New King James Version
Job 40:4
4“Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay 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 Living Translation (NLT)“I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand.
Context of Job 40:4
2“Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.” 3Then Job answered the Lord and said: “Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. 5Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” 6Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
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 42:6Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
- Genesis 18:27Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
- Genesis 32:10I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.
- 2 Samuel 24:10And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”
- 1 Kings 19:4But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
- Ezra 9:6And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.
- Nehemiah 9:33However You are just in all that has befallen us; For You have dealt faithfully, But we have done wickedly.
- Psalms 51:4Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
- Isaiah 6:5So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
- Isaiah 53:6All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
- Isaiah 64:6But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.
- Daniel 9:5we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
- Luke 5:8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
- Luke 15:18I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
- Luke 18:13And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
- 1 Timothy 1:15This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries