Bible Strands
Job 35:16
So Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrative records Job’s response immediately after he claims God ignores human folly in His anger. This moment captures the speaker’s assessment of Job’s reaction to his friends’ arguments.
The words — The text employs הֶבֶל (Hevel) for vanity and בְּלִי דַעַת (bli da'at) for without knowledge to describe Job’s speech. These terms directly modify his multiplied words to emphasize their emptiness.
The thread — This phrasing parallels Job 34:35, which states Job speaks without knowledge and his words lack insight. It also anticipates the Lord’s rebuke in Job 38:2 regarding one who obscures counsel with words without knowledge.
Why it lands — The verse demands a reader confront the gap between human argumentation and divine wisdom. It asks the reader to recognize when speech multiplies without grounding in actual understanding.
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
Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.
Cross-references
- Job 38:2 “Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?
- Job 33:8 Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard these very words:
- Job 34:35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’
- Job 3:1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
- Job 33:2 Behold, I will open my mouth; my address is on the tip of my tongue.