So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied:

I am young in years,
while you are old;
therefore I was timid and afraid
to tell(A) you what I know.
I thought that age should speak
and maturity should teach wisdom.
But it is the spirit in a person—
the breath(B) from the Almighty—
that gives anyone understanding.
It is not only the old who are wise
or the elderly who understand how to judge.

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Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered:

“I am young in years,
    and you are aged;
therefore I was timid and afraid
    to declare my opinion to you.(A)
I said, ‘Let days speak
    and many years teach wisdom.’
But truly it is the spirit in a mortal,
    the breath of the Almighty[a] that makes for understanding.(B)
It is not the old[b] who are wise
    nor the aged who understand what is right.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 32.8 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  2. 32.9 Gk Syr Vg: Heb many