The Meaning of Job 34:16 Explained

Job 34:16

KJV: If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.

YLT: And if there is understanding, hear this, Give ear to the voice of my words.

Darby: If now thou hast understanding, hear this: give ear to the voice of my words!

ASV: If now thou hast understanding, hear this: Hearken to the voice of my words.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If now [thou hast] understanding,  hear  this: hearken  to the voice  of my words. 

What does Job 34:16 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 34:1-37 - The Almighty Must Be Just
Elihu stands in Job 34:10 as God's apologist. God's absolute and impartial justice is at all times a matter of untold comfort. There will be no cause of ultimate complaint, but from the lips of the holiest beings in the universe, most able to pass an opinion, the cry will ascend, "Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God the Almighty. Righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages"¦. Thy righteous acts have been made manifest," Revelation 15:3-4, r.v.
Ponder those last words. God's righteous acts have not yet been made manifest; it is therefore foolish and wrong to pass judgment upon an unfinished program. Wait, mortal man, until, at the great white throne, God shall unfold His inner reasons. If it is not fit to say to a king, "Thou art vile," how much less to Him who lives through the ages, while the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away without hand! [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 34

1  Elihu accuses Job for charging God with injustice
10  God omnipotent cannot be unjust
31  Man must humble himself unto God
34  Elihu reproves Job

What do the individual words in Job 34:16 mean?

And if [you have] understanding hear this listen to the sound of my words
וְאִם־ בִּ֥ינָה שִׁמְעָה־ זֹּ֑את הַ֝אֲזִ֗ינָה לְק֣וֹל מִלָּֽי

וְאִם־  And  if 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
בִּ֥ינָה  [you  have]  understanding 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: בִּינָה  
Sense: understanding, discernment.
שִׁמְעָה־  hear 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
זֹּ֑את  this 
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
הַ֝אֲזִ֗ינָה  listen 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: אָזַן  
Sense: to hear, listen.
לְק֣וֹל  to  the  sound 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.
מִלָּֽי  of  my  words 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: מִלָּה  
Sense: word, speech, utterance.

What are the major concepts related to Job 34:16?

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