English Standard Version
Job 29:16
16I was a father to the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.
Job 29:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
- New International Version (NIV)I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
- New King James Version (NKJV)I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know.
- New Living Translation (NLT)I was a father to the poor and assisted strangers who needed help.
Context of Job 29:16
14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. 15I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know. 17I broke the fangs of the unrighteous and made him drop his prey from his teeth. 18Then I thought, 'I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand,
Read all of Job 29Job 29:16 word by word
אָ֣ב אָ֭נֹכִֽי לָֽאֶבְיוֹנִ֑ים וְרִ֖ב לֹא־יָדַ֣עְתִּי אֶחְקְרֵֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 29:16
- Job 31:18(for from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a father, and from my mother's womb I guided the widow),
- Esther 2:7He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
- Psalms 68:5Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
- Ephesians 5:1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
- James 1:27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
- Exodus 18:26And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.
- Deuteronomy 13:14then you shall inquire and make search and ask diligently. And behold, if it be true and certain that such an abomination has been done among you,
- Deuteronomy 17:8"If any case arises requiring decision between one kind of homicide and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another, any case within your towns that is too difficult for you, then you shall arise and go up to the place that the Lord your God will choose.
- 1 Kings 3:16Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
- Proverbs 25:2It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.
- Proverbs 29:7A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.
Commentaries on Job 29:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16The cause which I knew not I searched out - When any thing difficult occurred, I did not give it a slight consideration; I examined it to the bottom, whatever pain, time, and trouble it cost me, that I might not pronounce a hasty judgment.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16I was a father to the poor - I took them under my protection, and treated them as if they were my own children. And the cause which I knew not I searched out - This is according to the interpretation of Jerome. But the more probable meaning is, “the cause of him who was unknown to me, that is, of the stranger, I searched out.” So Rosenmuller, Herder, Umbreit, and Good. According to this, the sense is, that, as a magistrate, he gave particular attention to…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-17Verses 7-17 All sorts of people paid respect to Job, not only for the dignity of his rank, but for his personal merit, his prudence, integrity, and good management. Happy the men who are blessed with such gifts as these! They have great opportunities of honouring God and doing good, but have great need to watch against pride. Happy the people who are blessed with such men! it is a token for good to them. Here we see what Job valued himself by, in the day…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Job was active in searching out and helping strangers in need.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 12-1712-17. The grounds on which Job was praised (Job 29:11), his helping the afflicted (Psa 72:12) who cried to him for help, as a judge, or as one possessed of means of charity. Translate: "The fatherless who had none to help him."Read the comment
Topics related to Job 29:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 29
- 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries