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Monday, May 5th, 2025
the Third Week after Easter
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Read the Bible

New Century Version

Job 35:11

who makes us smarter than the animals of the earth and wiser than the birds of the air?'

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Animals;   Religion;   Wisdom;   The Topic Concordance - God;   Teaching;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Birds;   Man;  

Dictionaries:

- Holman Bible Dictionary - Job, the Book of;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elihu;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Behemoth;   Heaven;  

Encyclopedias:

- The Jewish Encyclopedia - Shirah, Pereḳ (Pirḳe);   Wisdom;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
who gives us more understanding than the animals of the earthand makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?”
Hebrew Names Version
Who teaches us more than the animals of the eretz, And makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?'
King James Version
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?
English Standard Version
who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'
New English Translation
who teaches us more than the wild animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?'
Amplified Bible
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'
New American Standard Bible
Who teaches us more than the animals of the earth And makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?'
World English Bible
Who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?'
Geneva Bible (1587)
Which teacheth vs more then the beastes of the earth, and giueth vs more wisdome then the foules of the heauen.
Legacy Standard Bible
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earthAnd makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'
Berean Standard Bible
who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?'
Contemporary English Version
though he makes us wiser than animals or birds.
Complete Jewish Bible
who teaches us more than he teaches wild animals and makes us wiser than the birds in the air?'
Darby Translation
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowl of the heavens?
Easy-to-Read Version
He is the one who makes us smarter than any animal on earth and wiser than any bird.'
George Lamsa Translation
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, and makes us wiser than the fowls of the air?
Good News Translation
They don't turn to God, who makes us wise, wiser than any animal or bird.
Lexham English Bible
who teaches us more than the animals of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'
Literal Translation
teaching us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Which geueth vs more vnderstodinge then he doth the beastes of the earth, and teacheth vs more then the foules off heaue.
American Standard Version
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, And maketh us wiser than the birds of the heavens?
Bible in Basic English
Who gives us more knowledge than the beasts of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the heaven?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?'
King James Version (1611)
Who teacheth vs more then the beasts of the earth, and maketh vs wiser then the foules of heauen.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Which teacheth vs more the the beastes of the earth, and geueth vs more wysdome then the foules of heauen.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
who makes me to differ from the four-footed beasts of the earth, and from the birds of the sky?
English Revised Version
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Which God techith vs aboue the beestis of erthe, and he schal teche vs aboue the briddis of heuene.
Update Bible Version
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?
Webster's Bible Translation
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?
New King James Version
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?'
New Living Translation
Where is the one who makes us smarter than the animals and wiser than the birds of the sky?'
New Life Bible
Who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'
New Revised Standard
who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?'
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and, beyond the bird of the heavens, giveth us wisdom?
Douay-Rheims Bible
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and instructeth us more than the fowls of the air.
Revised Standard Version
who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?'
Young's Literal Translation
Teaching us more than the beasts of the earth, Yea, than the fowl of the heavens He maketh us wiser.'
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'

Contextual Overview

9 "People cry out when they are in trouble; they beg for relief from powerful people. 10 But no one asks, ‘Where is God, my Maker, who gives us songs in the night, 11 who makes us smarter than the animals of the earth and wiser than the birds of the air?' 12 God does not answer evil people when they cry out, because the wicked are proud. 13 God does not listen to their useless begging; the Almighty pays no attention to them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Job 32:8, Genesis 1:26, Genesis 2:7, Psalms 94:12

Reciprocal: Job 39:17 - General Psalms 32:9 - no Psalms 94:10 - teacheth man Psalms 119:135 - and teach Proverbs 1:17 - in vain Isaiah 28:26 - For his God Matthew 6:26 - the fowls Luke 12:7 - ye are Luke 12:24 - how

Cross-References

Genesis 9:1
Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Have many children; grow in number and fill the earth.
Genesis 12:2
I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.
Genesis 13:16
I will make your descendants as many as the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust on the earth, he could count your people.
Genesis 15:5
Then God led Abram outside and said, "Look at the sky. There are so many stars you cannot count them. Your descendants also will be too many to count."
Genesis 17:16
I will bless her and give her a son, and you will be the father. She will be the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will come from her."
Genesis 18:14
Is anything too hard for the Lord ? No! I will return to you at the right time a year from now, and Sarah will have a son."
Genesis 18:18
Abraham's children will certainly become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
Genesis 22:17
I will surely bless you and give you many descendants. They will be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, and they will capture the cities of their enemies.
Genesis 28:14
Your descendants will be as many as the dust of the earth. They will spread west and east, north and south, and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.
Genesis 32:12
You said to me, ‘I will treat you well and will make your children as many as the sand of the seashore. There will be too many to count.'"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth?.... Who are taught and know much, especially some of them; but not so much as man, see Isaiah 1:3;

and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven? who are wise to provide food and nests for themselves and their young; and such as are birds of passage, as the turtledove, the crane, the stork, and the swallow, to know the time of their coming and returning, see Jeremiah 8:7. But then neither the beasts not; the fowls, though they are endowed with much knowledge and sagacity, according to their natures, yet not with reason and understanding, as men are, so as to make reflections on things they see and hear, and reason and discourse about them; nor are they capable of being taught and attaining to knowledge and wisdom as men are, by the works of God, of creation, and providence; and by the word of God, the Scriptures of truth, which are able to make men wise unto salvation; and by the Spirit of God, who teaches all things of a spiritual nature. God not only endows men with reason, but with sentiments of religion, which brutes are incapable of: he gives to men wisdom in the hidden part; he puts in them his fear, which is the beginning of wisdom; he makes them wise to know God in Christ, and to know his Son Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal; and he gives them knowledge of a future state, and hope of immortality and eternal life. Wherefore it becomes them to bear afflictions and oppressions with a fortitude of mind, and patiently submit to the will of God, and wait his time for deliverance, having called upon him in faith, and left their case with him; but if they only cry, as the brutes do under their burdens, it need not seem strange they are not heard and answered; since God has given them more wisdom and knowledge than they, and therefore should behave after another manner; though sometimes they act a part inferior to them, Judges 1:10.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth - Who is able to teach us mere than the irrational creation; that is, in regard to the nature and design of affliction. They suffer without knowing why. They are subjected to toil and hardships; endure pain, and die, without any knowledge why all this occurs, and without any rational view of the government and plans of God. It is not, or need not be so, says Elihu, when man suffers. He is intelligent. He can understand why he is afflicted. He has only to make use of his superior endowments, and apply to his Maker, and he will see so much of the reason of his doings that he will acquiesce in the wise arrangement. Perhaps there is an implied reflection here on those who suffered generally, as if they manifested no more intelligence than the brute creation. They make no use of intellectual endowments. They do not examine the nature of the divine administration, and they do not apply to God for instruction and help. If they should do so, he would teach them so that they would acquiesce and rejoice in his government and dealings. According to this view, the meaning is, that if people suffer without relief and consolation, it is to be attributed to their stupidity and unwillingness to look to God for light and aid, and not at all to his injustice.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 35:11. Who teacheth us more than the beasts — "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know me, my people do not consider; " Isaiah 1:3. Beasts, bards, fowls, and in many cases pond-fishes, know and seem thankful to the hand that feeds them; while man, made much more noble than they, gifted with the greatest powers, privileged with the most important benefits, considers not the Lord, nor discerns the operation of his hand. Quadrupeds, reptiles, and fowls, have more gratitude to their masters than man has to his God.


 
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