Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Job 35:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Job 35:16 closes the thought unit with the words “Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.” Elihu develops the next stated step through “Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain” as part of Elihu Tells Job to Wait and Calls His Words Empty.
Read It With
- Job 35:14–35:16
Read Job 35:16 with 35:14–35:16. Read alone, “Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge” could lose its speaker, the question or claim it develops, and the unit's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Elihu says judgment remains before God despite Job's inability to see, then concludes that Job speaks without knowledge.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Elihu continues from Job 35:9–35:13: Elihu acknowledges cries under oppression but claims people fail to seek the Creator and that God does not hear empty pride. Job 35:14–35:16 now develops the next distinct movement: Elihu says judgment remains before God despite Job's inability to see, then concludes that Job speaks without knowledge. Within that relationship, Job 35:16 closes the thought unit through “Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.”
Read Job 35:14–16 together
Why these verses belong together: Job 35:14–35:16 follows the pinned KJV paragraphing and holds together one sustained speech movement: “Elihu Tells Job to Wait and Calls His Words Empty.” The next unit begins with a new stanza, question sequence, scene, speaker response, or rhetorical turn.
Verse 14. 14 Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him.
Verse 15. 15 But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great extremity:
Verse 16. 16 Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.
What Remains True
Elihu says judgment remains before God despite Job's inability to see, then concludes that Job speaks without knowledge. Elihu's confident proposal must be tested by its evidence, its account of Job, and its place in the received book rather than accepted because he claims insight. Job 35:16 carries that bounded truth through “Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Evaluate Elihu's proposal in Job 35:14–35:16 by its accuracy, evidence, and effect on the sufferer; do not let claimed insight, urgency, age, or eloquence substitute for careful listening and bounded counsel. Preserve this unit-specific boundary in the action: Waiting may be faithful, but Elihu's dismissal is not the final divine verdict and cannot silence evidence-based protest or requests for help. The verse-specific evidence to retain is “Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.”
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Job 35:14–35:16 — Elihu Tells Job to Wait and Calls His Words EmptySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Job 35:14–35:16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Job
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Job.xml, OSIS 35:14–35:16
Open the fixed Hebrew Job file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Job
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Job's difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, textual issues, speech boundaries, and alternatives in Job 35:14–35:16.
Exact location: Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 35:14–35:16
Open the official NET Job PDF ↗