He loosens ¹  the bonds ²  of kings and binds a loincloth ³  around their waist.

biblegateway Job 12:18

"He loosens the bond of kings And binds their loins with a girdle.

He releases the bonds put on by kings and ties a cloth around their waists.

He loosens kings’ belts and strips them of their pants.

biblegateway Job 12:18

He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth round their waist.

He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips.

bibleoremus Job 12:18

He looses the sash of kings, and binds a waistcloth on their loins.

he looses the bonds imposed by kings and removes the girdle of office from their waists;

biblegateway Job 12:18

He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt.

He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.

biblegateway Job 12:18

He loosens ¹  the bonds ²  of kings and binds a loincloth ³  around their waist.

¹ tn The verb may be classified as a gnomic perfect, or possibly a potential perfect – “he can loosen.” The Piel means “to untie; to unbind” (Job 30:11; 38:31; 39:5).

² tc There is a potential textual difficulty here. The MT has מוּסַר (musar, “discipline”), which might have replaced מוֹסֵר (moser, “bond, chain”) from אָסַר (’asar, “to bind”). Or מוּסַר might be an unusual form of אָסַר (an option noted in HALOT 557 s.v. *מוֹסֵר). The line is saying that if the kings are bound, God can set them free, and in the second half, if they are free, he can bind them. Others take the view that this word “bond” refers to the power kings have over others, meaning that God can reduce kings to slavery.

³ tn Some commentators want to change אֵזוֹר (’ezor, “girdle”) to אֵסוּר (’esur, “bond”) because binding the loins with a girdle was an expression for strength. But H. H. Rowley notes that binding the king’s loins this way would mean so that he would do servitude, menial tasks. Such a reference would certainly indicate troubled times.