Job 6:24
in Job 6Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Teach me, and I will hold my peace; And cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
KJV
Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
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This verse in Job 6
Commentary
9 notes on this verseTeach me, and I will hold my tongue, and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. It seems doubtful under the scale of what pointing this should hang, whether it be joined to what he had brought in, Did I say, or whether the sentence is spoken disjoined from the preceding, so that it is said thereby in reproach, Teach me, and I will hold my tongue, and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. Which same however agrees with either pointing, for by neither does he depart from the path of sound meaning.
This site's exposition
Teach me, and I will be silent
on Job 6:24-27
Job invites correction, "Teach me, and I will be silent," and asks to be shown "how I have erred". "How painful are honest words" grants that true words carry force. They would "cast lots for an orphan and barter away your friend," turning comfort into harm.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
However, even in such a condition, Job does not refuse to learn. "You may say something useful. I will be silent, if you speak helpful words." But they could not, to be sure, present evidence, but simply proceeded through conjectures. And since Job's life was manifestly full of virtue, they supposed that it was not the ground of his punishments.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Nor has he sought the help of instruction from them. So this is the meaning of: Have I said to you: "Teach me?" in speculative matters, "and I will say no more, and if perhaps I have been ignorant: Instruct me?" in practical actions.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. 5 Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder? 6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
But the method you take will never make proselytes: What doth your arguing reprove? Your hypothesis is false, your surmises are groundless, your management is weak, and your application peevish and uncharitable." Note, 1.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Teach me, and I will hold my tongue,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Teach me - Show me where I am mistaken. Bring proper arguments to convince me of my errors; and you will soon find that I shall gladly receive your counsels, and abandon the errors of which I may be convicted.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Teach me, and I will hold my tongue - That is, give me any real instruction, or show me what is my duty, and I will be silent. By this he means that Eliphaz had really imparted no instruction, but had dealt only in the language of reproof. The sense is, “I would willingly sit and listen where truth is imparted, and where I could be enabled to see the reason of the divine dealings. If I could be made to understand where I have erred, I would acquiesce.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֭וֹרוּנִי | horuni | teach me | H3384 → | 80 times |
| וַאֲנִ֣י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אַחֲרִ֑ישׁ | ʾacharish | I will keep silent | H2790 → | 74 times |
| וּמַה־ | umahosha- | and what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| שָּׁ֝גִ֗יתִי | shagiti | have I erred | H7686 → | 21 times |
| הָבִ֥ינוּ | havinu | explain | H995 → | 170 times |
| לִֽי׃ | li | to me |
ה֭וֹרוּנִיteach me
horuniH3384 →80 times
וַאֲנִ֣יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
אַחֲרִ֑ישׁI will keep silent
ʾacharishH2790 →74 times
וּמַה־and what?
umahosha-H4100 →752 times
שָּׁ֝גִ֗יתִיhave I erred
shagitiH7686 →21 times
הָבִ֥ינוּexplain
havinuH995 →170 times
לִֽי׃to me
li
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 32:8I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:5–6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
- Psalms 33:18
Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion
- Psalms 25:8–10
Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way.
- Matthew 11:29
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
- Proverbs 8:10–11
Receive my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.
- Proverbs 3:5–6
Through
James 3:2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
it leads to
- James 1:26
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
- Proverbs 13:3
He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.
- 1 Peter 3:10
For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
- James 1:26
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); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book VII; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 6:24A; 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.