New English Translation
Job 32:8
8But it is a spirit in people, the breath of the Almighty, that makes them 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
Context of Job 32:8
6So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up: “I am young, but you are elderly; that is why I was fearful, and afraid to explain to you what I know. 7I said to myself, ‘Age should speak, and length of years should make wisdom known.’ But it is a spirit in people, the breath of the Almighty, that makes them understand. 9It is not the aged who are wise, nor old men who understand what is right. 10Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me. I, even I, will explain what I know.’
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 secretly brought to me, and my ear caught a whisper of it.
- Job 33:16Then he gives a revelation to people, and terrifies them with warnings,
- Job 35:11who teaches us more than the wild animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
- Job 38:36Who has put wisdom in the heart, or has imparted understanding to the mind?
- Genesis 41:39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning as you are!
- 1 Kings 3:12I grant your request, and give you a wise and discerning mind superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you.
- 1 Kings 4:29God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding was as infinite as the sand on the seashore.
- Proverbs 2:6For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
- Ecclesiastes 2:26For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth – only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile – like chasing the wind!
- Daniel 1:17Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom – and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.
- Daniel 2:21He changes times and seasons, deposing some kings and establishing others. He gives wisdom to the wise; he imparts knowledge to those with understanding;
- 1 Corinthians 2:10God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
- 1 Corinthians 12:8For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
- 2 Timothy 3:16Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
- James 1:5But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to 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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