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But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.
Job 17:10 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB But as for you all, come on now again; I shall not find a wise man among you.
  • BSB But come back and try again, all of you. For I will not find a wise man among you.
  • NKJV “But please, come back again, all of you, For I shall not find one wise man among you.
  • NASB “But come again all of you now, For I do not find a wise man among you.
  • NLT “As for all of you, come back with a better argument, though I still won’t find a wise man among you.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Job challenges his friends to come again, for he finds no wise man among them. He dismisses their counsel as lacking wisdom.

Overview

Job invites the friends to renew their arguments, confident none of them possesses real wisdom for his case. His verdict exposes the emptiness of their supposedly traditional insight. This rebuke warns against confident counsel that lacks true understanding, and points to the need for wisdom from above (James 3:17) rather than mere human reasoning.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Job 42:7And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
  • Job 6:29Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it.
  • Mal 3:18Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
  • 1 Cor 1:20Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
  • Job 12:2No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
  • 1 Cor 6:5I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
  • Job 32:9Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
  • Job 17:4For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.
  • Job 15:9What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Job videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Job 17:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JobMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.

How Job 17:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.