Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Job 40:5 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 5. 5Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Job 40:5 closes the thought unit with the words “Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.” Job states “Once have I spoken” as one poetic claim in Job Places His Hand over His Mouth.
Read It With
- Job 40:3–40:5
Read Job 40:5 with 40:3–40:5. Read alone, “Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further” could lose its speaker, the question or claim it develops, and the unit's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Job calls himself slight or of small account, says he has no answer, and chooses not to continue after speaking.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Job answers or redirects the movement in Job 40:1–40:2: The LORD asks whether the one contending with the Almighty will instruct and correct God. The change of speaker controls how Job 40:3–40:5 must be evaluated. Within that relationship, Job 40:5 closes the thought unit through “Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.”
Read Job 40:3–5 together
Why these verses belong together: Job 40:3–40:5 follows the pinned KJV paragraphing and holds together one sustained speech movement: “Job Places His Hand over His Mouth.” The next unit begins with a new stanza, question sequence, scene, speaker response, or rhetorical turn.
Verse 3. 3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Verse 4. 4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Verse 5. 5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
What Remains True
Job calls himself slight or of small account, says he has no answer, and chooses not to continue after speaking. Responsible wisdom states material textual, translation, structural, or attribution alternatives openly before building doctrine or practice. Job 40:5 carries that bounded truth through “Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Before teaching Job 40:3–40:5, show the exact KJV wording, identify the material Hebrew, Greek, translation, structure, or attribution question, and label the preferred reading as a judgment rather than certainty. Preserve this unit-specific boundary in the action: The KJV 'vile' should not become a doctrine of self-hatred; this brief silence is not yet the final response and must not be used to silence lamenters. The verse-specific evidence to retain is “Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.”
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Job 40:3–40:5 — Job Places His Hand over His MouthSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
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 40:3–40:5, 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 40:3–40:5
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 40:3–40:5.
Exact location: Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 40:3–40:5
Open the official NET Job PDF ↗