Job 36:23

Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity?

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
enjoined	פָקַ֣ד fa.Kad	H6485	to visit (with friendly or hostile intent) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
way	דַּרְכּ֑וֹ dar.Ko	H1870	a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
say	אָ֝מַ֗ר 'a.Mar	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
wrought	פָּעַ֥לְתָּ pa.'Al.ta	H6466	to do or make (systematically and habitually) · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
iniquity	עַוְלָֽה 'av.Lah	H5766	(moral) evil · noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Job 8:3 Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
Isaiah 40:13-14 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
Job 34:10 Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should…
Job 34:13-33 Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world?
Romans 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgme…
Romans 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel o…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Job 36:15-23

Elihu here comes more closely to Job; and, I. He tells him what God would have done for him before this if he had been duly humbled under his affliction. "We all know how ready God is to deliver the poor in his affliction (Job 36:15); he always was so. The poor in spirit, those that are of a broken and contrite heart, he looks upon with tenderness, and, when they are in affliction, is ready to help them. He opens their ears, and makes them to hear joy and gladness, even in their oppressions; while he does not yet deliver them he speaks to them good words and comfortable words, for the encouragement of their faith and patience, the silencing of their fears, and the balancing of their griefs;…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 36:23

Job dared to prescribe to God what He should do (Job 34:10, Job 34:13).

Adam Clarke on Job 36:23

Who hath enjoined him his way - Has God taken instructions from any man how he shall govern the world? Thou hast wrought iniquity? - Who can prove, in the whole compass of the creation, that there is one thing imperfect, superabundant, or out of its place? Who can show that there is, in the course of the Divine providence, one unrighteous, cruel, or unwise act? All the cunning and wickedness of man have never been able to find out the smallest flaw in the work of God.

John Gill on Job 36:23

Who hath enjoined him his way?.... He teaches men his own ways, the methods of his grace and mercy towards them; and he prescribes to them the ways in which they should walk; but none can lead or prescribe to him; as the way of governing the world, in what manner he should act in it; who has "taught him in the path of judgment?" or "showed to him the way of understanding?" Isaiah 40:14; and particularly whom he should afflict, in what manner he should do it, when and how long he should continue it; all which he does according to his sovereign will, and is not to be controlled: and, in a spiritual sense, no man can or ought to enjoin and prescribe to him whom he should save, and in what way;…

The Church Fathers

"Who is equal in power, or who can discuss his works? To judge him, while he is the judge of the living and the dead? "Who will dare to say that he has committed injustice?
— Augustine of Hippo, ANNOTATIONS ON THE BOOK OF JOB (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

Who will be able to search out His ways? Or who dareth to say to Him, Thou hast wrought iniquity? As if he said; 'How can He be blamed, Whose doing cannot be searched into? For no one judges properly of that, which he knows not. We ought, therefore, to rest the more silent under His judgments, the more we see that we perceive not the reason of His judgments.
— Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXVII

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Infidelity · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Job 36:23

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Job 36:15-23

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 36:23

Adam Clarke on Job 36:23

John Gill on Job 36:23

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Job 36:23

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Job 36:15-23

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 36:23

Adam Clarke on Job 36:23

John Gill on Job 36:23

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Job 36:22-25

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Job 36:12

Rashi on Job 36:23