For I am full of words. The spirit within me constrains me.
Parallel Translations
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For I am full of words. The spirit within me constrains me.
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For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.
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For I am full of words; the spirit within me constraineth me.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Job 32:18 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 39:3 My heart was hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned. I spoke with my tongue:
- Acts 4:20 for we can’t help telling the things which we saw and heard.”
- Jeremiah 20:9 If I say, I will not make mention of him, or speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am weary with holding it in. I can’t.
- Ezekiel 3:14-27 So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and Yahweh’s hand was strong on me. Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel Aviv, that lived by the river Chebar, and to where they lived; and I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days. At the end of seven days, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word from my mouth, and warn them from me. When I tell the wicked, ‘You will surely die;’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; that wicked man will die in his iniquity; but I will require his blood at your hand. Yet if you warn the wicked, and he doesn’t turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.” “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he will die. Because you have not given him warning, he will die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered; but I will require his blood at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man, that the righteous not sin, and he does not sin, he will surely live, because he took warning; and you have delivered your soul.” Yahweh’s hand was there on me; and he said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and I will talk with you there.” Then I arose, and went out into the plain, and behold, Yahweh’s glory stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar. Then I fell on my face. Then the Spirit entered into me, and set me on my feet. He spoke with me, and said to me, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. But you, son of man, behold, they will put ropes on you, and will bind you with them, and you will not go out among them. I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, that you will be mute, and will not be able to correct them; for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:13-14 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. Or if we are of sober mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain I have conceived in my mind great store of…
I have conceived in my mind great store of reasons.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 32:18 For I am full of matter, the…
Job 32:18 For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.
Ver. 18. For I am full of matter] Heb. Of words; such as are weighty and stuffy, steeped in mine understanding (as Plutarch saith Phocion’s words were), and very well digested. I am ειπειν δεινοτατος, in very good case to speak; as full of solid arguments as the moon is of light. Whether Elihu speaketh this arrogantly and from the flesh, or from the spirit, I determine not, saith Brentius here. But sure it is, that such words as these, howsoever they may seem arrogant and carnal, possunt tamen esse spiritualissima, yet they may be very spiritual, as Jer 4:1-31 Jer 20:1-18. And as sure it is, that we should be in company like full clouds or paps, that pain themselves with fulness till eased of their milk.
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The spirit within me constraineth me] Heb. The spirit of my belly; that is, God’s Holy Spirit inhabiting mine heart, and exciting me to so good a work. "The love of Christ constraineth us," 2Co 5:14. It hath not only an impulsive, but a compulsive, faculty. Rumperer medius, si non erumperet sermo intra me conceptus, as Brentius here paraphraseth; I should even burst if I did not vent my conceptions, which, like a child in the womb at full time, or as wind in the bowels, want room, and press to come out, Psa 39:3 Jer 20:9. Sicut flatus in ventre conclusus magno impetu exitum quaerit: sic zelus mentis quaerit exitum per sermonem (Pisc.).
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 I am full of matter, i.e. I have many…
I am full of matter, i.e. I have many things to say in this cause.
The spirit within me; either my own spirit or soul, which is wholly dissatisfied with what hath been hitherto spoken, and clearly apprehends what may silence Job, and end the dispute; or God’s Spirit, which he hath put in me; the Spirit of understanding, which hath discovered the truth of the matter to me; and the Spirit of zeal, which urgeth me to plead God’s cause against Job.
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Constraineth me; forceth me to speak. It is a metaphor from a man or woman whose belly is full with wind, or with a child, and is never at rest till it be emptied and eased of its burden.
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 For I am full of matter,.... Or "full of…
For I am full of matter,.... Or "full of words" (y); not of mere words, such that have nothing solid and substantial in them; this is the character of a fool, Ecc 10:14; nor was Elihu a loquacious talkative man, as Job is charged to be, a man full of talk, Job 11:2; but he was full of words, which had fulness of matter in them, which were to the purpose, and contained strong reasonings and solid arguments; his mind was full of them, and he could easily fill his mouth with them, and was not easy until he had uttered them: so an able minister of the word may be said to be full of words, of the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus, of useful doctrines, when the word of Christ dwells richly in him, and he has a rich treasure in an earthen vessel, is full of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ; has a large knowledge of Gospel truths, a real experience of them in the heart, great gifts to express them to others, and is full of power and of the Spirit of God to declare them, as this good man was:
the spirit within me constraineth me, or "the spirit of my belly" (z); alluding to wind pent up therein, which, unless expelled, gives great uneasiness and pain: he either means the Spirit of God within him, as in Job 32:8, by whom the prophets were inspired and spoke, by whom ordinary ministers of the word are qualified for their work, and by whom they are led into all truth, and who presses and obliges them to speak what they know; there is a necessity upon them to preach the Gospel wholly and faithfully, and a woe unto them if they do not: or else his own spirit, influenced and actuated by the Spirit of God; as the spirit of the Apostle Paul was stirred up in him to speak, when he saw the idolatry and superstition of the people of Athens, Act 17:16; so love to God and Christ, and the souls of men, the honour of God, and interest of religion, constrain the ministers of Christ to speak in his name, notwithstanding all the opposition made unto them, and reproach cast upon them.
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(y) "plenus sum sermonibus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Beza, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (z) "spiritus ventris mei", Beza, Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius, Schultens.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 18. I am full of matter] מלים millim,…
Verse 18. I am full of matter] מלים millim, "I am full of WORDS," or sayings; i.e., wise sentences, and ancient opinions.
The spirit within me constraineth me.] How similar to the words of St. Paul! The love of Christ constraineth us. Elihu considered himself under the influence of that Spirit of God which gives understanding, and felt anxiously concerned for the welfare both of Job and his friends.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For I am full of matter - Margin, as…
For I am full of matter - Margin, as in Hebrew words.” The three friends of Job had been silenced. They had not one word more to say. Elihu says that the reverse was true of him. He was full of words, and felt constrained to speak. It was not because he forced himself to do it, nor because he did it as a mere matter of duty, but he was so impressed with the subject that it would be a relief for him to give utterance to his views.
The spirit within me - Referring, probably, to the conviction that it was the divine Spirit which urged him to speak; see the notes at Job 32:8; compare Job 33:4. A similar constraint in regard to the necessity of speaking, when under the influence of the Holy Spirit, is expressed in Jer 20:9, “His word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay;” compare Introduction to Isaiah, Section 7. The phrase “within me” is in the margin, as in Hebrew my belly - where the belly is spoken of as the seat of the mind; see Job 15:2. We speak of the head as the seat of the intellect, and the heart as the seat of the affections. The Hebrews were much in the habit of representing the region of the heart as the seat of all mental operations.
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 Me. And forces me to speak, Jeremias v. 24.,…
Me. And forces me to speak, Jeremias v. 24., and xx. 9. Thus Juvenal describes a great talker. Tunc immensa cavi spirant mendacia folles.---Conspuiturque sinus. (Sat. vi.) (Calmet)
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 "I am full of words," whereas the friends have…
"I am full of words," whereas the friends have not a word more to say.
the spirit-- (Job 32:8; Job 33:4; Jer 20:9; Act 18:5).
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 18. The spirit within me — Literally, The spirit…
18. The spirit within me — Literally, The spirit of my inward part, בשׂני. The experience of the prophets was similar to that of Elihu. Jer_4:19; Amo_3:8.
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 18–19. Elihu feels a crowd of thoughts and arguments…
18–19. Elihu feels a crowd of thoughts and arguments fermenting in his bosom and pressing for utterance with a force not to be resisted. The word “belly” corresponds to the English “breast” or bosom. What stirs the spirit of Elihu is not only his eagerness to express his convictions on the question, but also indignation at the retreat and silence of the three friends.
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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For I am full of matter; literally, I am…
For I am full of matter; literally, I am full of words; i.e. I have very much to say. The spirit within me constraineth me; literally, the spirit of my belly; i.e. "my inward feelings and emotions." Compare Zophar"s statements in Job_20:2:3; and Job"s own declarations in Job 13, that he must speak (vers. 13, 19). There is a state of internal excitement, when reticence becomes impossible.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain For I am full of matter.
Job_32:18
For I am full of matter.
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Ideas and expression
Sainte-Beuve remarks that the great art in speech, as in military service, is to gather, maintain, and bring to bear at once the greatest number of forces. Some generals can manage but few men and some speakers can handle but one or two ideas. There are writers who resemble Marshal Soubise: when he had all his troops gathered at his disposal he knew not what to do with them, and he dispersed them again that he might fight to better advantage. So I know of writers who, before writing, dismiss half their ideas because they can express them only one by one: it is pitiful. It shows that one is embarrassed by his very resources..
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 32:18-20 The length of Elihu’s speech (32:1–37:24) demonstrates that…
32:18-20 The length of Elihu’s speech (32:1–37:24) demonstrates that he truly was full of pent-up words. • Elihu probably thought the spirit (Hebrew ruakh) within him was prophetic urgency (32:8, 19-20; Ps 39:3), but the reader might find him full of wind (Hebrew ruakh; see study note on Job 15:2-3). • Like Zophar, Elihu must speak to find relief (cp. 20:2).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.