Job 37:23
in Job 37The Almighty is beyond our reach; He is exalted in power! In His justice and great righteousness He does not oppress.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: He is excellent in power; And in justice and plenteous righteousness he will not afflict.
KJV
Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.
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This verse in Job 37
Commentary
10 notes on this verseWe cannot worthily find Him out. He is great in power, and judgment, and justice, and cannot be spoken of. Even if we can now find Him out, yet not worthily. For whatever we perceive in Him, is of faith, and not of sight. But yet he adds that which he considers he has found, saying; He is great in power, and judgment, and justice, and cannot be spoken of.
This site's exposition
The Almighty is beyond our reach
on Job 37:23-24
Elihu ends with a confession: “The Almighty is beyond our reach”. Henry reads this as sound doctrine even where Elihu's application to Job has been harsh. The Lord answers out of the whirlwind in the next verse, so Elihu's word is the last human word before God speaks.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
So he says, "We cannot find him worthily," so as to come to know him as he is through our own investigation. This is because of his excellence, and so he says, "he is great in might," for his power infinitely exceeds all his effects, …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
1 ), these were, as afterwards on Mount Sinai, the proper prefaces to command attention and awe. How Elihu was himself affected, and desired to affect Job, with the appearance of God's glory in the thunder and lightning (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number
Power - Therefore as he doth not need any unrighteous action to advance himself, so he cannot do it, because all such things are acts of weakness. Judgment - In the just administration of judgment, he never did, nor can exercise that power unjustly, as Job seemed to insinuate.
Touching the Almighty,....
It is the excellency of his power that he can do whatever he pleases in heaven and earth. The universal extent and irresistible force of his power are the excellency of it; no creature has an arm like him, so long, so strong. (4.) That he is not less excellent in wisdom and righteousness, in judgment and plenty of justice, else there would be little excellency in his power.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out - See the notes at Job 11:7-9. This sentiment accords with all that Elihu had said, and indeed is what he designed particularly to enforce. But it has a special emphasis here, where God is seen approaching in visible splendor, encompassed with clouds and tempests, and seated on a throne of burnished gold. Such a God, Elihu says, it was impossible to comprehend.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
afflict--oppressively, so as to "pervert judgment" as Job implied (see on Job 8:3); but see on Job 37:21, end of note. The reading, "He answereth not," that is, gives no account of His dealings, is like a transcriber's correction, from Job 33:13, Margin.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out - This is a very abrupt exclamation, and highly descriptive of the state of mind in which Elihu was at this time; full of solemnity, wonder, and astonishment, at his own contemplation of this “great First Cause, least understood.” The Almighty! we cannot find him out. Excellent in power and in judgment - We must not pretend to comprehend his being, the mode of his existence, the wisdom of his counsels, nor the mysteries of his conduct. He will not afflict - לא יענה la yeanneh, he will not Answer. He will give account of none of his matters to us. We cannot comprehend his motives, nor the ends he has in view.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שַׁדַּ֣י | shadai | [the] Almighty | H7706 → | 48 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מְ֭צָאנֻהוּ | metzanuhu | we have found him | H4672 → | 455 times |
| שַׂגִּיא־ | sagi'- | exalted of | H7689 → | |
| כֹ֑חַ | khoach | power | H3581 → | 126 times |
| וּמִשְׁפָּ֥ט | umishpat | and justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| וְרֹב־ | verov- | and greatness of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| צְ֝דָקָ֗ה | tzedakah | righteousness | H6666 → | 157 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְעַנֶּֽה׃ | yeaneh | he violates | H6031 → |
שַׁדַּ֣י[the] Almighty
shadaiH7706 →48 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
מְ֭צָאנֻהוּwe have found him
metzanuhuH4672 →455 times
שַׂגִּיא־exalted of
sagi'-H7689 →
כֹ֑חַpower
khoachH3581 →126 times
וּמִשְׁפָּ֥טand justice
umishpatH4941 →422 times
וְרֹב־and greatness of
verov-H7230 →149 times
צְ֝דָקָ֗הrighteousness
tzedakahH6666 →157 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְעַנֶּֽה׃he violates
yeanehH6031 →
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
Romans 11:33O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!
it leads to
- Job 11:7–9
Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?
- Job 5:9
the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
- Psalms 92:5
How great are Your works, O LORD, how deep are Your thoughts!
- Colossians 2:2–3
that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ,
- Romans 2:4
Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
- Job 11:7–9
Through
1 Timothy 6:16He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 1:17
Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
- John 1:18
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
- 1 John 1:5
And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
- 1 Timothy 1:17
About Job
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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 XXVII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.