Job 40:5
in Job 40I have spoken once, but I have no answer—twice, but I have nothing to add.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Once have I spoken, and I will not answer; Yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.
KJV
Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
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This verse in Job 40
Commentary
9 notes on this verseOne thing have I spoken, which I would I had not said; and another, to which I will add no further. 3. If we examine the former words of blessed Job, we find that he has said nothing wickedly. But if we distort his words, which were uttered with truth and freedom, into a sort of sin of pride, there will no longer be two only; because there will be many.
This site's exposition
Then Job answered the LORD
on Job 40:3-5
His words “I have spoken once, but I have no answer” formally withdraw his case without a confession of guilt. Gill takes the once and twice as Job's two great outbursts. Clarke sees this silence as the book's turning point, reached before the second speech has made its case.
This site's exposition
I have spoken once
Aquinas names the one thing Job regrets as his wish to argue his case with God at Job 13:3. Barnes reads twice as a sign that the fault was repeated, and so deliberate. Gregory the Dialogist held that Job had spoken nothing wicked.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Desert FathersThe Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks · Written before 500.
proposed
At a meeting of the hermits in Cellia, Evagrius made a speech. Then the priest there said, 'Evagrius, we know that if you were in your own country, perhaps you would already be a bishop, ruling over many. Here you are only a pilgrim.' Evagrius …
The Medieval Church1 voice
I do penance for these things which I have said, and so he says, "I have said one thing, and would that I had not," namely, when I said that I wanted to dispute with God, (13:3) "and another thing," that I preferred my own …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Once have I spoken; but I will not answer,....
God proceeds to reason with him, for his conviction, concerning the infinite distance and disproportion between him and God, showing that he was by no means an equal match for God.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Once have I spoken - That is, in vindicating myself. He had once spoken of God in an irreverent and improper manner, and he now saw it. But I will not answer - I will not now answer, as I had expressed the wish to do. Job now saw that he had spoken in an improper manner, and he says that he would not repeat what he had said. Yea, twice - He had not only offended once, as if in a thoughtless and hasty manner, but he had repeated it, showing deliberation, and thus aggravating his guilt.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Once have I spoken - See on Job 42:3 (note), etc. I will proceed no farther - I shall attempt to justify myself no longer; I have spoken repeatedly; and am confounded at my want of respect for my Maker, and at the high thoughts which I have entertained of my own righteousness. All is impurity in the presence of thy Majesty.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַחַ֣ת | ʾachat | one [time] | H259 → | 971 times |
| דִּ֭בַּרְתִּי | dibarti | I have spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶֽעֱנֶ֑ה | ʾeeneh | I will answer | H6030 → | 331 times |
| וּ֝שְׁתַּ֗יִם | ushetayim | and two [times] | H8147 → | 768 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אוֹסִֽיף׃ פ | ʾosif | I will repeat | H3254 → | 212 times |
אַחַ֣תone [time]
ʾachatH259 →971 times
דִּ֭בַּרְתִּיI have spoken
dibartiH1696 →1141 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶֽעֱנֶ֑הI will answer
ʾeenehH6030 →331 times
וּ֝שְׁתַּ֗יִםand two [times]
ushetayimH8147 →768 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
אוֹסִֽיף׃ פI will repeat
ʾosifH3254 →212 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
Psalms 62:11God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: that power belongs to God,
it leads to
- Revelation 19:1
After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!
- Job 33:14
For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.
- Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
- Psalms 68:34–35
Ascribe the power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose strength is in the skies.
- John 19:11
Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”
- Revelation 19:1
Through
Job 33:14For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:24
Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand,
- 2 Chronicles 33:10
And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they did not listen.
- Psalms 62:11
God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: that power belongs to God,
- Proverbs 1:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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); Desert Fathers, The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXXII; 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.