Tree of Life Version
Job 40:4
4“Indeed, I am unworthy— what can I reply to You? I put 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 King James Version (NKJV)“Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth.
Context of Job 40:4
2“Will the one who contends with Shaddai correct him? Let him who accuses God answer!” 3Then Job answered Adonai. He said: “Indeed, I am unworthy— what can I reply to You? I put my hand over my mouth. 5I spoke once, but I have no answer— twice, but I will say no more.” 6Then Adonai answered Job from the whirlwind:
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 despise myself, and repent on dust and ashes.”
- Genesis 18:27Then Abraham answered and said, “Look, pray, I have decided to speak to my Lord, though I am dust and ashes.
- Genesis 32:10Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Adonai, who said to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will do good with you.’
- 2 Samuel 24:10But David’s heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David prayed to Adonai, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done! But now, Adonai, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
- 1 Kings 19:4But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom bush. He prayed that he might die. “It’s too much!” he said. “Now, Adonai, take my life! For I’m no better than my fathers.”
- Ezra 9:6I prayed, “O my God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God! For our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.
- Nehemiah 9:33You are righteous in all that has come upon us. For You have acted faithfully while we have done wickedly.
- Psalms 51:4Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
- Isaiah 6:5Then I said: “Oy to me! For I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I am dwelling among a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot!”
- Isaiah 53:6We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us turned to his own way. So Adonai has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
- Isaiah 64:6No one calls on Your Name, or stirs himself up to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us, because of our iniquities.
- Daniel 9:5we have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have acted wickedly; we have rebelled; we have turned away from Your mitzvot and from Your rulings.
- Luke 5:8But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Yeshua’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Master, for I am a sinful man!”
- Luke 15:18I’ll get up and go to my father, and I’ll say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your presence.
- Luke 18:13“But the tax collector, standing some distance away, wouldn’t even lift his eyes toward heaven, but beat his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
- 1 Timothy 1:15Trustworthy is the saying and deserving of complete acceptance: “Messiah Yeshua came into the world to save sinners”—of whom I am foremost.
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
Tree of Life Version — © 2015 The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
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