Job 32:20
in Job 32I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and respond.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will speak, that I may be refreshed; I will open my lips and answer.
KJV
I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.
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This verse in Job 32
Commentary
10 notes on this verseI am full of words, the spirit of my womb constraineth me. Behold, my belly is as new wine without a vent, which bursts in sunder new vessels. I will speak, and will take breath awhile; I will open my lips and answer. When boastful men observe that holy preachers speak eloquently, and are reverenced for their eloquence, they frequently imitate the loftiness of their language, and not their useful intention. They are far from loving what the others desire, but are especially anxious to gain great renown amongst men.
This site's exposition
For I am full of words
on Job 32:18-22
“For I am full of words, and my spirit within me compels me” explains why Elihu must speak. He pledges, “I will be partial to no one, nor will I flatter any man”. Gill reads it as a promise to speak plainly, and Clarke notes that it anticipates Elihu's directness.
This site's exposition
I must speak and find relief
Barnes gives find relief as room to breathe. Clarke follows the wineskin of Job 32:19, which must be opened before it bursts, as Elihu must open his lips. Ephrem the Syrian compares a woman relieved of the pain of labor.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"I must speak so that I may find relief," like a woman in labor, who, after bringing forth her offspring, is relieved from the pain of giving birth. And again, "my belly is in pain and does not open," that is, I was in pain …
The Medieval Church1 voice
So he also compares himself to new wine because of his youth, and therefore, from his great desire to speak he thinks there is danger which threatens unless he can express himself, and so he says, "I will speak and I will breathe a little," …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It is a great refreshment to a good man to have liberty to speak for the glory of God and the edification of others. That he was resolved to speak, with all possible freedom and sincerity, what he thought was true, not what he thought would please (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
I will speak, that I may be refreshed,....
(2.) That he was under a necessity of saying it: " The spirit within me not only instructs me what to say, but puts me on to say it; so that if I have not vent (such a ferment are my thoughts in) I shall burst like bottles of new wine when it is working,"
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I will open my lips and answer - In the preceding verse Elihu compares himself to a skin-bottle, in which the wine was in a state of fermentation, and the bottle ready to burst for want of vent. He carries on the metaphor in this verse: the bottle must be opened to save it from bursting; I will Open my mouth.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I will speak, that I may be refreshed - Margin, “breathe.” The meaning is, that he would then have room to breathe again; he would feel relieved.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲדַבְּרָ֥ה | ʾadaberah | let me speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וְיִֽרְוַֽח־ | veyirvach- | and it may be relieved | H7304 → | |
| לִ֑י | li | to me | ||
| אֶפְתַּ֖ח | ʾeftach | let me open | H6605 → | 144 times |
| שְׂפָתַ֣י | sefatai | lips my | H8193 → | 176 times |
| וְאֶֽעֱנֶֽה׃ | veeeneh | so I may answer | H6030 → | 331 times |
אֲדַבְּרָ֥הlet me speak
ʾadaberahH1696 →1141 times
וְיִֽרְוַֽח־and it may be relieved
veyirvach-H7304 →
לִ֑יto me
li
אֶפְתַּ֖חlet me open
ʾeftachH6605 →144 times
שְׂפָתַ֣יlips my
sefataiH8193 →176 times
וְאֶֽעֱנֶֽה׃so I may answer
veeenehH6030 →331 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 13:13Be silent, and I will speak. Then let come to me what may.
it leads to
- Job 7:11
Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
- Job 21:3
Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.
- Job 10:1
“I loathe my own life; I will express my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul.
- Job 13:5
If only you would remain silent; for that would be your wisdom!
- Job 7:11
Through
Job 13:19Can anyone indict me? If so, I will be silent and die.
it leads to
- Job 13:13
Be silent, and I will speak. Then let come to me what may.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 50:7–8
Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame.
- Job 13:13
Through
Job 21:3Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.
it leads to
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON JOB 32:20; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIII; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.