New Living Translation
Job 11:8
8Such knowledge is higher than the heavens— and who are you? It is deeper than the underworld— what do you know?
Job 11:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
- New International Version (NIV)They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?
- English Standard Version (ESV)It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
- New King James Version (NKJV)They are higher than heaven— what can you do? Deeper than Sheol— what can you know?
Context of Job 11:8
6If only he would tell you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom is not a simple matter. Listen! God is doubtless punishing you far less than you deserve! 7“Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the Almighty? Such knowledge is higher than the heavens— and who are you? It is deeper than the underworld— what do you know? 9It is broader than the earth and wider than the sea. 10If God comes and puts a person in prison or calls the court to order, who can stop him?
Read all of Job 11Job 11:8 word by word
גָּבְהֵ֣י שָׁ֭מַיִם מַה־תִּפְעָ֑ל עֲמֻקָּ֥ה מִ֝שְּׁא֗וֹל מַה־תֵּדָֽע׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 11:8
- Job 22:12“God is so great—higher than the heavens, higher than the farthest stars.
- Job 35:5Look up into the sky, and see the clouds high above you.
- 2 Chronicles 6:18“But will God really live on earth among people? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!
- Psalms 103:11For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
- Psalms 148:13Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven!
- Proverbs 25:2It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.
- Isaiah 55:9For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
- Job 26:6The underworld is naked in God’s presence. The place of destruction is uncovered.
- Psalms 139:6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
- Amos 9:2“Even if they dig down to the place of the dead, I will reach down and pull them up. Even if they climb up into the heavens, I will bring them down.
- Ephesians 3:18And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
Commentaries on Job 11:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8It is as high as heaven - High as the heavens, what canst thou work? Deep below sheol, (the invisible world), what canst thou know? Long beyond the earth, and broad beyond the sea, is its measure. These are instances in the immensity of created things, and all out of the reach of human power and knowledge; and if these things are so, how incomprehensible must he be, who designed, created, preserves, and governs the whole! We find the same thought in…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8It is as high as heaven - That is, the knowledge of God; or the subject is as high as heaven. The idea is, that man is incompetent to examine, with accuracy, an object that is as far off as the heavens; and that as the knowledge of God must be of that character, it is vain for him to attempt to investigate it fully. There is an energy in the Hebrew which is lost in our common translation. The Hebrew is abrupt and very emphatic: “The heights of the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 Zophar speaks well concerning God and his greatness and glory, concerning man and his vanity and folly. See here what man is; and let him be humbled. God sees this concerning vain man, that he would be wise, would be thought so, though he is born like a wild ass's colt, so unteachable and untameable. Man is a vain creature; empty, so the word is. Yet he is a proud creature, and self-conceited. He would be wise, would be thought so, though he…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. It--the "wisdom" of God (Job 11:6). The abruptness of the Hebrew is forcible: "The heights of heaven! What canst thou do" (as to attaining to them with thy gaze, Psa 139:8)? know--namely, of His perfections.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 11:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 11
- 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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