What Does Job 23:13 Mean in the King James?
But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
His purpose is not divided from his desire: what his living self longs for, he does, and no one turns him back.
THE MEANING
You meet a will that remains whole: no one can turn it from its course. What that living self desires reaches action; the verse leaves no gap between intention and deed.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that enough pressure or persuasion can redirect God from his purpose: it says no one can turn him.
THE ROOT
יְשִׁיבֶנּוּ
yeshivennu
GROWS FROM
שוב
sh-w-b
to return, turn back
“turn him” in this verse is yeshivennu. The verb behind “turn” carries the sense of return and reversal: the question is who can make him turn back. The same root can describe God turning a human condition, as the connected verse shows.
ALSO GROWS
shuv: return; turn back
שׁוּב
This is the verb family at the heart of the question of whether his course can be reversed.
teshuvah: return; turning back
תְּשׁוּבָה
This noun makes the sense of turning as return explicit, sharpening the force of “who can turn him?”.
אִוְּתָה
ʾiwwətāh
GROWS FROM
אוה
ʾ-w-h
to desire, long for
“desireth” in this verse is ʾiwwətāh. This verb names desire or longing, and its root family includes both craving and directed desire. Paired with “he doeth,” the verse presents desire reaching completion in action.
ALSO GROWS
ta'avah: desire; longing; craving
תַּאֲוָה
This noun shows the desire in the verse as a substantial longing, not a passing thought.
hit'avvah: to long for; desire
הִתְאַוָּה
This verb shows desire directed toward something, as the verse joins the living self’s desire to what is done.
נַפְשׁוֹ
nafsho
GROWS FROM
נפש
n-p-sh
the living self; life and appetite
“soul” in this verse is nafsho. Nephesh names the living self and can also refer to life, person, or appetite. Here the very self that desires is immediately linked to the act.
ALSO GROWS
nephesh: living self; life; person; appetite
נֶפֶשׁ
This is the word translated “soul” in the verse, joining desire to the whole living self.
naphash: to rest; refresh oneself
נָפַשׁ
This related verb keeps the root family connected to living existence and its restoration.
THE PATTERN
When God’s purpose is settled in his own will, no outside force overturns it, and it becomes action.
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:THE THREAD
And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.The same Hebrew root shuv (שׁוּב, “return” or “turn back”) appears in both verses. Here no one can turn God back; there, God turns Job’s condition.
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