Amplified Bible
Job 21:22
22Can anyone teach God knowledge, Seeing that He judges those on high?
Job 21:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high.
- New International Version (NIV)“Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those who are on high?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Can anyone teach God knowledge, Since He judges those on high?
Context of Job 21:22
20Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 21For what pleasure does he have in his house and family after he is dead, When the number of his months [of life] is cut off? Can anyone teach God knowledge, Seeing that He judges those on high? 23One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and quiet and satisfied; 24His pails are full of milk [his sides are filled out with fat], And the marrow of his bones is moist,
Read all of Job 21Job 21:22 word by word
הַלְאֵ֥ל יְלַמֶּד־דָּ֑עַת וְ֝ה֗וּא רָמִ֥ים יִשְׁפּֽוֹט׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 21:22
- Job 40:2“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who disputes with God answer it.”
- Isaiah 40:13Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or has taught Him as His counselor?
- Isaiah 45:9“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who quarrels with his Maker— A [worthless] piece of broken pottery among other broken pieces [equally worthless]! Shall the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or does the thing say, ‘He has no hands’?
- Romans 11:34For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?
- 1 Corinthians 2:16For who has known the mind and purposes of the Lord, so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ [to be guided by His thoughts and purposes].
- Job 34:17Shall one who hates justice [and is an enemy of right] govern? And will you condemn Him who is just and mighty?
- Psalms 113:5Who is like the Lord our God, Who is enthroned on high,
- Ecclesiastes 5:8If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight [of corruption]; for a higher official watches over another official, and there are higher ones over them [looking out for one another].
- Isaiah 40:22It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; [It is He] who stretches out the heavens like a veil And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
- 1 Corinthians 6:3Do you not know that we [believers] will judge angels? How much more then [as to] matters of this life?
- 2 Peter 2:4For if God did not [even] spare angels that sinned, but threw them into hell and sent them to pits of gloom to be kept [there] for judgment;
- Jude 1:6And angels who did not keep their own designated place of power, but abandoned their proper dwelling place, [these] He has kept in eternal chains under [the thick gloom of utter] darkness for the judgment of the great day,
- Revelation 20:1And then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding the key of the abyss (the bottomless pit) and a great chain was in his hand.
Commentaries on Job 21:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Shall any teach God knowledge? - Who among the sons of men can pretend to teach God how to govern the world, who himself teaches those that are high - the heavenly inhabitants, that excel us infinitely both in knowledge and wisdom? Neither angels nor men can comprehend the reasons of the Divine providence. It is a depth known only to God.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Shall any teach God knowledge? - This commences the reply of Job to the sentiments of his friends to which he had just adverted. The substance of the reply is, that no one could prescribe to God how he should deal with people, and that it; was not a FACT that people were treated as they had supposed. Instead of its being true, as they maintained, that wicked people would all be cut down in some fearful and violent manner, as a punishment for their sins…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-26Verses 17-26 Job had described the prosperity of wicked people; in these verses he opposes this to what his friends had maintained about their certain ruin in this life. He reconciles this to the holiness and justice of God. Even while they prosper thus, they are light and worthless, of no account with God, or with wise men. In the height of their pomp and power, there is but a step between them and ruin. Job refers the difference Providence makes between…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22This question assumes the answer that no one can teach God a lesson (Isaiah 40:13–14; 45:9; Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 2:16). The phrase those on high might refer to good or bad angels (demons) (1 Corinthians 6:3; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6; Revelation 20:1–3). Or, more likely, it refers to powerful people on earth (Job 34:17–19).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2222. Reply of Job, "In all these assertions you try to teach God how He ought to deal with men, rather than prove that He does in fact so deal with them. Experience is against you. God gives prosperity and adversity as it pleases Him, not as man's wisdom would have it, on principles inscrutable to us" (Is 40:13; Ro 11:34). those ... high--the high ones, not only angels, but men (Is 2:12-17).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 21:22
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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