Job 32:9

9 "The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may ¹elders understand justice.

Job 32:9 Meaning and Commentary

Job 32:9

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 ^F17; 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (Mybr) (polucronioi) , Sept. "longaevi", V. L. Mr. Broughton renders it, "as men of not great time may be wise, as the old understand the right."

Job 32:9 In-Context

7 "I thought age should speak, And increased years should teach wisdom.

8 "But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.

9 "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.

Cross References

• 1. Job 32:7

Footnotes

• [a] Or "nobles"