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.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- 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.
- 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 15:10Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—men much older than your father.
- 1 Tim 5:1Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers,
- 1 Pet 5:5Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Titus 2:6In the same way, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.
- Job 15:7Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
- Lev 19:32You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.
- Rom 13:7Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
- 1 Sam 17:28–30Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and wickedness of heart—you have come down to 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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