Job 11 · Verse 13

Job 11:13

If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
Job 11:13, King James Version

Job 11:13 in other translations

BSBAs for you, if you direct your heart and lift up your hands to Him,
WEB“If you set your heart aright, stretch out your hands toward him.
ASVIf thou set thy heart aright, And stretch out thy hands toward him;
YLTIf thou--thou hast prepared thy heart, And hast spread out unto Him thy hands,
DARBYIf thou prepare thy heart and stretch out thy hands toward him,
BBEBut if you put your heart right, stretching out your hands to him;
WebsterIf thou preparest thy heart, and stretchest out thy hands towards him;

What does Job 11:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
13. The apodosis to the "If" is at Job 11:15. The preparation of the heart is to be obtained (Pr 16:1) by stretching out the hands in prayer for it (Psa 10:17; 1Ch 29:18).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 If thou prepare thine heart - Make use of the powers which God has given thee, and be determined to seek him with all thy soul. And stretch out thine hands toward him - Making fervent prayer and supplication, putting away iniquity out of thy hand, and not permitting wickedness to dwell in thy tabernacle; then thou shalt lift up thy face without a blush, thou wilt become established, and have nothing to fear, Job 11:14, Job 11:15. There is a sentiment in Pro 16:1, very similar to that in the Job 11:13, which we translate very improperly: - לאדם מערכי לב leadam maarchey leb. To man are the preparations of the heart: ומהוה מענה לשון umeyehovah maaneh lashon. But from Jehovah is the answer to the tongue. It is man's duty to pray; it is God's prerogative to answer. Zophar, like all the rest, is true to his principle. Job must be a wicked man, else he had not been afflicted. There must be some iniquity in his hand, and some wickedness tolerated in his family. So they all supposed.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 11:13-20
Zophar exhorts Job to repentance, and gives him encouragement, yet mixed with hard thoughts of him. He thought that worldly prosperity was always the lot of the righteous, and that Job was to be deemed a hypocrite unless his prosperity was restored. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; that is, thou mayst come boldly to the throne of grace, and not with the terror and amazement expressed in ch. 9:34. If we are looked upon in the face of the Anointed, our faces that were cast down may be lifted up; though polluted, being now washed with the blood of Christ, they may be lifted up without spot. We may draw near in full assurance of faith, when we are sprinkled from an evil conscience, He 10:22.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Job 11:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אִם\־'im-ifH518
אַ֭תָּ֗ה'a.TahyouH859
הֲכִינ֣וֹתָha.khi.No.tayou have directedH3559
לִבֶּ֑ךָli.Be.khaheart yourH3820
וּפָרַשְׂתָּ֖u.fa.ras.Taand you will spread outH6566
אֵלָ֣יו'e.Lavto himH413
כַּפֶּֽךָ\׃ka.Pe.khapalms yourH3709

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 11:13

  • Psalms 143:6

    I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

  • Psalms 88:9

    Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.

  • Psalms 78:8

    And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

  • 1 Samuel 7:3

    And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

  • Job 8:5-6

    If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

  • Luke 12:47

    And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

  • Job 5:8

    I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:

  • 2 Chronicles 12:14

    And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.

  • Job 22:21-22

    Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

  • Psalms 68:31

    Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
prepare.
5:8; 8:5,6; 22:21,22; 1Sa 7:3; 2Ch 12:14; 19:3; Ps 78:8; Lu 12:47
stretch.
Ps 68:31; 88:9; 143:6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 11:12

    For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.

  • Job 11:13

    If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;

  • Job 11:14

    If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.

Read all of Job 11

Job 11:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Si tú apercibieres tu corazón, y extendieres á él tus manos;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Si tu prépares ton cœur et que tu étendes tes mains vers lui,
German
Elberfelder 1871		Wenn du dein Herz richtest und deine Hände zu ihm ausbreitest, -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Tu autem firmasti cor tuum, et expandisti ad eum manus tuas.