English Standard Version
Job 32:20
20I must speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.
Job 32:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.
- New International Version (NIV)I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply.
- New King James Version (NKJV)I will speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.
- New Living Translation (NLT)I must speak to find relief, so let me give my answers.
Context of Job 32:20
18For I am full of words; the spirit within me constrains me. 19Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent; like new wineskins ready to burst. I must speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer. 21I will not show partiality to any man or use flattery toward any person. 22For I do not know how to flatter, else my Maker would soon take me away.
Read all of Job 32Job 32:20 word by word
אֲדַבְּרָ֥ה וְיִֽרְוַֽח־לִ֑י אֶפְתַּ֖ח שְׂפָתַ֣י וְאֶֽעֱנֶֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 32:20
- Job 13:13"Let me have silence, and I will speak, and let come on me what may.
- Job 20:2"Therefore my thoughts answer me, because of my haste within me.
- Job 21:3Bear with me, and I will speak, and after I have spoken, mock on.
- Proverbs 8:6Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right,
Commentaries on Job 32:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20I will open my lips and answer - In the preceding verse Elihu compares himself to a skin-bottle, in which the wine was in a state of fermentation, and the bottle ready to burst for want of vent. He carries on the metaphor in this verse: the bottle must be opened to save it from bursting; I will Open my mouth.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20I will speak, that I may be refreshed - Margin, “breathe.” The meaning is, that he would then have room to breathe again; he would feel relieved.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-22Verses 15-22 If we are sure that the Spirit of God suggested what we are about to say, still we ought to refrain, till it comes to our turn to speak. God is the God of order, not of confusion. It is great refreshment to a good man, to speak for the glory of the Lord, and to edify others. And the more we consider the majesty of God, as our Maker, and the more we dread his wrath and justice, the less shall we sinfully fear or flatter men. Could we set the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-20The length of Elihu’s speech shows he had many words to share (32:1–37:24). Elihu probably believed the spirit (Hebrew ruakh) within him urged him to speak (32:8, 19–20; Psalm 39:3). But the reader might regard him as just full of wind (an alternate meaning of the Hebrew ruakh; see study note on Job 15:2–3). Like Zophar, Elihu needed to speak to find relief (compare 20:2).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. refreshed--literally, "that there may be air to me" (1Sa 16:23).Read the comment
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries