Bible Strands
Job 5:11
He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Eliphaz addresses Job, describing God’s active role in agricultural provision and the reversal of human circumstances.
The words — שְׁפָלִים (shefalim) means the lowly or oppressed, paired with קֹדְרִים (qodrim), which literally denotes mourners or those with darkened faces.
The thread — This motif of divine elevation appears in Psalm 113:7, 1 Samuel 2:7, and Psalm 107:41, where God consistently lifts the poor and needy while reversing their condition.
Why it lands — The verse states that God places the lowly on high and secures the safety of mourners, requiring the reader to acknowledge divine sovereignty over status rather than attributing outcomes to human effort.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
Cross-references
- Psalms 113:7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump
- 1 Samuel 2:7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
- Psalms 107:41 But He lifts the needy from affliction and increases their families like flocks.
- Luke 1:52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.
- Luke 6:21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
- Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’
- Psalms 91:14 “Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.
- Ezekiel 17:24 Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”
- James 4:6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- James 1:9 The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.