You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’
Parallel translations
- WEB You said, ‘Listen, now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you will answer me.’
- KJV Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
- BSB You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak. I will question you, and you shall inform Me.’
- NKJV Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’
- NASB ‘Please listen, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct 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 again echoes God's words, recalling the summons to listen and answer. He yields to being questioned rather than questioning God.
Overview
Job repeats God's call to attend and respond, but now as a learner rather than a litigant. Earlier he had longed to put his case to God; now he submits to God's interrogation, recognizing that the Creator, not the creature, sets the terms. This reversal models the humility every believer needs before the searching word of God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Job 40:7“Now brace yourself like a man. I will question you, and you will answer me.
- Job 38:3Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me!
- Gen 18:30–32He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?” He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
- Gen 18:27Abraham answered, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, although I am dust and ashes.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 42:4 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.