I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.
Parallel translations
- WEB I have heard the reproof which puts me to shame. The spirit of my understanding answers me.
- BSB I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding prompts a reply.
- NKJV I have heard the rebuke that reproaches me, And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.
- NASB “I listened to the reprimand which insults me, And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.
- NLT I’ve had to endure your insults, but now my spirit prompts me to reply.
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
Zophar feels Job's words have shamed and reproved him, prompting his understanding to reply. He answers in wounded defensiveness.
Overview
Stung by what he takes as Job's insulting rebuke, Zophar claims his understanding compels a response. His sense of personal offense reveals that his speech is partly self-justification. The exchange illustrates how easily counsel turns into a contest of pride rather than a ministry of grace to the hurting.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Job 33:3My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly.
- Ps 78:2–5I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
- Job 20:2Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.
- Ps 49:3My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
- Job 27:11I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
- Job 19:29Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.
- Job 19:3These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me.
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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 20:3 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.