New International Version
Job 32:8
8But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
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.
- 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.
- 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
6So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said: “I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know. 7I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’ But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding. 9It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right. 10“Therefore I say: Listen to me; I too will tell you 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“A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it.
- Job 33:16he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,
- Job 35:11who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?’
- Job 38:36Who gives the ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding?
- Genesis 41:39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.
- 1 Kings 3:12I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.
- 1 Kings 4:29God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.
- Proverbs 2:6For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
- Ecclesiastes 2:26To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
- Daniel 1:17To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
- Daniel 2:21He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
- 1 Corinthians 2:10these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
- 1 Corinthians 12:8To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,
- 2 Timothy 3:16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
- James 1:5If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
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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