Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man.
Parallel translations
- WEB Beware lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom, God may refute him, not man;’
- BSB So do not claim, ‘We have found wisdom; let God, not man, refute him.’
- NKJV Lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom’; God will vanquish him, not man.
- NASB “So do not say, ‘We have found wisdom: God will defeat him, not man.’
- NLT And don’t tell me, ‘He is too wise for us. Only God can convince him.’
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
Moses appeals to God's sworn promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. He anchors his plea in the unbreakable covenant.
Overview
Moses moves from God's glory to God's covenant oath, reminding Him of the promise of offspring and land sworn by God's own self. Because God cannot deny Himself, this is the strongest possible ground for mercy. The episode shows that God's faithfulness to His promises, ultimately fulfilled in Christ the true offspring (Galatians 3:16), is the basis of His people's security.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Jer 9:23Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
- 1 Cor 3:18Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
- 1 Cor 1:27–29But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
- Isa 5:21Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
- Job 19:6Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.
- Job 12:2No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
- Isa 48:5I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.
- Isa 48:7They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.
- John 19:11Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
- Job 6:4For 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.
- Job 15:8–10Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?
- Job 1:21And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
- Job 2:10But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
- Judg 7:2And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
- Zech 12:7The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
- 1 Cor 1:19–21For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
- Job 4:9By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
- Gen 14:23That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
- Ezek 28:3Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
- Job 19:21Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 32:13 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.