It is not only the old who are wise, or the elderly who understand justice.
Parallel translations
- WEB It is not the great who are wise, nor the aged who understand justice.
- KJV Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
- NKJV Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice.
- NASB “The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice.
- NLT Sometimes the elders are not wise. Sometimes the aged do not understand justice.
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 asserts that it is not the great or the aged who are necessarily wise or just in understanding. Wisdom is not guaranteed by status or years.
Overview
Elihu corrects the assumption that the prominent and elderly automatically possess wisdom and discernment of justice. While age and rank often bring experience, they do not by themselves confer the understanding that comes from God. This humbling truth levels the ground, reminding all that wisdom must be sought from the Lord, who gives it generously and supremely in Christ, whom God made our wisdom and righteousness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 11:25At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
- Job 12:20He deprives the trusted of speech and takes away the discernment of elders.
- Eccl 4:13Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.
- 1 Cor 1:26–27Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.
- 1 Cor 2:7–8No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.
- John 7:48“Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him?
- Jas 2:6–7But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
- Jer 5:5I will go to the powerful and speak to them. Surely they know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.” But they too, with one accord, had broken the yoke and torn off the chains.
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 32:9 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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