Job 34:35
in Job 34‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Job speaketh without knowledge, And his words are without wisdom.
KJV
Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom.
⋯
This verse in Job 34
Commentary
9 notes on this verseLet men of understanding speak to me, and let a wise man hear me. But Job hath spoken foolishly, and his words sound not of discipline. Lo, how he lays open that, which he was cherishing within, when, as if humbly, he allows blessed Job to speak; saying, Let men of understanding speak to me. For if blessed Job were to presume to speak, he would have disdained him, as though he could not understand his words.
This site's exposition
Men of understanding will declare to me
on Job 34:34-37
Elihu puts “Job speaks without knowledge” in the mouths of the wise. The wish “If only Job were tried” is his overreach, where the commentators see zeal for God's justice outrun charity. The closing charge, “he claps his hands among us”, is harsher than anything the friends said so plainly.
This site's exposition
Job speaks without knowledge
The quotation marks show Elihu putting this verdict in the mouths of the wise men of verse 34. Thomas Aquinas reads the charge as speaking against wisdom, as Job seemed to deny the justice of God's judgments. Adam Clarke calls Job self-willed here.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He had inferred a defect in these two things in the words Job himself spoke, and so he says, "Job has spoken stupidly," against wisdom, insofar as he reckoned Job had said something against the righteousness of divine judgment, "and his words do not show …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
To speak, though but one word, against God, by whom we speak and for whom we ought to speak, is a great sin; what is it then to multiply words against him, as if we would out-talk him? What is it to repeat them, instead of unsaying them? Those that have sinned, and, when they are called to repent, thus go on frowardly, add rebellion to their sin and make it exceedingly sinful.
4 Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good. 5 For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment. 6 Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Had taken - So Job had said, chap. xxvii, 2, he denies me that which is just and equal, to give me a fair hearing. Should I lie - So Job had said in effect, chap. xxvii, 4, 5, 6, should I falsely accuse myself of sins of which I am not guilty? Without transgression - Without any such crying, sin, as might reasonably bring down such terrible judgments upon my head.
Job hath spoken without knowledge,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Job hath spoken without knowledge - There is no good in arguing with a self-willed, self-conceited man. Job has spoken like a man destitute of wisdom and discretion.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִ֭יּוֹב | ʾiyov | Job | H347 → | 58 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְדַ֣עַת | vedaat | with knowledge | H1847 → | 92 times |
| יְדַבֵּ֑ר | yedaber | he speaks | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וּ֝דְבָרָ֗יו | udevarav | and words his | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְהַשְׂכֵּֽיל׃ | vehaskeil | [are] with insight | H7919 → | 62 times |
אִ֭יּוֹבJob
ʾiyovH347 →58 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
בְדַ֣עַתwith knowledge
vedaatH1847 →92 times
יְדַבֵּ֑רhe speaks
yedaberH1696 →1141 times
וּ֝דְבָרָ֗יוand words his
udevaravH1697 →1440 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
בְהַשְׂכֵּֽיל׃[are] with insight
vehaskeilH7919 →62 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 42:3You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
it leads to
- Job 38:2
“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 131:1
My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty. I do not aspire to great things or matters too lofty for me.
- Psalms 139:6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
- Psalms 40:5
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us— none can compare to You— if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I…
- Job 38:2
Through
Job 13:2What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.
it leads to
- Job 12:3
But I also have a mind; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 12:3
Through
Job 38:2“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?
it leads to
- Job 42:3
You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
- 1 Timothy 1:7
They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.
- Job 35:16
So Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.”
- Job 42:3
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 on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXVI; 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.