Job 8:10

10 Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?

Job 8:10 in Other Translations

KJV
10 Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?
ESV
10 Will they not teach you and tell you and utter words out of their understanding?
NLT
10 But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you the wisdom of old.
MSG
10 So why not let the ancients teach you, tell you what's what, instruct you in what they knew from experience?
CSB
10 Will they not teach you and tell you and speak from their understanding?

Job 8:10 Meaning and Commentary

Job 8:10

Shall not they teach thee, [and] tell thee
That is, the men of the former age, and their fathers before them, Job is directed to inquire of, and to prepare for a search into their records and traditions; from whom he might reasonably expect to be taught and told things that would be very instructive and useful to him in his present circumstances:

and utter words out of their heart?
such as were the effect of mature judgment and long observation, and which they had laid up in their hearts, and brought out from their treasure there; and, with the greatest faithfulness and sincerity, had either committed them to writing, or delivered them in a traditionary way to their posterity, to be communicated to theirs; and which might be depended upon as true and genuine, being men of probity, uprightness, and singleness of heart; who declared sincerely what they knew, and spoke not with a double heart, having no intention to deceive, as it cannot be thought they would impose upon their own children; and therefore Job might safely receive what they uttered, and depend upon it as truth and fact; and what they said, as Jarchi observes, is as follows; or what follows Bildad collected from them, and so might Job, and think he heard them "saying", as Piscator supplies the text, what is expressed in the following verses, if not in their words, yet as their sense.

Job 8:10 In-Context

8 “Ask the former generation and find out what their ancestors learned,
9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow.
10 Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Proverbs 1:8
  • 2. Proverbs 2:1-2; Proverbs 4:1
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