Logos Bible Study

Job 32:18–20

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32:18For I am full of words,

and the spirit within me38 constrains me.39

32:19Inside I am like wine which has no outlet,40

like new wineskins41 ready to burst!

32:20I will speak,42 so that I may find relief;

I will open my lips, so that I may answer.

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Footnotes

  1. 38 Heb “the spirit of my belly.”
  2. 39 The verb צוּק (tsuq) means “to constrain; to urge; to press.” It is used in Judg 14:17; 16:16 with the sense of wearing someone down with repeated entreaties. Elihu cannot withhold himself any longer.
  3. 40 Heb “in my belly I am like wine that is not opened” (a Niphal imperfect), meaning sealed up with no place to escape.
  4. 41 The Hebrew text has כְּאֹבוֹת חֲדָשִׁים (ké’ovot khadashim), traditionally rendered “like new wineskins.” But only here does the phrase have this meaning. The has “smiths” for “new,” thus “like smith’s bellows.” A. Guillaume connects the word with an Arabic word for a wide vessel for wine shaped like a cup (“Archaeological and philological note on Job 32:19,” 93 [1961]: 147–50). Some have been found in archaeological sites. The poor would use skins, the rich would use jars. The key to putting this together is the verb at the end of the line, יִבָּקֵעַ (yibbaqea’, “that are ready to burst”). The point of the statement is that Elihu is bursting to speak, and until now has not had the opening.
  5. 42 The cohortative expresses Elihu’s resolve to speak.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

For I am full of words;

the spirit within me constrains me.

Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent;

like new wineskins ready to burst.

I must speak, that I may find relief;

I must open my lips and answer.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

For I am full of words,

and the spirit within me compels me;

inside I am like bottled-up wine,

like new wineskins ready to burst.

I must speak and find relief;

I must open my lips and reply.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

For I am full of words,

and my spirit compels me to speak.

My heart is like unvented wine;

it is about to burst like new wineskins.

I must speak so that I can find relief;

I must open my lips and respond.

NLTNew Living Translation

For I am full of pent-up words,

and the spirit within me urges me on.

I am like a cask of wine without a vent,

like a new wineskin ready to burst!

I must speak to find relief,

so let me give my answers.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

for I am full of words;

the spirit within me urges me.

“Look, my internal organs are like unopened wine,

like new wineskins it is ready to burst open.

Let me speak that I may find relief;

let me open my lips, and let me answer.

KJV 1900King James Version

For I am full of matter,

The spirit within me constraineth me.

Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent;

It is ready to burst like new bottles.

I will speak, that I may be refreshed:

I will open my lips and answer.