English Standard Version
Job 32:8
8But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.
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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent.
Context of Job 32:8
6And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said: "I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you. 7I said, 'Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.' But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand. 9It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right. 10Therefore I say, 'Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.'
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 4:12"Now a word was brought to me stealthily; my ear received the whisper of it.
- Job 33:16then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings,
- Job 35:11who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'
- Job 38:36Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind?
- Genesis 41:39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.
- 1 Kings 3:12behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.
- 1 Kings 4:29And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore,
- Proverbs 2:6For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
- Ecclesiastes 2:26For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
- Daniel 1:17As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
- Daniel 2:21He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;
- 1 Corinthians 2:10these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
- 1 Corinthians 12:8For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
- 2 Timothy 3:16All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
- James 1:5If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given 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
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