Job 33:31
in Job 33Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me: Hold thy peace, and I will speak.
KJV
Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I will speak.
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This verse in Job 33
Commentary
8 notes on this verseEliu has uttered great and very powerful words. But it is a characteristic of every boastful person, that, while giving utterance to truths and mysteries, he suddenly blends with them, through pride of heart, some foolish and proud expressions. For he endeavours to please the world without, in that which he thinks with truth; and is soon despoiled of the truth, just as through haughtiness of pride he goes back from what is inward. For, because he seeks to be approved of outwardly as a man of learning, he loses inwardly the fulness of wisdom, in which he was instructed.
This site's exposition
Pay attention, Job, and listen to me
on Job 33:31-33
“Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak” closes the first argument by asking the silence Job demanded of others. Clarke reads “be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom” as courteous and confident, a young man's promise his elders in chapter 32 had doubted.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Since it seemed to him that he had spoken effectively, he invites Job to listen quietly to the things which remain. He says, "Listen, Job," in your heart, "and hear me," with your ears, "be silent while I speak," and do not interrupt me.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
What is intended for our good challenges our regard. If Job will observe what is said, (1.) He is welcome to make what objections he can against it (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Mark well, O Job,.... Consider and weigh well what has been said; or rather attend to what is further to be said: hearken unto me; to what he was about to say; for he was full of matter, and had not yet vented all he had to utter: hold thy peace, and I will speak; be silent and do not interrupt, and I will go on with my discourse.
7 Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee. Several arguments Elihu here uses to persuade Job not only to give him a patient hearing, but to believe that he designed him a good office, and to take it kindly, and be willing to receive the instructions he was now about to give him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Mark well, O Job - Pay the deepest attention to what I have said, and to what I shall say.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me ... - Elihu designs to intimate that he had much more to say which demanded close attention. He begged, therefore, that Job would hear him patiently through.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַקְשֵׁ֖ב | hakshev | pay attention | H7181 → | |
| אִיּ֥וֹב | ʾiyov | O Job | H347 → | 58 times |
| שְֽׁמַֽע־ | shema'- | listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| לִ֑י | li | to me | ||
| הַ֝חֲרֵ֗שׁ | hacharesh | keep quiet | H2790 → | 74 times |
| וְאָנֹכִ֥י | veanokhi | and I | H595 → | 359 times |
| אֲדַבֵּֽר׃ | ʾadaber | I will speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
הַקְשֵׁ֖בpay attention
hakshevH7181 →
אִיּ֥וֹבO Job
ʾiyovH347 →58 times
שְֽׁמַֽע־listen
shema'-H8085 →1159 times
לִ֑יto me
li
הַ֝חֲרֵ֗שׁkeep quiet
hachareshH2790 →74 times
וְאָנֹכִ֥יand I
veanokhiH595 →359 times
אֲדַבֵּֽר׃I will speak
ʾadaberH1696 →1141 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 2 separate paths from here.
- 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 18:2“How long until you end these speeches? Show some sense, and then we can talk.
it leads to
- Job 13:5–6
If only you would remain silent; for that would be your wisdom!
- Proverbs 18:13
He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.
- Job 16:2–3
“I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all.
- Job 3:17
There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary find rest.
- Job 33:1
“But now, O Job, hear my speech, and listen to all my words.
- Job 13:5–6
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.
- Hebrews 2:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Job
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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 XXIV; 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.