Bible Strands
Job 34:3
For the ear tests words as the mouth tastes food.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elihu speaks to a gathered audience of wise and learned men, urging them to listen carefully before they render judgment on his arguments or God’s justice.
The words — The Hebrew אֹזֶן ('ozen) translates to "ear" and תִּבְחָן (tivchan) to "it tests," establishing hearing as an active examination rather than passive reception.
The thread — The same sensory comparison for discernment appears in Job 12:11 and reappears in 1 Corinthians 2:15 when describing how spiritual perception operates.
Why it lands — The text demands that a reader treat every claim as material to be weighed and evaluated before forming a conclusion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.
Cross-references
- Job 12:11 Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes its food?
- 1 Corinthians 2:15 The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.
- Job 33:2 Behold, I will open my mouth; my address is on the tip of my tongue.
- Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
- Job 6:30 Is there iniquity on my tongue? Can my mouth not discern malice?
- Job 31:30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse—