny, and oppression; so that to loose their bond is to loose their subjects from it, and free them from their arbitrary and despotic power, and from the burdens they lay upon them: unless rather it should be understood of loosing their waistbands, as an emblem of their government, ungirding them, or unkinging them, stripping them of their royal power and authority, called a "loosing of their loins", Isaiah 45:1; and this power God has o…
"He places kings on their throne," these are the Apostles; "And the girdles of the harness," the austerities of continence.
These words must not refer to the sons of Aaron, who did not live anymore at that time, but to priests such as Job himself and Melchizedek. If the narrative is about real and holy priests, how is it said that they are led away in amazement? Evidently, [they are led away] in order that they may be astonished and admire the prodigies that are brought agains the impious through the decision of God and through the godhead. And so Job proceeds to relate here the admirable things that through the power and will of God happen in the sea, among the nations, among the kings and the leaders, and among all those, who prevail with force, deal with weapons and are called to war. Therefore, he submits.
He looseth the belt of kings, and girdeth their reins with a cord. They that know how to regulate aright the motions of their members, are not unjustly called 'kings.' But when the mind is touched with pride on the grounds of that very continence, it very often happens that Almighty God, deserting its pride, suffers it to fall into uncleanness of practice. And so 'He looseth the belt of kings,' when in the case of those who seemed to regulate their members aright, on account of the sin of pride he undoes the girdle of chastity. Now what is meant by 'a cord,' but sin? As Solomon says, His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. And because fleshly gratification has its dominion in the 'reins,' the strict Judge of the conscience, Who 'looseth the belt of kings,' 'girdeth their reins with a cord,' that, when the girdle of chastity is undone, then the gratification of sin should have dominion over their members, so that those whom pride pollutes in secret, He may shew even publicly to be as abominable as they are.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Girdle — (1.) Heb. hagor, a girdle of any kind worn by soldiers (1 Sam. 18:4; 2 Sam. 20:8; 1 Kings 2:5; 2 Kings 3:21) or women (Isa. 3:24). (2.) Heb. ‘ezor, something “bound,” worn by prophets (2 Kings 1:8;…
Satan — Adversary; accuser. When used as a proper name, the Hebrew word so rendered has the article “the adversary” (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). In the New Testament it is used as interchangeable with Diabolos, or…
Atheism · ARGUMENTS AGAINST — ARGUMENTS AGAINST
Philosophy · provi — provi
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
17 He leadeth away counsellors stripped of their robes,
And maketh judges fools.
18 The authority of kings He looseth,
And bindeth their loins with bands.
19 He leadeth away priests stripped of their robes,
And overthroweth those who are firmly established.
20 He removeth the speech of the eloquent,
And taketh away the judgment of the aged.
21 He poureth contempt upon princes,
And maketh loose the girdle of the mighty.
In Job 12:17, Job 12:19, שׁולל is added to מוליך as a conditional accusative; the old expositors vary in the rendering of this word; at any rate it does not mean: chained (Targ. on Job 12:17), from שׁלל (שׁרר), which is reduplicated in the word שׁלשׁלת, a chain, a word used in…
When God removes the royal robe of kings, he takes away the symbols of their authority (cp. 19:9). It could also be translated as “God loosens the bonds of kings,” referring to the bondage they have imposed on others.
Rashi on Job 12:18
He loosens the bond of kings He removed the bond of the yoke from Nebuchadnezzar and dethroned him.
and He binds a girdle to their loins At his start, when He desired him, He girded his loins, and imbued him with strength for kingship.
