Job 42:4

Job 42:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
• New International Version (NIV)“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’
• English Standard Version (ESV)'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’

Context of Job 42:4

2“I know that You can do all things, And that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained. 3[You said to me] ‘Who is this that darkens and obscures counsel [by words] without knowledge?’ Therefore [I now see] I have [rashly] uttered that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, please, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct [and answer] me.’ 5I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear, But now my [spiritual] eye sees You. 6Therefore I retract [my words and hate myself] And I repent in dust and ashes.”

Job 42:4 word by word

שְֽׁמַֽע־נָ֭א וְאָנֹכִ֣י אֲדַבֵּ֑ר אֶ֝שְׁאָלְךָ֗ וְהוֹדִיעֵֽנִי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• I beseech thee, and I will speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• I will demandשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
• of thee, and declareיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045

Cross-references for Job 42:4

• Genesis 18:27Abraham answered, “Now behold, I who am but dust [in origin] and ashes have decided to speak to the Lord.
• Job 38:3Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
• Job 40:7“Now gird up your loins (prepare yourself) like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me.

Commentaries on Job 42:4

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak - This is the language of humble, docile submission. On former occasions he had spoken confidently and boldly of God; he had called in question the equity of his dealings with him; he had demanded that he might be permitted to carry his cause before him, and argue it there himself; Notes, Job 13:3, and notes Job 13:20-22. Now he is wholly changed. His is the submissive language of a docile child, and he begs to be…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-6Job understood the message of God’s speeches: I know that You can do all things. Nothing is too hard for him (Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 19:26). Job says, No plan of Yours can be thwarted (Job 23:13; Isaiah 14:27; 46:10). Job realized how different he was from God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. When I said, "Hear," &c., Job's demand (Job 13:22) convicted him of being "without knowledge." God alone could speak thus to Job, not Job to God: therefore he quotes again God's words as the groundwork of retracting his own foolish words.Read the comment

Topics related to Job 42:4

• God
• Humility
• Job

In the dictionaries

• Ashes
• Hearing
• Wonderful
• Demand

Commentaries on Job 42

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings