Job 42:4

You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak. I will question you, and you shall inform Me.’

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Job addresses God at the close of his dialogue, quoting the divine challenge originally issued in Job 38:3 and 40:7. The speaker is Job, and the audience is God.

The words — The Hebrew שְׁמַע (she.ma') means listen, and אֶשְׁאָלְךָ ('esh.'al.kha) translates to I will ask you. These terms establish the verse as a direct request to hear and answer a divine inquiry.

The thread — This identical phrasing appears in Job 38:3 and Job 40:7, where God first issues the challenge to Job. The same structure of demanding an account runs through Genesis 18:30 during Abraham’s negotiation.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize that human understanding must yield to divine inquiry rather than dictate terms. It frames the proper response to God’s questions as attentive listening followed by direct disclosure.

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

שְֽׁמַֽע־she.ma'-listen נָ֭אna'please וְאָנֹכִ֣יve./'a.no.Khiand/ I אֲדַבֵּ֑ר'a.da.BerI will speak אֶ֝שְׁאָלְךָ֗'esh.'al./khaI will ask/ you וְהוֹדִיעֵֽנִי׃ve./ho.di.'E./niand/ make known to/ me

King James Version

Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

Cross-references

Job 40:7 “Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
Job 38:3 Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
Genesis 18:30 Then Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?” He replied, “If I find thirty there, I will not do it.”
Genesis 18:27 Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord—though I am but dust and ashes—