Job 9
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Then Job answered and said,
2 I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?
3 If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.
4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?
5 Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.
6 Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.
7 Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.
8 Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
10 Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.
11 Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
12 Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?
13 If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.
14 How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?
15 Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.
16 If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.
17 For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.
18 He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.
19 If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?
20 If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
21 Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.
22 This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
23 If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?
25 Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.
26 They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.
27 If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:
28 I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
29 If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?
30 If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;
31 Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.
32 For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.
33 Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.
34 Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:
35 Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.
Public Domain KJV text from Wordproject.org
Job 9:1-35
Job Replies: There Is No Arbiter
1Then Job answered and said:
2“Truly I know that it is so:
But how can a man be in the right before God?
3If one wished to contend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4He is wise in heart and mighty in strength
—who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—
5he who removes mountains, and they know it not,
when he overturns them in his anger,
6who shakes the earth out of its place,
and its pillars tremble;
7who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
who seals up the stars;
8who alone stretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the sea;
9who made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
10who does great things beyond searching out,
and marvelous things beyond number.
11Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back?
Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13“God will not turn back his anger;
beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.
14How then can I answer him,
choosing my words with him?
15Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;
I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
16If I summoned him and he answered me,
I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.
17For he crushes me with a tempest
and multiplies my wounds without cause;
18he will not let me get my breath,
but fills me with bitterness.
19If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty!
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
20Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me;
though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
21I am blameless; I regard not myself;
I loathe my life.
22It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23When disaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamity of the innocent.
24The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
he covers the faces of its judges—
if it is not he, who then is it?
25“My days are swifter than a runner;
they flee away; they see no good.
26They go by like skiffs of reed,
like an eagle swooping on the prey.
27If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,’
28I become afraid of all my suffering,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29I shall be condemned;
why then do I labor in vain?
30If I wash myself with snow
and cleanse my hands with lye,
31yet you will plunge me into a pit,
and my own clothes will abhor me.
32For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,
that we should come to trial together.
33There is no arbiter between us,
who might lay his hand on us both.
34Let him take his rod away from me,
and let not dread of him terrify me.
35Then I would speak without fear of him,
for I am not so in myself.
ESV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Job 9:1-35
Job
1Then Job replied:
2“Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?
3Though they wished to dispute with him,
they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
4His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.
Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
5He moves mountains without their knowing it
and overturns them in his anger.
6He shakes the earth from its place
and makes its pillars tremble.
7He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;
he seals off the light of the stars.
8He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads on the waves of the sea.
9He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
10He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
11When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
12If he snatches away, who can stop him?
Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13God does not restrain his anger;
even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.
14“How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?
15Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;
I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
16Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
17He would crush me with a storm
and multiply my wounds for no reason.
18He would not let me catch my breath
but would overwhelm me with misery.
19If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him?
20Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;
if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.
21“Although I am blameless,
I have no concern for myself;
I despise my own life.
22It is all the same; that is why I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23When a scourge brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.
24When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,
he blindfolds its judges.
If it is not he, then who is it?
25“My days are swifter than a runner;
they fly away without a glimpse of joy.
26They skim past like boats of papyrus,
like eagles swooping down on their prey.
27If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will change my expression, and smile,’
28I still dread all my sufferings,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29Since I am already found guilty,
why should I struggle in vain?
30Even if I washed myself with soap
and my hands with cleansing powder,
31you would plunge me into a slime pit
so that even my clothes would detest me.
32“He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.
33If only there were someone to mediate between us,
someone to bring us together,
34someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
35Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.
NIV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Commentary
In this chapter Job answers Bildad and Eliphaz, both of whom mixed truth with error. Job can agree with the pocket of truth that their so-called words of comfort contains. “Indeed, I know that it is so” as he concurs with those good parts of their messages. Then Job asks: “What makes a man righteous with God? Even if a good man wanted to argue with God about what He does, God would not answer him 'one out of a thousand'” (verse 3).
According to Job, an investigative judgment is necessary and he asks for a human mediator between divine and human (verses 32-33). He wishes that God would give him a small break (verse 34). But he has no fear of God because he knows that the answers are not in himself (verse 35).
Dear God,
Job is struggling to understand why his destiny includes suffering shortly before the end of his life. Lord, stay with us as our Protector even when we don't fully understand the source of our pain. Amen.
Koot van Wyk
Kyungpook National University
Sangju, South Korea
