I would know the words which He would answer me, And understand what He would say to me.
Parallel translations
- WEB I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would tell me.
- KJV I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.
- BSB I would learn how He would answer, and consider what He would say.
- NASB “I would learn the words which He would answer, And perceive what He would tell me.
- NLT Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me.
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 longs to hear how God would answer him and to understand what God would say. He wants not only to speak but to truly know God's response.
Overview
Job's desire reaches beyond presenting his case to receiving God's reply; he wants understanding, not just acquittal. This humility distinguishes Job from a mere accuser. Ultimately God does answer Job out of the whirlwind (chapters 38-41), though not in the way Job expected, teaching that meeting God brings transformation more than explanation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Cor 4:3–4But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man’s judgment. Yes, I don’t judge my own self.
- Job 10:2I will tell God, ‘Do not condemn me. Show me why you contend with me.
- Job 13:22–23Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and you answer me.
- Job 42:2–6“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be restrained.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 23:5 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.