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Job 32:4–11

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger.

And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said:

“I am young in years,

and you are zaged;

therefore I was timid and afraid

to declare my opinion to you.

I said, ‘Let days speak,

and many years teach wisdom.’

But it is athe spirit in man,

bthe breath of the Almighty, that makes him cunderstand.

dIt is not the old1 who are wise,

nor the aged who understand what is right.

10  Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;

let me also declare my opinion.’

11  “Behold, I waited for your words,

I listened for your wise sayings,

while you searched out what to say.

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Job 32:4–11 — The New International Version (NIV)

Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.

So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:

“I am young in years,

and you are old;

that is why I was fearful,

not daring to tell you what I know.

I thought, ‘Age should speak;

advanced years should teach wisdom.’

But it is the spirit in a person,

the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.

It is not only the old who are wise,

not only the aged who understand what is right.

10 “Therefore I say: Listen to me;

I too will tell you what I know.

11 I waited while you spoke,

I listened to your reasoning;

while you were searching for words,

Job 32:4–11 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled.

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.

I said, Days should speak,

And multitude of years should teach wisdom.

But there is a spirit in man:

And the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

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.

Job 32:4–11 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Elihu had waited for the others to speak to Job because they were older than he. But when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily. Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said,

“I am young and you are old,

so I held back from telling you what I think.

I thought, ‘Those who are older should speak,

for wisdom comes with age.’

But there is a spirit within people,

the breath of the Almighty within them,

that makes them intelligent.

Sometimes the elders are not wise.

Sometimes the aged do not understand justice.

10 So listen to me,

and let me tell you what I think.

11 “I have waited all this time,

listening very carefully to your arguments,

listening to you grope for words.

Job 32:4–11 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.

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.

I said, ‘Age should speak,

And multitude of years should teach wisdom.’

But there is a spirit in man,

And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

Great men are not always wise,

Nor do the aged always understand justice.

10 “Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me,

I also will declare my opinion.’

11 Indeed I waited for your words,

I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say.

Job 32:4–11 — New Century Version (NCV)

Elihu had waited before speaking to Job, because the three friends were older than he was. But when Elihu saw that the three men had nothing more to say, he became very angry.

So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said this:

“I am young,

and you are old.

That is why I was afraid

to tell you what I know.

I thought, ‘Older people should speak,

and those who have lived many years should teach wisdom.’

But it is the spirit in a person,

the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding.

It is not just older people who are wise;

they are not the only ones who understand what is right.

10 So I say, listen to me.

I too will tell you what I know.

11 I waited while you three spoke,

and listened to your explanations.

While you looked for words to use,

Job 32:4–11 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Now Elihu had waited to speak unto Job, because they were elder than he. And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.

And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said,

I am young, and ye are very old;

Wherefore I held back, and durst not show you mine opinion.

I said, Days should speak,

And multitude of years should teach wisdom.

But there is a spirit in man,

And the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

It is not the great that are wise,

Nor the aged that understand justice.

10 Therefore I said, Hearken to me;

I also will show mine opinion.

11 Behold, I waited for your words,

I listened for your reasonings,

Whilst ye searched out what to say.

Job 32:4–11 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

But Elihu had waited till Job had finished speaking, because they were older than he. And Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, and his anger was kindled.

And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are aged; wherefore I was timid, and feared to shew you what I know. I said, Let days speak, and multitude of years teach wisdom. But there is a spirit which is in man; and the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding. It is not the great that are wise; neither do the aged understand judgment. 10 Therefore I say, Hearken to me; I also will shew what I know. 11 Lo, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasonings, until ye searched out what to say.

Job 32:4–11 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Elihu waited as they spoke to Job because they were older than he was. When Elihu saw that the three men had no further responses, he became very angry. 

So Elihu, son of Barachel, the descendant of Buz, replied ⸤to Job⸥, 

“I am young, and you are old. 

That’s why I refrained from speaking 

and was afraid to tell you what I know. 

I thought, ‘Age should speak, 

and experience should teach wisdom.’ 

However, there is in humans a Spirit, 

the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding. 

People do not become wise merely because they live long. 

They don’t understand what justice is merely because they’re old. 

10 “That is why I say, ‘Listen to me! 

Let me tell you what I know.’ 

11 I waited for you to speak. 

I listened for you to share your understanding 

until you could find the right words. 

Job 32:4–11 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were all older than he. But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.

So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied:

I am young in years,

while you are old;

therefore I was timid and afraid

to tell you what I know.

I thought that age should speak

and maturity should teach wisdom.

But it is a spirit in man

and the breath of the Almighty

that give him understanding.

It is not only the old who are wise

or the elderly who understand how to judge.

10 Therefore I say, “Listen to me.

I too will declare what I know.”

11 Look, I waited for your conclusions;

I listened to your insights

as you sought for words.

Job 32:4–11 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he. But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he became angry.

Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered:

“I am young in years,

and you are aged;

therefore I was timid and afraid

to declare my opinion to you.

I said, ‘Let days speak,

and many years teach wisdom.’

But truly it is the spirit in a mortal,

the breath of the Almighty, that makes for understanding.

It is not the old that are wise,

nor the aged that understand what is right.

10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;

let me also declare my opinion.’

11 “See, I waited for your words,

I listened for your wise sayings,

while you searched out what to say.

Job 32:4–11 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Thus Elihu had waited for Job to speak because they were older than he. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he became angry. Then Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up and said,

“I am young, but you are old;

therefore I feared and became afraid of explaining my knowledge to you.

I thought, ‘Let days speak,

and let many years teach wisdom.’

“Truly, it is a spirit in a human being,

and the breath of Shaddai teaches them.

It is not the aged who are wise,

or it is not the elders who understand justice.

10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;

let me also declare my knowledge myself.’

11 “Look, I waited for your words;

I listened for your insight,

until you searched out what to say.

Job 32:4–11 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Elihu had waited before he spoke to Job. That’s because the others were older than he was. But he saw that the three men didn’t have anything more to say. So he burned with anger.

Elihu the Buzite, the son of Barakel, said,

“I’m young, and you are old.

So I was afraid to tell you what I know.

I thought, ‘Those who are older should speak first.

Those who have lived for many years

should teach people how to be wise.’

But the spirit in people gives them understanding.

The breath of the Mighty One gives them wisdom.

Older people aren’t the only ones who are wise.

They aren’t the only ones who understand what is right.

10 “So I’m saying you should listen to me.

I’ll tell you what I know.

11 I waited while you men spoke.

I listened to your reasoning.

While you were searching for words,

Job 32:4–11 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he.

And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men his anger burned.

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.

“I thought age should speak,

And increased years should teach wisdom.

“But it is a spirit in man,

And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.

“The abundant in years may not be wise,

Nor may elders understand justice.

10 So I say, ‘Listen to me,

I too will tell what I think.’

11 Behold, I waited for your words,

I listened to your reasonings,

While you pondered what to say.


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