For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.
You have closed their minds to understanding, so you will not let them triumph.
Job is saying that God has prevented his friends from truly understanding his situation, so they won't be proven right in their accusations against him.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Job, set in the ancient Near East during a time when people believed wisdom came directly from God, Job is a righteous man enduring immense suffering and debating with his friends who wrongly accuse him of sin. In Job 17:4, Job laments that God has withheld understanding from his friends' hearts, preventing them from seeing the truth of his situation and leading to their inability to offer true comfort. This reflects the broader biblical narrative of human dependence on divine insight amid trials.
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