Job 15:8

15:8 Do you listen in on God’s secret council? ¹ 

Do you limit ²  wisdom to yourself?

Job 36:22

36:22 Indeed, God is exalted in his power;

who is a teacher ³  like him?

Isaiah 40:13

40:13 Who comprehends ⁴  the mind ⁵  of the Lord,

or gives him instruction as his counselor? ⁶ 

Jeremiah 23:18

23:18 Yet which of them has ever stood in the Lord’s inner circle ⁷ 

so they ⁸  could see and hear what he has to say? ⁹ 

Which of them have ever paid attention or listened to what he has said?

Jeremiah 23:1

New Leaders over a Regathered Remnant

23:1 The Lord says, ¹⁰  “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. ¹¹  They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered. ¹² 

Colossians 2:16

2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days –

[15:8]  ¹ tn The meaning of סוֹד (sod) is “confidence.” In the context the implication is “secret counsel” of the Lord God (see Jer 23:18). It is a question of confidence on the part of God, that only wisdom can know (see Prov 8:30,31). Job seemed to them to claim to have access to the mind of God.

[15:8]  ² tn In v. 4 the word meant “limit”; here it has a slightly different sense, namely, “to reserve for oneself.”

[36:22]  ³ tn The word מוֹרֶה (moreh) is the Hiphil participle from יָרַה (yarah). It is related to the noun תּוֹרָה (torah, “what is taught” i.e., the law).

[40:13]  ⁴ tn Perhaps the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “advises” (note the following line).

[40:13]  ⁵ tn In this context רוּחַ (ruakh) likely refers to the Lord’s “mind,” or mental faculties, rather than his personal Spirit (see BDB 925 s.v.).

[40:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “or [as] the man of his counsel causes him to know?”

[23:18]  ⁷ tn Or “has been the Lord’s confidant.”

[23:18]  ⁸ tn The form here is a jussive with a vav of subordination introducing a purpose after a question (cf. GKC 322 §109.f).

[23:18]  ⁹ tc Heb “his word.” In the second instance (“what he has said” at the end of the verse) the translation follows the suggestion of the Masoretes (Qere) and many Hebrew mss rather than the consonantal text (Kethib) of the Leningrad Codex.

[23:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:1]  ¹¹ sn Heb This particle once again introduces a judgment speech. The indictment is found in v. 1 and the announcement of judgment in v. 2. This leads into an oracle of deliverance in vv. 3-4. See also the note on the word “judged” in 22:13.

[23:1]  ¹² tn Heb “Woe to the shepherds who are killing and scattering the sheep of my pasture.” See the study note on 22:13 for the significance of “Sure to be judged” (Heb “Woe”) See the study note for the significance of the metaphor introduced here.