Job 5:4 Meaning and Explanation
“His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Eliphaz describes the fool's children left defenseless, oppressed in the place of justice with no one to rescue them.
What Does Job 5:4 Mean?
The picture of ruin widens to the next generation. The fool's children are pictured as crushed 'in the gate,' the open square where elders heard cases and rendered judgment. There, where they should have found protection, they are overwhelmed and find no deliverer.
Spoken so soon after Job's own children have died, the words land with painful force, however Eliphaz intended them. Yet the verse quietly exposes a deep human need: the cry for a deliverer when no one else will stand. Scripture answers that cry with the promise of a Redeemer who defends the helpless and pleads the cause of those the world abandons.
Job 5:4 in the Original Language
shaar (שַׁעַר), 'gate' -- the city gate where elders sat to judge and settle disputes.
Frequently Asked Questions About Job 5:4
What does Job 5:4 mean?
Eliphaz describes the fool's children left defenseless, oppressed in the place of justice with no one to rescue them.