Job 13:17
in Job 13Listen carefully to my words; let my declaration ring in your ears.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hear diligently my speech, And let my declaration be in your ears.
KJV
Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears.
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This verse in Job 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Hear diligently my speech - That which I have made; that is, the declaration which I have made of my innocence. He refers to his solemn declaration, Job 13:15-16 that he had unwavering confidence in God, and that even should God slay him he would put confidence in him. This solemn appeal he wished them to attend to as one of the utmost importance.
This site's exposition
this will be my salvation
on Job 13:16-19
Job carries the confidence of verse 15 into an argument, "this will be my salvation, for no godless man can appear before Him". The words "now that I have prepared my case" present him as a plaintiff with his brief, and Gill gives the verb its legal sense.
This site's exposition
let my declaration ring in your ears
Barnes takes the declaration as Job's solemn claim in verses 15 and 16, that he would hope in God even if God slew him. Job asks the friends to hear it with care. Gregory notes that Job calls his words riddles, speech framed in figures.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The Lord is near those, it is said, who invoke him, and therefore God is kindly disposed toward them. So listen, Job says, to what I am about to say: I will maintain my kindly disposed judgment upon God, who is just and speaks truthfully; …
The Medieval Church2 voices
Then as he is about to enter into a debate, he first renders his listeners attentive in two ways: in one way by couching what he will say with a certain mystery, since if we declare what must be said to be difficult, our listeners …
Hear my speech, and take in my riddles with your ears. Herein, that he names 'riddles,' he shews that he has parts of his speech framed in figures. Whence too it is fitly added by the voice of the faithful People.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Hear diligently my speech,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
my declaration--namely, that I wish to be permitted to justify myself immediately before God. with your ears--that is, attentively.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
5 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שִׁמְע֣וּ | shimu | listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| שָׁ֭מוֹעַ | shamoa' | completely [to] <to listen> | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| מִלָּתִ֑י | milati | speech my | H4405 → | 38 times |
| וְ֝אַֽחֲוָתִ֗י | veachavati | and declaration my | H262 → | |
| בְּאָזְנֵיכֶֽם׃ | beazeneikhem | [be] in ears your | H241 → | 187 times |
שִׁמְע֣וּlisten
shimuH8085 →1159 times
שָׁ֭מוֹעַcompletely [to] <to listen>
shamoa'H8085 →1159 times
מִלָּתִ֑יspeech my
milatiH4405 →38 times
וְ֝אַֽחֲוָתִ֗יand declaration my
veachavatiH262 →
בְּאָזְנֵיכֶֽם׃[be] in ears your
beazeneikhemH241 →187 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Job 13:6Hear now my argument, and listen to the plea of my lips.
it leads to
- Job 34:2
“Hear my words, O wise men; give ear to me, O men of learning.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Judges 9:7
When this was reported to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and cried out: “Listen to me, O leaders of Shechem, and may God listen to you.
- Proverbs 8:6–7
Listen, for I speak of noble things, and the opening of my lips will reveal right.
- Job 34:2
Through
Job 33:1“But now, O Job, hear my speech, and listen to all my words.
it leads to
- Job 13:6
Hear now my argument, and listen to the plea of my lips.
- Job 13:6
Through
Job 21:2“Listen carefully to my words; let this be your consolation to me.
it leads to
- Hebrews 2:1
We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
- Job 33:31–33
Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak.
- Job 16:2
“I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all.
- Job 15:11
Are the consolations of God not enough for you, even words spoken gently to you?
- Hebrews 2:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Job
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XI; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOB 13:17-18 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.