To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.

JOB 5:11KJV
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Job 5:11 (KJV)

What does Job 5:11 mean?

Job 5:11 describes how God raises up those who are humble or brought low and gives security and honor to those who are grieving. The verse highlights God’s care for people who are suffering, showing that He can change their situation and lift them to a place of safety.

In context, these words are spoken by Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends, as he tries to comfort Job during his suffering. Eliphaz is explaining his belief that God helps those who are downcast or mourning by restoring them and protecting them. The verse is meant to encourage Job by pointing to God’s ability to reverse hardship and bring hope to the afflicted.

The Hebrew behind Job 5:11

  • "low" (שָׁפֵל, shaphel): This word refers to people who are brought down, humbled, or in a low position. The emphasis is on those who have been made small or insignificant in the eyes of others.
  • "mourn" (קָדַר, qadar): This word carries the sense of deep mourning, gloom, or being weighed down by sorrow. It highlights the emotional state of those who are grieving.
  • "exalted" (שָׂגַב, sagab): This word means to be set on high, lifted up, or made secure. It is not just about honor, but also about being placed in a position of safety and protection.
  • "safety" (יֶשַׁע, yesha): This word means deliverance, salvation, or security. It adds the idea that those who are lifted up are not just honored, but also made safe from harm.

Why Job 5:11 matters

  • Job 5:11 clarifies that the verse is not just about social status, but about God’s ability to transform the lives of those who are suffering or grieving, giving them both honor and protection.
  • The verse connects to the larger argument Eliphaz is making: that God is just and ultimately helps those who are humble or afflicted, which is meant to encourage Job to trust in God’s character.
  • Understanding the original words for “exalted” and “safety” shows that the promise is not only about being lifted up, but about being placed in a secure position, which deepens the comfort offered to those in distress.

Where else these words appear

“mourn” Hebrew H6937 · used in 17 verses

  • 1 Kings 18:45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
  • Psalms 42:9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
  • Ezekiel 31:15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.

“low” Hebrew H8217 · used in 18 verses

  • Leviticus 13:20 And if, when the priest seeth it, behold, it be in sight lower than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white; the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil.
  • Psalms 138:6 Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
  • Ezekiel 17:14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

“exalted” Hebrew H7682 · used in 20 verses

  • Deuteronomy 2:36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us:
  • Psalms 107:41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
  • Isaiah 2:11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

“safety” Hebrew H3468 · used in 35 verses

  • 2 Samuel 22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
  • Psalms 24:5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
  • Psalms 85:7 Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.