Job 32:5
in Job 32But when he saw that the three men had no further reply, his anger was kindled.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.
KJV
When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled.
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This verse in Job 32
Commentary
6 notes on this verseElihu therefore waited while Job was speaking, because they who were speaking were his elders. But when he had seen that the three were not able to answer, he was very wroth. Though Holy Church is unquestionably older than her adversaries, (for they went forth from her, not she from them, as is said of them by John, They went out from us, but they were not of us,) yet Eliu is properly described as having been younger than these same adversaries.
This site's exposition
Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job
on Job 32:4-5
“Elihu had waited to speak to Job because the others were older than he”. Clarke reads it as the mark of a man who kept the custom of age until it produced nothing. Wesley notes that the anger was aimed at an unanswered case, more than at any word spoken.
This site's exposition
had no further reply
Gill stresses that the three were men of years, reputed wise, and still had no further reply. Aquinas finds Elihu's rule here. Respect for age must give way when it would harm the truth.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
But since it did not seem to him that reverence for someone should prejudice the truth, he, though younger, began to answer angrily the three elders, and so the text continues, "Since he had seen that the three could not answer," the arguments of Job, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
7 I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. 8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 9 Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men,.... That could be called an answer; nay, when he perceived they were quite nonplussed and silenced, though men of years and experience, and reputed wise and knowing: then his wrath was kindled; his spirit was stirred up; his heart was hot within him; he burned with anger against those men; he was all on fire, as it were, and wanted to vent his resentment.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֤רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֱלִיה֗וּא | ʾelihu' | Elihu | H453 → | 11 times |
| כִּ֘י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵ֤ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מַעֲנֶ֗ה | maaneh | [was] an answer | H4617 → | |
| בְּ֭פִי | befi | in [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת | sheloshet | [the] three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים | haanashim | the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| וַיִּ֥חַר | vaiyichar | and it burned | H2734 → | 91 times |
| אַפּֽוֹ׃ פ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | 276 times |
וַיַּ֤רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
אֱלִיה֗וּאElihu
ʾelihu'H453 →11 times
כִּ֘יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵ֤יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
מַעֲנֶ֗ה[was] an answer
maanehH4617 →
בְּ֭פִיin [the] mouth of
befiH6310 →498 times
שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת[the] three
sheloshetH7969 →432 times
הָאֲנָשִׁ֗יםthe men
haanashimH582 →566 times
וַיִּ֥חַרand it burned
vaiyicharH2734 →91 times
אַפּֽוֹ׃ פanger his
ʾapoH639 →276 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 32:2This kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. He burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God,
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:26
“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 22:21
Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram),
- Job 40:8
Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
- Job 27:2
“As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—the Almighty, who has embittered my soul—
- Job 35:2
“Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’
- Ephesians 4:26
Through
Exodus 32:19As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 9:16–17
And I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.
- Exodus 32:11
But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and…
- Mark 3:5
Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.
- Deuteronomy 9:16–17
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIII; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.