Job 29:21 (KJV)

What does Job 29:21 mean?

Job 29:21 recalls a time when people treated Job as a trusted adviser. They listened to what he had to say and waited quietly for his guidance. Job presents their attention as a sign of the respect he once held among them.

Job is speaking about his earlier life, before the suffering that brought him into his present situation. The picture is of a gathering in which others pause to hear his counsel. Following his description of his standing in verse 20, Job shows how that standing appeared in the way people responded to him.

The Hebrew behind Job 29:21

• “waited” — יָחַל (yāḥal): The word can carry the sense of waiting with expectation. Here, it suggests that the listeners were looking for Job’s guidance, not merely passing time.
• “counsel” — עֵצָה (ʿēṣāh): The word means advice or a plan. Job is describing attention given to his considered guidance, rather than simply to conversation.

Why Job 29:21 matters

• Job’s account concerns his past standing, not his position at the time he speaks. Later, he contrasts that earlier respect with people’s treatment of him “now” (Job 30:1).
• The silence points to the weight people gave Job’s words. In the next verse, Job says that after he spoke, they “spake not again,” showing that his words could settle the discussion.