Job 11:8

8 They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?

Job 11:8 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
English Standard Version (ESV)
8 It is higher than heaven--what can you do? Deeper than Sheol--what can you know?
New Living Translation (NLT)
8 Such knowledge is higher than the heavens— and who are you? It is deeper than the underworld — what do you know?
The Message Bible (MSG)
8 God is far higher than you can imagine, far deeper than you can comprehend,
American Standard Version (ASV)
8 It is high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than Sheol; What canst thou know?
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
8 [God's wisdom is] higher than heaven. What can you do? It is deeper than [the depths] of hell. What can you know?
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
8 [They are] higher than the heavens-what can you do? [They are] deeper than Sheol-what can you know?
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
8 They are higher than the heavens. What can you do? They are deeper than the deepest grave. What can you know?

Job 11:8 Meaning and Commentary

Job 11:8

[It is] as high as heaven; what canst thou do?
&c.] Or, "is higher than the heavens" F9; either the wisdom of God and the secrets of it; the perfection of his wisdom, by which he has made the heavens; or evangelical wisdom, hid in his heart, and which the highest of creatures, the angels, come at the knowledge of only by revelation; and therefore, what can man do to find it out, unless God reveals it? or wisdom displayed in dark providences, which can never be accounted for until the judgments of God are made manifest: or else, "he [that is] God", as the Vulgate Latin version, is "higher than the heavens"; the heaven is his throne on which he sits, and therefore he must be higher than that; the heavens, and heaven of heavens, cannot contain him; he fills up the infinite space beyond them; how is it possible therefore to find him out, to comprehend him?

deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
meaning, neither the grave nor the place of the damned, for both which "Sheol" is sometimes used, but the centre or lowest part of the earth; there is a depth in God, in his essence, in his thoughts, in his wisdom, displayed in nature, providence, and grace, that is unfathomable; we can know nothing of it but what he is pleased to make known; see ( Psalms 92:5 ) ( Romans 11:33 ) ; the Targum of the verse is,

``in the height of heaven, what canst thou do? in the law, which is deeper than hell, what canst thou know?''


FOOTNOTES:

F9 (Mymv yhbg) "altior est altissimis coelis", Junius & Tremellius.

Job 11:8 In-Context

6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
7 “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
8 They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?
9 Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.
10 “If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him?

Cross References 4

  • 1. Ephesians 3:18
  • 2. S Genesis 15:5; Job 22:12; Job 25:2; Psalms 57:10; Isaiah 55:9
  • 3. S Job 7:9
  • 4. Job 15:13,25; Job 33:13; Job 40:2; Psalms 139:8
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