Job 33:16
“Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,”
KJV
Read in Job 33Meaning
The verse has to be read inside Job 33:14–18, where the speaker is Elihu, not God and not the narrator. Verse 14 sets up the problem: "For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not." Verse 15 names dreams and night visions as one of the ways God can reach a person. Verse 16 is the turn: "Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction." Verses 17–18 give the reason: "That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit." The book reports Elihu's speech without passing an explicit verdict on him — in Job 42:7 the LORD rebukes Eliphaz and his two friends, and Elihu is not named.
Elihu: the ways God speaks, and what they are for
The unit argues that God communicates more than once without being perceived (v. 14), names dreams and night visions among his means (v. 15), states that God then opens the ear and seals the instruction (v. 16), and declares the aim: to turn a person from a ruinous course, to hide pride from him, and to preserve his life (vv. 17–18).
Read carefully
Verse 15 lists dreams and night visions among the ways God can reach a person; it does not make every dream a revelation. Elihu's point is human inattention, not a general rule for interpreting dreams.
Reflection
A conversation, a passage of Scripture, a piece of careful advice, or the consequence of one of your own decisions can force you to look at something you had been avoiding. Before asking "what kind of sign is this?", try the question the text suggests: "what am I meant to understand here?" Do not always look for a new answer; ask instead whether something already in front of you is becoming clearer.