Job 32:9

Job 32:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
• New International Version (NIV)It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.
• English Standard Version (ESV)It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice.

Context of Job 32:9

7I thought, ‘Age should speak, and experience should teach wisdom.’ 8However, there is in humans a Spirit, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding. People do not become wise merely because they live long. They don’t understand what justice is merely because they’re old. 10“That is why I say, ‘Listen to me! Let me tell you what I know.’ 11I waited for you to speak. I listened for you to share your understanding until you could find the right words.

Job 32:9 word by word

לֹֽא־רַבִּ֥ים יֶחְכָּ֑מוּ וּ֝זְקֵנִ֗ים יָבִ֥ינוּ מִשְׁפָּֽט׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Great menרַבrab · manyH7227
• wiseחָכַםchâkam · be wiseH2449
• neither do the agedזָקֵןzâqên · oldH2205
• understandבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
• judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941

Cross-references for Job 32:9

• Jeremiah 5:5Let me go to important people and speak to them. They know the way of the Lord and the justice that God demands.” But they, too, had broken off their yokes and torn off their chains.
• Matthew 11:25At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from wise and intelligent people and revealing them to little children.
• John 7:48Has any ruler or any Pharisee believed in him?
• 1 Corinthians 1:26Brothers and sisters, consider what you were when God called you to be Christians. Not many of you were wise from a human point of view. You were not in powerful positions or in the upper social classes.
• 1 Corinthians 2:7We speak about the mystery of God’s wisdom. It is a wisdom that has been hidden, which God had planned for our glory before the world began.
• James 2:6Yet, you show no respect to poor people. Don’t rich people oppress you and drag you into court?
• Job 12:20He makes trusted advisers unable to speak and takes away the good judgment of respected leaders.
• Ecclesiastes 4:13A young man who is poor and wise is better than an old, foolish king who won’t take advice any longer.

Commentaries on Job 32:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Great men are not always wise - This is a true saying, which the experience of every age and every country increasingly verifies. And it is most certain that, in the case before us, the aged did not understand judgment; they had a great many wise and good sayings, which they had collected, but showed neither wisdom nor discretion in applying them.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Great men are not always wise - Though wisdom may in general be looked for in them, yet it is not universally true. Great men here denote those who are distinguished for rank, age, authority. Neither do the aged understand judgment - That is, they do not always understand it. The word judgment here means right, truth. They do not always understand what is the exact truth in regard to the divine administration. This is an apology for what he was about to…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. 99. Great--rather, "old" (Job 32:6). So Hebrew, in Ge 25:23. "Greater, less" for the older, the younger. judgment--what is right.Read the comment

Topics related to Job 32:9

• Old Age
• Pride
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Age
• Constrain
• Elihu
• Understanding
• Elihu (2)
• Job, Book of
• Wisdom

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