Doesn’t the ear try words, even as the palate tastes its food?
Parallel Translations
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Doesn’t the ear try words, even as the palate tastes its food?
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Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?
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Doth not the ear try words, even as the palate tasteth its food?
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Job 12:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 34:3 For the ear tries words, as the palate tastes food.
- Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for those who are full grown, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
- Job 6:30 Is there injustice on my tongue? Can’t my taste discern mischievous things?
- Philippians 1:10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ,
- 1 Peter 2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious:
- 1 Corinthians 10:15 I speak as to wise men. Judge what I say.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He exhorteth them to be wise in judging, and…
He exhorteth them to be wise in judging, and as well to know the right use why God hath given them ears, as he hath done a mouth.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 12:11 Doth not the ear try words? and…
Job 12:11 Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?
Ver. 11. Doth not the ear try words? &c.] The mind may as easily conceive of these truths as the ear judgeth certainly of the variety of sounds, and the tongue of the diversity of tastes; neither may you think that I will, without any examination or distinction, allow your discourses; or that I can take it well that you reject, as void of reason, whatsoever I have said, without once weighing it. The ear is one of the two learned senses, it is an instrument of discipline; only it should be kept clean and free from prejudice or passion, which will be as gall in the ear. See Exo 6:9. Demosthenes called oft upon his Athenians to get their ears purged of choler, Quaedam animalia fel in aure gestant, and Alexander, when he heard a cause, was wont always to keep ους αδιαβλητον, one ear free from the other party: he would not be prepossessed, Mercer observeth, that the Hebrew word for an ear doth in the dual number signify a pair of balances (Ozen, oznajin), to note that a judicious Christian taketh not up truth upon trust, but considereth first, and afterwards believeth. He trieth all things, and then holdeth fast that which is good, but abstaineth from all appearance of evil, 1Th 5:21-22. The ear and the mind are in the Greek tongue very like in sound, ους νους: the mind judgeth of the truth of words by the ears, as the beam in a pair of balances determineth the just weight of things by the two scales. He that is spiritual discerneth all things, 1Co 2:15, he hath spiritual senses, Php 1:9, senses exercised, habitually exercised, to discern good and evil, Heb 5:14; his service is a rational service, Rom 12:1, his obedience the obedience of faith, Rom 16:26. Whereas the natural man is carried away as he is led, 2Co 12:2, pulled away with the error of the wicked, 2Pe 3:17, taken prisoner by seducers, 2Ti 3:6, and by them made prize of, Col 2:8, as having either no skill or no will to examine what is doctrinally propounded to him.
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And the mouth taste his meat?] Heb. The palate, sensorium, which is the proper instrument of tasting. Now the order of nature requireth, saith Merlin, that seeing our bodily senses are so nimble and able to discern what is sour, what sweet, &c., our understandings also should do the same by right reason; and the contrary is very absurd and unbecoming a man; neither can there be any good excuse made for our dulness, if we bend not our minds to the search of the truth, forasmuch as there is so much ado made to please the palate, eyes, ears, and other senses. Catullus wished all his body were nose, that he might spend all his time in sweet smells. Philoxenus, that his neck were as long as a crane’s, that he might take more delight in meats and drinks (it seems that he placed tasting not in the mouth, but in the throat). Boccacio, the Italian poet, said, that he was born al’amore delle donne, for the love of women; and of a prodigal pleasure monger in London, we read, that to please all his five senses at once, he allowed to the delight of every different sense a several hundred pounds (Theatre of God’s Judgments). {See Trapp on "Amo 6:6"} There is a sancta crapula, a holy gluttony, as Luther calleth a hearty feeding on divine viands, a finding fatness and sweetness beyond that of the honey and honeycomb in God’s ordinances, Psa 63:5-6; crying to Jesus Christ as the spouse doth, Son 8:13, Cause me to hearken to thy voice; and obeying him, thus bespeaking us, Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved, till you are even inebriated with loves, Son 5:1.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain As the mouth tasteth and thereby judgeth of meats,…
As the mouth tasteth and thereby judgeth of meats, and as it liketh or disliketh, so it receiveth or rejecteth, what is put into it; so it is the office of the ear, or rather of the mind, which hears and receives the opinions and discourses of others by the ear, not rashly to approve or condemn every thing which it hears, but diligently and thoroughly to search and try whether it be true, and so to be embraced, or false, and to be rejected. Interpreters are much puzzled about the connexion and design of these words; but they seem to be either,
1. An apology for himself, why he did not comply with their opinion and all arguments, because they did not suit with his ear or mind; and though he had considered and tried them, he could not discern any weight in them. Or rather,
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2. A reproof to his friends, that they did so hastily condemn his person and his doctrine without a strict and serious inquiry. Or,
3. A preface to his following discourse; whereby he invites them to hear and judge of his words and arguments more candidly and impartially; and not to scorn that he said because of his present poverty and misery, as men at ease used to do; nor to cast away the good for any mixture of bad with it; but calmly to weigh and debate things, both within and among themselves, and with him, that they and he too might all agree in disallowing whatsoever should appear to be false, and owning of every truth.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain With the ancient is wisdom,.... Meaning not himself, who…
With the ancient is wisdom,.... Meaning not himself, who was not very ancient; though some think Eliphaz so understood him; hence those words of his, in Job 15:9; rather, as others, Job tacitly wishes that some ancient man, with whom wisdom was, would undertake to examine the affair between him and his friends, and judge of it, and decide the point; or, as others, he has respect to Bildad's advice to search the fathers, and learn their sentiments, and be determined by them; to which he replies, that though it will be allowed that wisdom is with them, for the most part, yet their judgment of things is no further to be regarded than as it agrees with the wisdom of God, and the revelation he has made of his will; though it seems best of all to consider these words as an adage or proverbial sentence generally agreed to, that it often is, as it might be expected it should, though it is not always, that men well advanced in years are wise; that as they have lived long in the world, they have learned much by observation and experience, and have attained to a considerable share of wisdom and knowledge in things, natural, civil, and religious:
and in length of days is understanding; the understandings of men are improved and enriched, and well stored with useful science, having had the opportunity of much reading, hearing, and conversation; by this Job would suggest, that if his friends had more knowledge of hidden and recondite things, beyond common people, which yet they had not, it was not so wonderful, since they were aged men, and had lived long in the world; or rather it may be that this is mentioned, to observe that from hence, seeing it is so among men, that ancient men have, or it may be expected they should have, a considerable share of wisdom and understanding; it may be most easily and strongly concluded, that God, who is the Ancient of days, has the most perfect and consummate wisdom and knowledge, which is asserted in Job 12:13.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Doth not - This may be a preface to…
Doth not - This may be a preface to his following discourse; whereby he invites them to hear and judge of his words candidly and impartially; that they and he too might agree in disallowing what should appear to be false, and owning of every truth.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. Doth not the ear try words?] All…
Verse 11. Doth not the ear try words?] All these are common-place sayings. Ye have advanced nothing new; ye have cast no light upon the dispensations of Providence.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Job 12:11. Doth not the ear try words? &c.…
Job 12:11. Doth not the ear try words? &c. — Doth not the mind distinguish truth from falsehood, and wisdom from folly, as exactly as the palate distinguishes a sweet from a bitter taste? These words may either be considered as the conclusion of the foregoing discourse, or as a preface to the following. And he thereby demands from his friends the liberty of judging for himself of what they had said, and invites them to use the same liberty with respect to what he had advanced; wishing them to hear and judge of his words candidly and impartially, that they and he might agree in disavowing what should appear to be false or foolish, and in owning what was true and important.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Doth not the ear try words? - The literal…
Doth not the ear try words? - The literal meaning of this, which is evidently a proverbial expression, is plain; but about its bearing here there is more difficulty. The literal sense is, that it is the office of the ear to mark the distinction of sounds, and to convey the sense to the soul. But in regard to the exact bearing of this proverb on the case in hand, commentators have not been agreed. Probably the sense is, that there ought to be a diligent attention to the signification of words, and to the meaning of a speaker, as one carefully tastes his food; and Job, perhaps, may be disposed to complain that his friends had not given that attention which they ought to have done to the true design and signification of his remarks. Or it may mean that man is endowed with the faculty of attending to the nature and qualities of objects, and that he ought to exercise that faculty in judging of the lessons which are taught respecting God or his works.
And the mouth - Margin, as in the Hebrew חך chêk - “palate.” The word means not merely the palate, but the lower part of the mouth (Gesenius), and is especially used to designate the organ or the seat of taste; Psa 119:103; Job 6:30.
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His meat - Its food - the word “meat” being used in Old English to denote all kinds of food. The sense is, man is endowed with the faculty of distinguishing what is wholesome from what is unwholesome, and he should, in like manner, exercise the faculty which God has given him of distinguishing the true from the false on moral subjects. He should not suppose that all that had been said, or that could be said, must necessarily be true. He should not suppose that merely to string together proverbs, and to utter common-place suggestions, was a mark of true wisdom. He should separate the valuable from the worthless, the true from the false, and the wholesome from the injurious. Job complains that his friends had not done this. They had shown no power of discrimination or selection. They had uttered common place apothegms, and they gathered adages of former times, without any discrimination, and had urged them in their arguments against him, whether pertinent or not. It was by this kind of irrelevant and miscellaneous remark that he felt that he had been mocked by his friends, Job 12:4.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Taste. For this no master is requisite; so I…
Taste. For this no master is requisite; so I stood in no need of your information, (Calmet) of such trite remarks. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain As the mouth by tasting meats selects what pleases…
As the mouth by tasting meats selects what pleases it, so the ear tries the words of others and retains what is convincing. Each chooses according to his taste. The connection with Job 12:12 is in reference to Bildad's appeal to the "ancients" (Job 8:8). You are right in appealing to them, since "with them was wisdom," &c. But you select such proverbs of theirs as suit your views; so I may borrow from the same such as suit mine.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. And — Even as.
11. And — Even as.
Taste his meat — Literally, Taste food for itself. In the same manner the testimony of the ancients is to be put to proof, and accepted on no other ground than that it should stand the test.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. and the mouth taste his meat] Rather, as…
11. and the mouth taste his meat] Rather, as the mouth (lit. palate) tasteth his meat. Does not the understanding ear discern and appropriate sound knowledge, as the palate discerns and relishes wholesome food? The ear (as well as the eye, Job_12:7-10) is a channel of sound information.
11–25. Job_12:7-10 referred to what one could see of God’s power and wisdom in the world, these verses refer to what one might learn of them by hearing ancient men discourse regarding them. In ch. Job_13:1, where Job looks back upon this chapter, he refers to both channels of knowledge, his eye and his ear. He does not despise knowledge learned from the observation of others when it is pertinent, cf. ch. Job_21:29. And it is obvious that the description in Job_12:13-25 contains many allusions to catastrophes, both in nature and in human society, which Job could not have seen himself, but must have learned from tradition.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) Doth not the ear try words?—Bildad had appealed…
(11) Doth not the ear try words?—Bildad had appealed to the wisdom of authority and tradition, but Job reminds him that it is given to the wise man not to accept everything he has received, but to discriminate. He allows that wisdom is the prerogative of age, but reminds him that the Ancient of Days must needs be wise indeed.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Doth not the ear try words? and the month…
Doth not the ear try words? and the month taste his meat? rather, as the palate tasteth its meat? (see the Revised Version). In other words, "Is it not as much the business of the ear to discriminate between wise and unwise words, as of the palate to determine between pleasant and unpleasant tastes?" The bearing of the verse on the general argument is not clear.
Vers. 11-25. The Devine supremacy illustrated.
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Bildad appeals to "the ancients." Job replies, "I also know their teaching." But there is a wisdom higher than that of the ancients. Wisdom unfailing wisdom is a Divine attribute. From the earthly to the heavenly wisdom Job turns. He speaks of a higher and a mightier One One "with whom is strength and wisdom," by which he rules. The supremacy of that Divine rule he illustrates from a very wide field of survey. He points to the evidences of the Divine almightiness
I IN THE CONTRASTED POWERLESSNESS OF THE HUMAN OPPOSITION TO THE DIVINE WILL. (Ver. 14)
II IN THE CONTROL OF THE MIGHTY ELEMENTS OF NATURE. The very "waters" obey his behest (ver. 15).
III IN COMPELLING EVEN THOSE THAT ERR AND THOSE THAT DECEIVE TO BE SUBSERVIENT TO HIS WILL AND PURPOSE. (Ver. 16)
IV IN CONFOUNDING THE WISDOM OF THE WISE. Leading "counsellors away spoiled," and bringing down the judge to the level of the fool (ver. 17).
V IN HUMBLING KINGS AND PRIESTS AND MIGHTY MEN. (Vers. 18, 19)
VI IN RESTRAINING THE SPEECH OF THE ELOQUENT AND ROBBING THE AGED OF THEIR UNDERSTANDING. (Ver. 20)
VII IN CASTING CONTEMPT UPON THE HONOURABLE, AND MAKING THE STRONG TO TOTTER WITH WEAKNESS. (Ver. 21) He giveth or taketh away wisdom and might as it pleaseth him, proving that he is wise and mighty above all; for these are his gifts to the children of men that have them.
VIII HE FURTHER SHOWS THAT THE HIDDEN THINGS OF DARKNESS ARE OPEN TO HIS VIEW. He discovereth the secret works of evil. Even the thick shadow of death cannot hide from him (ver. 22).
IX NATIONAL HISTORY IS EQUALLY UNDER HIS CONTROL. His power is over the nations; he enlarges or straitens as he pleases. He scatters or gathers as he will (ver. 23).
X THE VERY CHIEFEST AMONG ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE EARTH ABE SUBJECT TO HIS SOVEREIGN SWAY. It is a little thing for him to remove the light of reason from them, confounding and Confusing them, and casting them into darkness and gloom. Elsewhere we learn why and when the Almighty deals thus with men. Job"s purpose is to show that man is as nothing before him. In his highest honour, in his utmost wisdom, in his greatest strength, he cannot Contend with Jehovah. Over the individual life in all its various conditions, over the Combined lives of men in their national or political combinations, he is still supreme. And over the heavens and the earth he is Lord even over all. This is Job"s faith and his declaration. He can proclaim the supreme and absolute majesty of Jehovah as truly, and even more strikingly than his friends. R.G.
Discrimination.
Job seems to mean that, as the mouth detects differences of taste, so the ear discerns distinctions of words. We do not eat all that we taste. We can reject the nauseous and select the palatable. In the same way we do not accept and believe all that we hear. We can discriminate between the sayings that come to us. Bildad in particular has been attempting to settle the question of providence by appealing to the traditions of antiquity. Job shows that he can make the same appeal to another series of proverbs, and the result will be very different. Tradition is not unanimous. It is not reasonable, therefore, to take all that comes to hand from it as infallible truth. We must examine and test it, selecting what is wise, rejecting what is erroneous.
I DISCRIMINATION IS NEEDED. Note why.
1. Many voices claim a hearing. We are not left to a monotone of advice. A very Babel of tongues assails us. We are besieged on all sides by claimants for our belief. We live under a perfect rain of rival notions. Every theory pretends to be absolute truth; yet each novel theory gives the lie to its predecessor. In religion this is very painfully apparent. Not only do the great historic religions of the world compete for supremacy, but Christianity itself speaks to us in many voices. What are we to believe amid the conflict of the sects and parties, some urging to extreme sacerdotalism, others to evangelicalism; some contending for the ancient creeds, others favouring new lights? We must use discrimination, for it is childish folly to give our assent to the first voice that chances to attract our attention.
2. It is important to accept the purest truth. Truth is the food of the soul. We dare not play with its ideas in dilettante indifference. To be deluded is to be ensnared. We suffer by feeding on error. As we must distinguish between wholesome and unwholesome diet if we would be in bodily health, so we must distinguish between truth and error if we would be in spiritual health. There are even deadly poisons which look beautiful They must be detected and rejected if our souls are not to be killed.
II DISCRIMINATION IS POSSIBLE.
1. We have a natural faculty of judgment. Job claimed to possess this, and he compared it with the natural discriminating ability of the palate. Our minds were made by God for use. If we weakly and indolently fail to employ them, and so become the slaves of any unscrupulous deceiver, we have only ourselves to blame for our ruinous error. While we have to walk by faith, we need first to use our reason in order to be assured of a good ground of faith. To deny the possibility of doing so is to play into the hands of the ultramontane Roman Catholics.
2. Our judgment can be enlightened by the Holy Spirit. We must be aware that we often err. The palate is not an infallible guide, for what is pleasant to the taste may be most unwholesome. There are sweet poisons. How shall we be able to avoid attractive errors? This question is most important, because our taste has been depraved; a vicious appetite has perverted the natural faculty of discrimination. But Christ has provided for the difficulty by promising the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. (Joh_16:13) Let us but be sure we are humbly depending on the Spirit of God, and we cannot err fatally W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Does not the ear test words just as the…
Does not the ear test words just as the palate tastes its food?
Job uses this question to emphasize that people listen to what others say and judge whether it is good or not. The ear and palate are metonyms for hearing and tasting. AT: "We hear what people say and test it just as we taste food and test it." (See: Rhetorical Question and Metonymy and Simile)
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With aged men is wisdom
"Aged men have wisdom." The abstract noun "wisdom" can be expressed with "wise." The word "men" refers to people in general. AT: "Old people are wise" (See: Abstract Nouns and When Masculine Words Include Women)
in length of days is understanding
This represents people gaining understanding when they live a long time. The abstract noun "understanding" can be expressed with the phrase "understand much." AT: "people gain understanding when they live a long time" or "people who live a long time understand much" (See: Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
test
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unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 12:11 the mouth distinguishes between foods: See 6:6-7.
12:11 the mouth distinguishes between foods: See 6:6-7.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.