Job 22 22

Job 22:22 kjv

Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

Job 22:22 nkjv

Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart.

Job 22:22 niv

Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.

Job 22:22 esv

Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.

Job 22:22 nlt

Listen to his instructions,
and store them in your heart.

Job 22 verses

Job 22 22 Meaning

Job 22:22 provides a timeless call to humility and wisdom: to actively receive divine teaching directly from God's own revelation and to deeply internalize His precepts within one's innermost being. It speaks to the importance of not just hearing but diligently embracing and living by God's truth as the foundation for life and spiritual flourishing.

Job 22 22 Context

Job 22:22 is spoken by Eliphaz the Temanite, in his third and final discourse to Job. In this chapter, Eliphaz moves from general accusations to directly asserting that Job must be guilty of specific, grave sins—exploiting the poor, neglecting widows, and harming the fatherless—despite Job’s consistent claims of integrity. He adheres strictly to the common Ancient Near Eastern retribution theology: righteousness is rewarded with prosperity, and wickedness is punished with suffering. For Eliphaz, Job’s immense suffering is undeniable proof of his severe sin. Therefore, he calls Job to repentance, presenting a path to restoration with God. Verse 22 is part of this counsel, urging Job to turn to God's divine instruction, promising blessings if Job repents and accepts Eliphaz's interpretation of his situation. While the general truth expressed in the verse about the value of God's word is sound, Eliphaz's application of it to Job, assuming his guilt, is fundamentally flawed within the broader narrative of the Book of Job.

Job 22 22 Word analysis

• Receive (Hebrew: קַבֶּל‎, qabbel): This imperative verb means "to accept," "to take in," "to get," or "to take possession of." It implies an active, intentional willingness to listen and absorb, not merely passive hearing. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, the transmission of wisdom was often an active reception from a teacher.
• Instruction (Hebrew: תּוֹרָה‎, torah): While later specifically referring to the Mosaic Law, in Job and much of wisdom literature, torah often denotes divine teaching, guidance, or counsel more broadly. It signifies divine revelation intended for guidance and direction in life. It emphasizes God's consistent principles and statutes.
• from His mouth (Hebrew: מִפִּיו‎, mippiw): This phrase emphasizes the divine origin and authority of the instruction. It highlights that the "instruction" is not human opinion or mere wisdom, but direct, authoritative utterance from God Himself. It suggests pure, unadulterated truth emanating directly from the Creator.
• and lay up (Hebrew: שִׂים‎, sim): This imperative verb means "to put," "to place," "to set," or "to establish." In this context, it conveys the idea of actively storing, placing securely, or establishing something in a specific location. It suggests deliberate and sustained effort to internalize, not a fleeting thought.
• His words (Hebrew: דְּבָרָיו‎, d'varav): This refers to God's spoken revelations, commandments, promises, and truths. The plurality emphasizes the breadth and depth of God's revealed will and truth. It covers everything God has uttered.
• in your heart (Hebrew: בִּלְבָבֶךָ‎, b'lebbaka): In Hebrew thought, the "heart" (לב, lev) is the seat of intellect, will, emotion, and moral character, not just the physical organ. To lay up words in the heart means to commit them to memory, meditate on them, understand them deeply, accept them emotionally, and determine to live by them. It signifies internalizing them to shape one's thoughts, affections, and actions. This process transcends mere intellectual assent, leading to deep spiritual transformation.

Job 22 22 Bonus section

This verse encapsulates a core tenet of wisdom literature: the pursuit of divine wisdom through active engagement with God's revealed truth. Eliphaz, though flawed in his judgment of Job, correctly identifies the divine source of ultimate wisdom (Prov 2:6). The "heart" as the central governing faculty in ancient Hebrew thought highlights that biblical instruction is meant to change not just one's actions, but one's very being. It's a call to profound spiritual reformation from within. While Eliphaz presents this counsel within a framework of immediate cause-and-effect suffering, the timeless truth of internalizing God's word remains universally applicable for seeking true flourishing and guidance, regardless of external circumstances.

Job 22 22 Commentary

Job 22:22 presents a profound spiritual principle for navigating life: true wisdom and blessedness come from receptively accepting and profoundly internalizing divine revelation. Eliphaz's counsel here, while fundamentally true, is ironically misapplied to Job. The verse encourages a humble posture of openness to God's communication, not through human intermediaries primarily, but "from His mouth" — signifying authoritative, direct, and pure truth. "Instruction" and "words" refer to God's divine teachings, meant to guide human conduct and thought. To "lay up His words in your heart" calls for active appropriation; it is about meditating upon, embracing, and allowing God's truth to transform the inner person—intellect, emotion, and will. This process leads to discerning understanding and righteous living, rather than mere academic knowledge. For Job, despite the truth of this general counsel, the immediate challenge was to find God's voice beyond his friends' flawed theology of retribution.