Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Job 40:2 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 2. 2Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Job 40:2 closes the thought unit with the words “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.” The LORD states “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it” as one poetic claim in The LORD Calls the Contender to Answer.
The first divine speech pauses on a legal question
This verse is one part of that explanation in Job 40:1–40:2. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Job 40:1–40:2
Read Job 40:2 with 40:1–40:2. Read alone, “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it” could lose its speaker, the question or claim it develops, and the unit's outcome. The complete movement establishes: The LORD asks whether the one contending with the Almighty will instruct and correct God.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The LORD continues from Job 39:26–39:30: The LORD asks whether Job directs migration and nesting and depicts the eagle's far sight and feeding amid slain bodies. Job 40:1–40:2 now develops the next distinct movement: The LORD asks whether the one contending with the Almighty will instruct and correct God. Within that relationship, Job 40:2 closes the thought unit through “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.”
Read Job 40:1–2 together
Why these verses belong together: Job 40:1–40:2 follows the pinned KJV paragraphing and holds together one sustained divine-speech movement: “The LORD Calls the Contender to Answer.” The next unit begins with a new stanza, question sequence, scene, speaker response, or rhetorical turn.
Verse 1. 1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Verse 2. 2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
What Remains True
The LORD asks whether the one contending with the Almighty will instruct and correct God. Creaturely humility receives the divine questions while continuing to distinguish knowledge, power, justice, and the causal explanation the speeches do not disclose. Job 40:2 carries that bounded truth through “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.”
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Job 40:1–40:2 — The LORD Calls the Contender to AnswerSources 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 40:1–40:2, 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 40:1–40:2
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 40:1–40:2.
Exact location: Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 40:1–40:2
Open the official NET Job PDF ↗