Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered, “I am young, and you are very old; Therefore I held back, and didn’t dare show you my opinion.
Parallel translations
- KJV And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion.
- BSB So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared: “I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know.
- NKJV So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are very old; Therefore I was afraid, And dared not declare my opinion to you.
- NASB So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said, “I am young in years and you are old; Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think.
- NLT Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said, “I am young and you are old, so I held back from telling you what I think.
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
Elihu begins by acknowledging his youth and the others' age, explaining he had held back out of respect. He speaks with initial deference.
Overview
Elihu opens his speech by humbly noting that he is young while his hearers are very old, which is why he kept silent and feared to share his view. This respectful posture honors the biblical principle of deferring to elders. Yet he is about to argue that true understanding comes from God, reminding us that wisdom is ultimately a gift of God's Spirit and is found fully in Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Job 15:10With us are both the gray-headed and the very aged men, much elder than your father.
- 1 Tim 5:1Don’t rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father; the younger men as brothers;
- 1 Pet 5:5Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Titus 2:6Likewise, exhort the younger men to be sober minded;
- Job 15:7“Are you the first man who was born? Or were you brought out before the hills?
- Lev 19:32“‘You shall rise up before the gray head, and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.
- Rom 13:7Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
- 1 Sam 17:28–30Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the naughtiness of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle.”
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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 32:6 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
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