Job 32:21
in Job 32I will be partial to no one, nor will I flatter any man.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let me not, I pray you, respect any man’s person; Neither will I give flattering titles unto any man.
KJV
Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man.
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This verse in Job 32
Commentary
9 notes on this verseI will not accept the person of man, I will not equal God to man; for I know not how long I shall continue, or whether after a while my Maker may take me away. Most judiciously he does not make God equal to man, since he knows not how long he may continue, or when in the judgment of God be taken away. And he well says, After a while my Maker may take me away; for however long is the period of the present life, it is short, from the very fact, that it is not enduring.
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 will be partial to no one
Gill names the two temptations Elihu refuses. He will favor neither Job out of pity for his poverty and affliction nor the three friends. Barnes reads the verse as a settled resolve.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He shows the measure he should observe in answering when he says, "I will not show respect of persons to any man." For one shows partiality in answering someone when he abandons the truth to defer to the man. He shows, therefore, he does not …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person,.... Neither the person of Job, because of his poverty and affliction, indulging too much to pity and commiseration, and affecting to get a good name from others for it; nor the persons of his three friends, on account of their wealth and grandeur; for neither the persons of the poor, nor of the rich, are to be regarded in judgment, or in the decision of any matter between them, but truth and justice are to be attended to; see Exo 23:
1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
It is a good resolution he has taken up--" I know not to give flattering titles to men; I never used myself to flattering language;" and it is a good reason he gives for that resolution-- in so doing my Maker would soon take my away. It is good to keep ourselves in awe with a holy fear of God's judgments.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Let me not, I pray you - This is not to be regarded as an address to them, or a prayer to God, but as an expression of his determination. It is similar to the phrase which we use when we say, “may I never do this;” implying the strongest possible purpose not to do it. Elihu means to say that on no account would he use partiality or flattery in what he said. Accept any man’s person - Treat any with partiality.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Let me not - accept any man’s person - I will speak the truth without fear or favor. Neither let me give flattering titles - I will not give epithets to any man that are not descriptive of his true state. I will not beguile him by telling him he is what he is not. אכנה acanneh, from כנה canah, is generally supposed to signify to surname, to put a name to or upon a name, as the French word surnom implies. It means to give proud titles to persons who are worthless. It is well known that the Arabs make court to their superiors by carefully avoiding to address them by their proper names, instead of which they salute them with some title or epithet expressive of respect - Scott See below. Titles expressive of office, ecclesiastical, civil, or military, are always proper, and never forbidden, because they serve for distinction; but the Asiatic titles are in general bombastically and sinfully complimentary. The reader will find several specimens at the end of this chapter.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| נָ֭א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אֶשָּׂ֣א | ʾesa' | I lift up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| פְנֵי־ | fenei- | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אִ֑ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אָ֝דָ֗ם | ʾadam | anyone | H120 → | 551 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֲכַנֶּֽה׃ | ʾakhaneh | I will use flattery | H3655 → |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
נָ֭אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֶשָּׂ֣אI lift up
ʾesa'H5375 →656 times
פְנֵי־[the] face of
fenei-H6440 →2123 times
אִ֑ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
אָ֝דָ֗םanyone
ʾadamH120 →551 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֲכַנֶּֽה׃I will use flattery
ʾakhanehH3655 →
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 34:19who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:17
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- James 2:5
Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Deuteronomy 10:17
Through
Leviticus 19:15You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:17
Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I…
- Proverbs 24:23
These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
- Deuteronomy 27:19
‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Exodus 23:6–8
You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits.
- Deuteronomy 1:17
Through
Proverbs 24:23These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:21
To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.
- Proverbs 28:21
Through
Deuteronomy 16:19Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:15
You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
- Leviticus 19:15
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); 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.