New International Version
Job 8:9
9for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow.
Job 8:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)
- English Standard Version (ESV)For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For we were born yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days on earth are a shadow.
- New Living Translation (NLT)For we were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.
Context of Job 8:9
7Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be. 8“Ask the former generation and find out what their ancestors learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. 10Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding? 11Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water?
Read all of Job 8Job 8:9 word by word
כִּֽי־תְמ֣וֹל אֲ֭נַחְנוּ וְלֹ֣א נֵדָ֑ע כִּ֤י צֵ֖ל יָמֵ֣ינוּ עֲלֵי־אָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 8:9
- Job 7:6“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope.
- Genesis 47:9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.”
- 1 Chronicles 29:15We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
- Psalms 39:5You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.
- Psalms 90:4A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.
- Psalms 102:11My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
- Psalms 144:4They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.
Commentaries on Job 8:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing - It is evident that Bildad refers to those times in which human life was protracted to a much longer date than that in which Job lived; when men, from the long period of eight or nine hundred years, had the opportunity of making many observations, and treasuring up a vast fund of knowledge and experience. In comparison with them, he considers that age as nothing, and that generation as being only of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9For we are but of yesterday - That is, we are of short life. We have had but few opportunities of observation compared with those who have gone before us. There can be no doubt that Bildad here refers to the longevity of the antecedent ages compared with the age of man at the time when he lived; and the passage, therefore, is of importance in order to fix the date of the poem. It shows that human life had been reduced in the time of Job within…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-19Verses 8-19 Bildad discourses well of hypocrites and evil-doers, and the fatal end of all their hopes and joys. He proves this truth of the destruction of the hopes and joys of hypocrites, by an appeal to former times. Bildad refers to the testimony of the ancients. Those teach best that utter words out of their heart, that speak from an experience of spiritual and divine things. A rush growing in fenny ground, looking very green, but withering in dry…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9born yesterday and know nothing: Bildad suggested that Job's generation was either born too late to know ancient wisdom or too young to have gathered it.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-98-9. The sages of the olden time reached an age beyond those of Job's time (see on Job 42:16), and therefore could give the testimony of a fuller experience.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 8:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 8
- 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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