What Does Job 37:24 Mean in the King James?
Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart.
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
The Hebrew nearly echoes “they fear him” (yereʾuhu) with “he regards” (yirʾeh), joining human awe to the divine gaze.
THE MEANING
You stand before a gaze that human wisdom cannot command: the One you fear is not impressed by those who are wise in their own hearts. Your insight does not place you outside that regard.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that intellectual certainty earns special standing before God; this verse removes that exemption.
THE ROOT
יִרְאֶה
yirʾeh
GROWS FROM
ראה
To see, look at, or perceive; in this verse, to regard.
The word translated “respecteth” comes from the root for seeing. The verse’s near-echo between “they fear him” and “he regards” binds awe to the fact that no claim of human wisdom can control the divine gaze.
ALSO GROWS
roʾeh: One who sees; a seer.
רֹאֶה
The seeing root makes regard an act of perception, not simply a measure of human esteem.
marʾeh: Appearance or vision.
מַרְאֶה
This branch recalls that appearances and claims of wisdom do not determine what God sees.
reʾiyah: Sight or seeing.
רְאִיָּה
The root’s wider family keeps the verse’s focus on divine sight beneath the English word “respect.”
יְרֵאוּהוּ
yereʾuhu
GROWS FROM
ירא
To fear, revere, or stand in awe.
“fear him” in this verse is yereʾuhu. The verb carries awe because God is the one being feared. Its sound nearly echoes yirʾeh, “he regards,” even though the roots differ; the verse sets human awe beside divine sight.
ALSO GROWS
yirʾah: Fear or awe.
יִרְאָה
This noun names the response the verse associates with recognizing God’s stature.
noraʾ: Awe-inspiring or fearsome.
נוֹרָא
This related form gives the quality that makes the verse’s response awe rather than ordinary alarm.
חַכְמֵי
chakhamē
GROWS FROM
חכם
To be wise or skilled.
The phrase says “wise of heart,” locating wisdom in the inner center of the person. Yet that inward wisdom does not confer special standing before the one who sees.
ALSO GROWS
chakham: Wise or skilled.
חָכָם
The singular form names the kind of person the verse says receives no special regard for that status.
chokhmah: Wisdom or skill.
חָכְמָה
This branch shows the broad capacity named by the root, while the verse denies that it grants exemption from awe.
THE PATTERN
Human wisdom never places a person beyond awe before God.
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;THE THREAD
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.The Hebrew root ראה, “to see,” appears in Job’s word translated “respecteth” and in Samuel’s repeated words for looking and seeing. Samuel opens Job’s line further: divine regard does not follow the human measures of appearance or status, but reaches the heart.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us