Job 42:3 (GNV)

Passage

Who is hee that hideth counsell without knowledge? therefore haue I spoken that I vnderstood not, euen things too wonderfull for me, and which I knew not.

Nearby Context

Job 42:1 Then Iob answered the Lord, and sayd,

Job 42:2 I knowe that thou canst doe all things, and that there is no thought hidde from thee.

Job 42:3 Who is hee that hideth counsell without knowledge? therefore haue I spoken that I vnderstood not, euen things too wonderfull for me, and which I knew not.

Job 42:4 Heare, I beseech thee, and I will speake: I will demaunde of thee, and declare thou vnto me.

Job 42:5 I haue heard of thee by the hearing of the eare, but now mine eye seeth thee.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hideth", "counsell", "without", "knowledge", "therefore", "haue", "spoken", and "vnderstood". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hideth" and "counsell", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "I knowe that thou canst doe all..." into verse 4's "Heare I beseech thee and I will...", so "hideth" and "counsell" belong inside that flow. In Job context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "hideth" and "counsell" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.