Job 26 · Verse 4

Job 26:4

To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?
Job 26:4, King James Version

Job 26:4 in other translations

BSBTo whom have you uttered these words? And whose spirit spoke through you?
WEBTo whom have you uttered words? Whose spirit came out of you?
ASVTo whom hast thou uttered words? And whose spirit came forth from thee?
YLTWith whom hast thou declared words? And whose breath came forth from thee?
DARBYFor whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?
BBETo whom have your words been said? and whose spirit came out from you?
WebsterTo whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?

What does Job 26:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. For whose instruction were thy words meant? If for me I know the subject (God's omnipotence) better than my instructor; Job 26:5-14 is a sample of Job's knowledge of it. whose spirit--not that of God (Job 32:8); nay, rather, the borrowed sentiment of Eliphaz (Job 4:17-19; 15:14-16).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 Whose spirit came from thee? - Mr. Good renders the verse thus: From whom hast thou pillaged speeches? And whose spirit hath issued forth from thee? The retort is peculiarly severe; and refers immediately to the proverbial sayings which in several of the preceding answers have been adduced against the irritated sufferer; for which see Job 8:11-19; 15:20-35, some of which he has already complained of, as in Job 12:3, and following. I concur most fully therefore with Dr. Stock in regarding the remainder of this chapter as a sample, ironically exhibited by Job, of the harangues on the power and greatness of God which he supposes his friends to have taken out of the mouths of other men, to deck their speeches with borrowed lustre. Only, in descanting on the same subject, he shows how much he himself can go beyond them in eloquence and sublimity. Job intimates that, whatever spirit they had, it was not the Spirit of God, because in their answers falsehood was found.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 26:1-4

Job derided Bildad's answer; his words were a mixture of peevishness and self-preference. Bildad ought to have laid before Job the consolations, rather than the terrors of the Almighty. Christ knows how to speak what is proper for the weary, Is 50:4; and his ministers should not grieve those whom God would not have made sad. We are often disappointed in our expectations from our friends who should comfort us; but…

Read the full comment on Job 26:1-4 →

Job 26:4 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.

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
מִ֭יmiwhom?H4310
הִגַּ֣דְתָּhi.Gad.tahave you toldH5046
מִלִּ֑יןmi.LinwordsH4405
וְנִשְׁמַת\־ve.nish.mat-and [the] breath ofH5397
מִ֝יmiwhom?H4310
יָצְאָ֥הya.tze.'Ahhas it gone outH3318
מִמֶּֽךָּ\׃mi.Me.kafrom youH4480

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

Cross references for Job 26:4

  • 1 Kings 22:23-24

    Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?

  • Ecclesiastes 12:7

    Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

  • 1 Corinthians 12:3

    Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

  • Job 32:18

    For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.

  • 1 John 4:1-3

    Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

  • Job 20:3

    I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.

  • Revelation 16:13-14

    And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
whose spirit.
20:3; 32:18; 1Ki 22:23,24; Ec 12:7; 1Co 12:3; 1Jo 4:1-3
Re 16:13,14

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

Context

  • Job 26:3

    How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?

  • Job 26:4

    To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?

  • Job 26:5

    Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.

Read all of Job 26

Job 26:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¿A quién has anunciado palabras, y cúyo es el espíritu que de ti sale?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Pour qui as-tu prononcé des paroles, et de qui est le souffle qui est sorti de toi?
German
Elberfelder 1871		An wen hast du Worte gerichtet, und wessen Odem ist von dir ausgegangen?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quem docere voluisti? nonne eum qui fecit spiramentum?