Job 21 2

Job 21:2 kjv

Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations.

Job 21:2 nkjv

"Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your consolation.

Job 21:2 niv

"Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you give me.

Job 21:2 esv

"Keep listening to my words, and let this be your comfort.

Job 21:2 nlt

"Listen closely to what I am saying.
That's one consolation you can give me.

Job 21 verses

Job 21 2 Meaning

Job 21:2 is a passionate plea from Job to his friends, urging them to give him their full and undistracted attention. He commands them to "listen diligently" to his upcoming speech, expressing the profound importance he places on what he is about to say. The latter part, "and let this be your consolations," carries a strong layer of irony. While his friends have attempted to offer comfort through their retributive theology, Job implies that true solace, or a more valid form of "consolation," will come from understanding his lived experience and his critique of their shallow wisdom, rather than from their predetermined arguments. He seeks not only their ears but also their genuine comprehension and empathy, suggesting his words should replace their failed attempts at comfort.

Job 21 2 Context

Job 21:2 serves as the indignant opening to Job's final and most direct rebuttal to his three friends' repeated assertions of his sinfulness. His friends, particularly Zophar, have just delivered speeches steeped in traditional retribution theology, positing that the wicked inevitably suffer in this life and the righteous prosper. Job finds their arguments not only inaccurate to his experience but also utterly devoid of comfort. This verse is his emphatic demand for their undivided attention. He's not asking for pity, but for them to genuinely hear his lived truth, which stands in stark contrast to their abstract theological frameworks. Job is preparing to dismantle their flawed understanding of justice by presenting empirical evidence that often the wicked do prosper, while the righteous endure inexplicable suffering, directly challenging the prevailing ancient Near Eastern wisdom traditions about cause and effect.

Job 21 2 Word analysis

• Listen (שִׁמְעוּ - Shim'u): This is an imperative verb, a direct command. It signifies an urgent plea from Job, not just a casual suggestion. In Hebrew, this implies not only hearing with the ear but also heeding with the mind and heart.
• diligently (שָׁמוֹעַ - shamo'a): This is the infinitive absolute form of the verb "to hear," which is commonly used in Hebrew to intensify or emphasize the preceding verbal command. Combined with "listen," it means "listen thoroughly," "listen with utmost care," or "listen indeed." It highlights Job's exasperation with their prior inattentiveness and demands a quality of hearing that penetrates superficial judgment.
• to my speech (מִלָּתִי - millati): "Millah" refers to "word, utterance, discourse, or speech." The suffix "-i" indicates "my." Job is emphasizing the specific content and significance of his words, not just any speech. He positions his subsequent arguments as crucial and worthy of careful consideration. This sets the stage for him to present a view that profoundly challenges their deeply ingrained beliefs.
• and let this (וִיהִי־זֹאת - vihi-zot): "V'hi" is "and let it be" (a jussive form of "to be"), indicating a strong desire or command for something to happen. "Zot" means "this," referring to his act of speaking and their act of listening, or more directly, to the truth and perspective he is about to impart.
• your consolations (תַּנְחוּמֹתֵיכֶם - tanḥumotekem): "Tanḥumot" means "consolations" or "comforts." The suffix "-khem" means "your" (plural). This is deeply ironic, as Job has repeatedly accused his friends of being "miserable comforters" (Job 16:2). He is not offering actual comfort in the conventional sense, but rather proposing that a genuine encounter with his suffering and the uncomfortable truths he presents (his counter-arguments) might, paradoxically, provide a more substantial and truthful form of "consolation" for them than their false theology. He challenges them to find their own comfort in truly understanding his plight and the complexities of divine justice, rather than in simplistic dogmas.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "Listen diligently to my speech": This phrase underlines Job's deep frustration with his friends' unyielding posture. He is demanding more than just physical presence; he desires intellectual and emotional engagement. The combination of the imperative and the infinitive absolute signifies an urgent appeal for their undivided attention and careful processing of his upcoming words, implying their prior hearing was inadequate or prejudiced. Job intends to deliver a discourse of great personal weight and theological significance, worthy of deep consideration.
• "and let this be your consolations": This is a cutting, ironic statement. His friends came to "comfort" him but have only offered condemnation and distress through their rigid, flawed theology. Job is essentially telling them that if they want true solace or genuine wisdom—if they desire real comfort regarding the nature of justice and suffering—they must find it not in their pre-packaged doctrines but in his stark, experienced reality and his forthcoming challenge to their tidy worldview. His "consolations" are the difficult truths and counter-evidence he is about to lay bare, forcing them to re-evaluate their limited understanding of God.

Job 21 2 Bonus section

The rhetorical structure of Job 21:2 is a masterstroke. By telling his friends to "listen diligently," Job directly confronts their judgmental disposition, highlighting their prior failure to truly hear him. The word "consolations" (תַּנְחוּמֹתֵיכֶם) links back to the original purpose of their visit – to console Job (Job 2:11), and serves as a scathing critique of how spectacularly they have failed. Instead of bringing comfort, they brought torment. Now, Job turns the tables, suggesting that the truth he is about to unveil, as uncomfortable as it might be, should be their new source of intellectual "consolation," or at least, their new reality. This is not about offering comfort to them directly, but rather, through the dismantling of their false theology, to offer them a more accurate, albeit challenging, understanding of the world, which is a truer "consolation" than comforting lies.

Job 21 2 Commentary

Job 21:2 marks a pivotal turn in the dialogue between Job and his friends. Job, having endured prolonged physical suffering and relentless theological attacks, demands an end to their hollow rhetoric and prejudiced assumptions. His imperative, "Listen diligently," reveals his desperation for an audience truly willing to engage with his argument, devoid of their predetermined convictions. The subsequent "and let this be your consolations" is saturated with irony, serving as a poignant rebuke to their failed attempts at comfort. Job implies that their own intellectual comfort, derived from their simplistic understanding of divine justice, will be shattered by the truths he is about to reveal. His words challenge them to abandon their superficial empathy and instead seek solace in the profound, albeit unsettling, reality of human suffering and divine sovereignty, rather than in their tidy theological pronouncements.