Job 16:4

Job 16:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul’s stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.
• New International Version (NIV)I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place; I could join words together against you and shake my head at you.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I also could speak as you do, If your soul were in my soul’s place. I could heap up words against you, And shake my head at you;

Context of Job 16:4

2‘I have heard all these things before. You are not making my troubles any better. You are making them worse! 3Please stop speaking useless words. Why do you talk to me like that? If you were suffering like I am, I could say the same things to you. I could speak for a long time about the wrong things that you have done. I could shake my head and laugh at you. 5But, instead, I would help you to be strong. I would say things to comfort you. 6But now, if I speak, my pain does not become any better. If I stop speaking, my pain continues to be there.

Job 16:4 word by word

גַּ֤ם׀ אָנֹכִי֮ כָּכֶ֪ם אֲדַ֫בֵּ֥רָה ל֤וּ־יֵ֪שׁ נַפְשְׁכֶ֡ם תַּ֤חַת נַפְשִׁ֗י אַחְבִּ֣ירָה עֲלֵיכֶ֣ם בְּמִלִּ֑ים וְאָנִ֥יעָה עֲ֝לֵיכֶ֗ם בְּמ֣וֹ רֹאשִֽׁי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• I also could speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• ifלוּlû' lû' lû · ifH3863
• your soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: myselfH5315
• wereיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
• stead, I could heap upחָבַרchâbar · to uniteH2266
• wordsמִלָּהmillâh milleh · speechH4405
• against you, and shakeנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
• mine headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• atבְּמוֹbemô · in/at/byH1119

Cross-references for Job 16:4

• Job 6:2‘I am so upset that nobody could measure it! My problems are too many to weigh!
• Matthew 7:12So do the good things for other people that you would want them to do for you. That is true in everything you do. That is what God's Law and the messages of God's prophets teach us.’
• Romans 12:15If you are with someone who is happy, you should also be happy. If you are with someone who is sad, you should also be sad.
• 1 Corinthians 12:26Then if one part of the body hurts, every other part also hurts. If people praise one part, every part of the body is also happy.
• Job 11:2‘Someone must answer all these words that you have spoken. You have talked a lot, but that does not mean that you are right.
• Job 35:16So, Job, you do not understand what you are saying. You speak a lot of words but they do not mean anything.’
• Proverbs 10:19If you talk too much, you will soon do something wrong. But if you are wise, you will stop talking.
• Ecclesiastes 10:14But he never stops talking. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. Nobody can tell us what will happen after we die.
• 2 Kings 19:21This is the Lord's reply. The Lord says this about King Sennacherib: “The holy people of Zion laugh at you! They think that you are useless. Yes, the people of Jerusalem shake their heads as you run away.
• Psalms 22:7Everyone that sees me laughs at me. They laugh and they shake their heads.
• Psalms 44:14The other nations tell jokes about us. They think that we are nothing.
• Psalms 109:25My enemies laugh at me! When they see me, they shake their heads at me.
• Jeremiah 18:16So I will cause their land to become a terrible place. People will always see how disgusting my people are. Everybody who goes near there will be very surprised. They will shake their heads and they will insult my people.
• Lamentations 2:15Everyone who goes by laughs at you. They are happy because you are sad. They see how the enemy has destroyed everything in Jerusalem. ‘Surely this cannot be the city that men called most beautiful,’ they say. ‘People have said that this city is the best city on earth.’
• Matthew 27:39The people who walked near there insulted Jesus. They laughed at him,

Commentaries on Job 16:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4I also could speak - It is probably better to render some of these permissives or potential verbs literally in the future tense, as in the Hebrew: I also Will speak. Mr. Good has adopted this mode. If your soul were in my soul's stead - If you were in my place, I also could quote many wise sayings that might tend to show that you were hypocrites and wicked men; but would this be fair? Even when I might not choose to go farther in assertion, I might shake…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4I also could speak as ye do - In the same reproachful manner, and stringing together old proverbs and maxims as you have. If your soul were in my soul‘s stead - If you were in my place. The idea is, that there is no difficulty in finding arguments to overwhelm the afflicted - a truth which most persons who have been unfortunate, have had opportunity to experience. I could heap up words against you - Or, rather, “I could string together words against you.”…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Job might have wanted to shake his head in to make fun or in horror (2 Kings 19:21; Psalms 22:7; 109:25; Isaiah 37:22; Jeremiah 18:16; Lamentations 2:15; Matthew 27:39).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. heap up--rather, "marshal together (an army of) words against you." shake ... head--in mockery; it means nodding, rather than shaking; nodding is not with us, as in the East, a gesture of scorn (Is 37:22; Jr 18:16; Mt 27:39).Read the comment

Topics related to Job 16:4

• Persecution
• Speaking

In the dictionaries

• Comforter
• Foul
• Plead
• Scorn
• Gesture
• Heap
• Job, Book of

Commentaries on Job 16

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary