Christian Standard Bible
Job 32:8
8But it is the spirit in a person— the breath from the Almighty— that gives anyone understanding.
Job 32:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
- New International Version (NIV)But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
Context of Job 32:8
6So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied: I am young in years, while you are old; therefore I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know. 7I thought that age should speak and maturity should teach wisdom. But it is the spirit in a person— the breath from the Almighty— that gives anyone understanding. 9It is not only the old who are wise or the elderly who understand how to judge. 10Therefore I say, “Listen to me. I too will declare what I know.”
Read all of Job 32Job 32:8 word by word
אָ֭כֵן רֽוּחַ־הִ֣יא בֶאֱנ֑וֹשׁ וְנִשְׁמַ֖ת שַׁדַּ֣י תְּבִינֵֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 32:8
- Job 4:12A word was brought to me in secret; my ears caught a whisper of it.
- Job 33:16he uncovers their ears and terrifies them with warnings,
- Job 35:11who gives us more understanding than the animals of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?”
- Job 38:36Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding?
- Genesis 41:39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are.
- 1 Kings 3:12I will therefore do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again.
- 1 Kings 4:29God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore.
- Proverbs 2:6For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
- Ecclesiastes 2:26For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Daniel 1:17God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind.
- Daniel 2:21He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
- 1 Corinthians 2:10Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
- 1 Corinthians 12:8to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit,
- 2 Timothy 3:16All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,
- James 1:5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly — and it will be given to him.
Commentaries on Job 32:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8But there is a spirit in man - Mr. Good translates: - "But surely there is an afflation in mankind, And the inspiration of the Almighty actuateth them." Coverdale, thus: - Every man (no doute) hath a mynde; but it is the inspyracion of the Almightie that geveth understondinge. I will now offer my own opinion, but first give the original text: תבינם שדי ונשמת באנוש היא רוח ruach hi beenosh venishmath shaddai tebinem . "The spirit itself is in miserable…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8But there is a spirit in man - This evidently refers to a spirit imparted from above; a spirit from the Almighty. The parallelism seems to require this, for it responds to the phrase “the inspiration of the Almighty” in the other hemistich. The Hebrew expression here also seems to require this interpretation. It is, הוא רוח rûach hû' the Spirit itself; meaning the very Spirit that gives wisdom, or the Spirit of inspiration. He had said, in the previous…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-14Verses 6-14 Elihu professes to speak by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and corrects both parties. He allowed that those who had the longest experience should speak first. But God gives wisdom as he pleases; this encouraged him to state his opinion. By attention to the word of God, and dependence upon the Holy Spirit, young men may become wiser than the aged; but this wisdom will render them swift to hear, slow to speak, and disposed to give others a…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-9The spirit in a man might not be God's Spirit of prophecy that Elihu later mentions, as Eliphaz had done (33:14–15; 4:12–17; compare 32:18–20). This spirit might simply exist because of creation (33:4; Genesis 2:7; Acts 17:25).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Elihu claims inspiration, as a divinely commissioned messenger to Job (Job 33:6, 23); and that claim is not contradicted in Job 42:4, 5. Translate: "But the spirit (which God puts) in man, and the inspiration ... is that which giveth," &c.; it is not mere "years" which give understanding (Pr 2:6; Joh 20:22).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 32:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 32
- 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
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Commentaries