God’s Word Translation
Job 40:4
4“I’m so insignificant. How can I answer you? I will put my hand over my mouth.
Job 40:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
- New International Version (NIV)“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth.
Context of Job 40:4
2“Will the person who finds fault with the Almighty correct him? Will the person who argues with God answer him?” 3Job answered the Lord, “I’m so insignificant. How can I answer you? I will put my hand over my mouth. 5I spoke once, but I can’t answer— twice, but not again.” 6Then the Lord responded to Job out of a storm,
Read all of Job 40Job 40:4 word by word
הֵ֣ן קַ֭לֹּתִי מָ֣ה אֲשִׁיבֶ֑ךָּ יָ֝דִ֗י שַׂ֣מְתִּי לְמוֹ־פִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 40:4
- Job 42:6That is why I take back what I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show that I am sorry.”
- Genesis 18:27Abraham asked, “Consider now, if I may be so bold as to ask you, although I’m ⌞only⌟ dust and ashes,
- Genesis 32:10I’m not worthy of all the love and faithfulness you have shown me. I only had a shepherd’s staff when I crossed the Jordan River, but now I have two camps.
- 2 Samuel 24:10After David counted the people, his conscience troubled him. David said to the Lord, “I have committed a terrible sin by what I have done. Lord, please forgive me because I have acted very foolishly.”
- 1 Kings 19:4Then he traveled through the wilderness for a day. He sat down under a broom plant and wanted to die. “I’ve had enough now, Lord,” he said. “Take my life! I’m no better than my ancestors.”
- Ezra 9:6and said, “I am ashamed, my God. I am embarrassed to look at you. Our sins have piled up over our heads, and our guilt is so overwhelming that it reaches heaven.
- Nehemiah 9:33But you were fair about everything that has happened to us. You have been faithful, but we have been wicked.
- Psalms 51:4I have sinned against you, especially you. I have done what you consider evil. So you hand down justice when you speak, and you are blameless when you judge.
- Isaiah 6:5So I said, “Oh, no! I’m doomed. Every word that passes through my lips is sinful. I live among people with sinful lips. I have seen the king, the Lord of Armies!”
- Isaiah 53:6We have all strayed like sheep. Each one of us has turned to go his own way, and the Lord has laid all our sins on him.
- Isaiah 64:6We’ve all become unclean, and all our righteous acts are like permanently stained rags. All of us shrivel like leaves, and our sins carry us away like the wind.
- Daniel 9:5We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commandments and laws.
- Luke 5:8When Simon Peter saw this, he knelt in front of Jesus and said, “Leave me, Lord! I’m a sinful person!”
- Luke 15:18I’ll go at once to my father, and I’ll say to him, “Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and you.
- Luke 18:13“But the tax collector was standing at a distance. He wouldn’t even look up to heaven. Instead, he became very upset, and he said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
- 1 Timothy 1:15This is a statement that can be trusted and deserves complete acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the foremost sinner.
Commentaries on Job 40:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Behold, I am vile - I acknowledge my inward defilement. I cannot answer thee. I will lay mine hand upon my mouth - I cannot excuse myself, and I must be dumb before thee.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Behold, I am vile: what shall I answer thee? - “Instead of being able to argue my cause, and to vindicate myself as I had expected, I now see that I am guilty, and I have nothing to say.” He had argued boldly with his friends. He had, before them, maintained his innocence of the charges which they brought against him, and had supposed that he would be able to maintain the same argument before God. But when the opportunity was given, he felt that he was a…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4I am insignificant (compare 42:6): Job was not asking God to forgive his sin. Like Abraham, he recognized that he was not worthy (Genesis 18:27). Job had asked those comforting him to cover their mouths to show shock (21:5). Here, he does so himself in reaction to his own inappropriate words.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. I am (too) vile (to reply). It is a very different thing to vindicate ourselves before God, from what it is before men. Job could do the latter, not the former. lay ... hand ... upon ... mouth--I have no plea to offer (Job 21:5; Jud 18:19).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 40:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 40
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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