Job 9:11
in Job 9Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: He passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
KJV
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
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This verse in Job 9
Commentary
9 notes on this verseLo, if He come to me, I see Him not: if He passeth on, I perceive him not. For the human race being shut out from the interior joys, in due of sin, lost the eyes of the mind; and whither it is going with the steps of its deserts, it cannot tell. Thus, often that is the gift of grace which it takes to be wrath, and often that is the wrath of God's severity, which it supposes to be grace.
This site's exposition
Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him
on Job 9:11-13
The words "Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him" turn praise into an ache, a God active everywhere and visible nowhere. The line "the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him" carries the same unanswerable strength further, since none can stand against Him.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Because Blessed Job wished to affirm that he does not desire to argue with God, he showed the depth of the wisdom of God in natural things using many examples. Now, however, he wishes to show the profundity of the divine wisdom in human affairs. …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
. " He goes by me in his operations, and I see him not, I perceive him not. His way is in the sea, " Ps. lxxvii. The operations of second causes are commonly obvious to sense, but God does all about us and yet we see him not, Acts xvii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Goeth - He works by his providence in ways of mercy or judgment. Passeth - He goeth from place to place: from one action to another: he speaks of God after the manner of men.
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I see him not: he passeth on--The image is that of a howling wind (Isa 21:1). Like it when it bursts invisibly upon man, so God is felt in the awful effects of His wrath, but is not seen (Joh 3:8).
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not - He is incomprehensible in all his ways, and in all his works; and he must be so it he be God, and work as God; for his own nature and his operations are past finding out.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Lo, he goeth by me - That is, he passes along - as in the silent movements of the heavenly bodies. “I see the evidence of his existence. I can see that God must be there - moving along by me in the orbs of night and in the march of the constellations, but I cannot see God himself. He passes by, or rather he passes over me (עלי ‛ālay), as in the majestic movement of the heavenly bodies over my head.” This is, I think, the idea, and the image is exceedingly poetic and beautiful.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Behold, He strikes suddenly Heb. יחתף, He strikes suddenly, like (Prov.:28), “She, too, will suddenly (כחתף) lurk,” an expression of suddenness.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵ֤ן | hen | there! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| יַעֲבֹ֣ר | yaavor | he will pass by | H5674 → | 556 times |
| עָ֭לַי | ʾalai | at me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶרְאֶ֑ה | ʾereh | I will see [him] | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְ֝יַחֲלֹ֗ף | veyachalof | and he may pass on | H2498 → | 28 times |
| וְֽלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָבִ֥ין | ʾavin | I will perceive | H995 → | 170 times |
| לֽוֹ׃ | lo | <to> him |
הֵ֤ןthere!
henH2005 →316 times
יַעֲבֹ֣רhe will pass by
yaavorH5674 →556 times
עָ֭לַיat me
ʾalaiH5921 →5755 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶרְאֶ֑הI will see [him]
ʾerehH7200 →1300 times
וְ֝יַחֲלֹ֗ףand he may pass on
veyachalofH2498 →28 times
וְֽלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
אָבִ֥יןI will perceive
ʾavinH995 →170 times
לֽוֹ׃<to> him
lo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Timothy 6:16He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 1:17
Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
- John 1:18
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
- 1 John 1:5
And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
- Colossians 1:15
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
- Psalms 90:2
Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
- 1 Timothy 1:17
Through
Psalms 77:19Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found.
it leads to
- Exodus 14:28
The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
- Nehemiah 9:11
You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.
- Habakkuk 3:15
You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters.
- Exodus 14:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Job
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book IX; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.