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the Week of Proper 24 / Ordinary 29
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Read the Bible

King James Version

Job 32:9

Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Old Age;   Pride;   Wisdom;   Thompson Chain Reference - Great;   Honour-Dishonour;   Men;   The Topic Concordance - Greatness;   Wisdom;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Man;  

Dictionaries:

- Easton Bible Dictionary - Age;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Job, the Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Age, Aged, Old Age;   Ethics;   Wisdom;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elihu;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Rab;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Age;   Wisdom;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Age old;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Age, Old;  

Parallel Translations

New Living Translation
Sometimes the elders are not wise. Sometimes the aged do not understand justice.
English Revised Version
It is not the great that are wise, nor the aged that understand judgment.
Update Bible Version
It is not the great that are wise, Nor the aged that understand justice.
New Century Version
It is not just older people who are wise; they are not the only ones who understand what is right.
New English Translation
It is not the aged who are wise, nor old men who understand what is right.
Webster's Bible Translation
Great men are not [always] wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
World English Bible
It is not the great who are wise, Nor the aged who understand justice.
Amplified Bible
"Those [who are] abundant in years may not [always] be wise, Nor may the elders [always] understand justice.
English Standard Version
It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Men of long lijf ben not wise, and elde men vndurstonden not doom.
Berean Standard Bible
It is not only the old who are wise, or the elderly who understand justice.
Contemporary English Version
Age is no guarantee of wisdom and understanding.
American Standard Version
It is not the great that are wise, Nor the aged that understand justice.
Bible in Basic English
It is not the old who are wise, and those who are full of years have not the knowledge of what is right.
Complete Jewish Bible
it isn't [only] the great who are wise or the aged who know how to judge.
Darby Translation
It is not the great that are wise; neither do the aged understand judgment.
Easy-to-Read Version
Old men are not the only wise people. They are not the only ones who understand what is right.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
It is not the great that are wise, nor the aged that discern judgment.
King James Version (1611)
Great men are not alwayes wise: neither doe the aged vnderstand iudgement.
New Life Bible
The old may not be wise. They may not understand what is right and fair.
New Revised Standard
It is not the old that are wise, nor the aged that understand what is right.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Great men are not alway wise, neither doe the aged alway vnderstand iudgement.
George Lamsa Translation
It is not age that makes men wise; nor do the aged always understand judgment.
Good News Translation
It is not growing old that makes us wise or helps us to know what is right.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Great men, may not be wise, nor, elders, understand justice.
Douay-Rheims Bible
They that are aged are not the wise men, neither do the ancients understand judgment.
Revised Standard Version
It is not the old that are wise, nor the aged that understand what is right.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Great men are not alway wyse, neither doth euery aged man vnderstande the thing that is lawfull:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The long-lived are not wise as such; neither do the aged know judgment.
Christian Standard Bible®
It is not only the old who are wiseor the elderly who understand how to judge.
Hebrew Names Version
It is not the great who are wise, Nor the aged who understand justice.
Lexham English Bible
It is not the aged who are wise, or it is not the elders who understand justice.
Literal Translation
It is not the great that are wise, nor the aged who perceive justice;
Young's Literal Translation
The multitude are not wise, Nor do the aged understand judgment.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
All men are not wyse, nether doth euery aged man vnderstonde the thinge that is laufull.
New American Standard Bible
"The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice.
New King James Version
Great men [fn] are not always wise,Nor do the aged always understand justice.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice.
Legacy Standard Bible
The abundant in years may not be wise,Nor may elders understand justice.

Contextual Overview

6 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. 7 I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. 8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 9 Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. 10 Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion. 11 Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say. 12 Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words: 13 Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man. 14 Now he hath not directed his words against me: neither will I answer him with your speeches.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Great: Jeremiah 5:5, Matthew 11:25, John 7:48, 1 Corinthians 1:26, 1 Corinthians 1:27, 1 Corinthians 2:7, 1 Corinthians 2:8, James 2:6, James 2:7

neither: Job 12:20, Ecclesiastes 4:13

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 3:38 - a prince 2 Kings 4:8 - a great woman 2 Kings 5:13 - his servants Job 17:10 - for I Proverbs 28:11 - the poor

Cross-References

Genesis 17:7
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
Genesis 28:13
And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
Genesis 31:3
And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
Genesis 31:13
I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.
Genesis 31:29
It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
Genesis 31:42
Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
Genesis 31:53
The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.
Genesis 32:4
And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
Genesis 32:6
And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
Genesis 32:7
Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Great men are not [always] wise,.... Men of grandeur and dignity, as Job's friends might be, the rich, the honourable, and noble; the apostle is thought to refer to this, at least to express the sentiment contained in it, 1 Corinthians 1:26; or the great in quantity, the many, the multitude; and therefore are not to be followed in principle or practice; or that are great in years, well stricken in age, have lived long in the world, so some versions q; or are doctors, teachers of others, masters in Israel, as Nicodemus, and yet ignorant; all these may be wise in natural, civil, and worldly things, though this is not always the case; but not wise and knowing in divine and spiritual things, particularly in those respecting the causes and reasons of God's providential dealings with men, afflicting the righteous, and suffering the wicked to prosper, which is more fully explained in the next clause:

neither do the aged understand judgment; what is right and wrong, the difference between truth and error, and particularly the judgments of God, which are unsearchable, and his ways past finding out; even so to understand them as to observe and acknowledge his sovereignty, wisdom, truth, and faithfulness in them.

q רבים πολυχρονιοι, Sept. "longaevi", V. L. Mr. Broughton renders it, "as men of not great time may be wise, as the old understand the right."

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Great men are not always wise - Though wisdom may in general be looked for in them, yet it is not universally true. Great men here denote those who are distinguished for rank, age, authority.

Neither do the aged understand judgment - That is, they do not always understand it. The word judgment here means right, truth. They do not always understand what is the exact truth in regard to the divine administration. This is an apology for what he was about to say, and for the fact that one so young should speak. Of the truth of what he here said there could be no doubt, and hence, there was a propriety that one who was young should also be allowed to express his opinion on important subjects.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 32:9. Great men are not always wise — This is a true saying, which the experience of every age and every country increasingly verifies. And it is most certain that, in the case before us, the aged did not understand judgment; they had a great many wise and good sayings, which they had collected, but showed neither wisdom nor discretion in applying them.


 
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