Job 9:19
in Job 9If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If we speak of strength, lo, he is mighty! And if of justice, Who, saith he, will summon me?
KJV
If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?
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This verse in Job 9
Commentary
12 notes on this verseIf I speak of strength, lo, He is strong; if of equity in judgment, none dareth bear witness for me. For He tries the counts of our lives, Who does not make them out by the testimony of another; in that He, Who is one day revealed as a strict inflicter of punishment, Himself was for long the silent witness of the sin. For it is on this account that the Prophet says, I am judge and witness.
This site's exposition
How then can I answer Him
on Job 9:14-19
"How then can I answer Him or choose my arguments against Him" draws the conclusion. If mountains and stars obey without argument, a man has less standing still. "For even if I were right, I could not answer" states Job's fear that real innocence would find no hearing.
This site's exposition
If it is a matter of strength
Clarke notes that almost every term from verse 11 to verse 24 comes from a court of justice. Summon means to set a day for a hearing. Henry adds that God is the highest Judge, with no court above Him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"He will not let me catch my breath." That is, I am filled with a multitude of afflictions. "He has filled me with bitterness, for indeed he is superior in power. Who, then, shall resist his judgment?" Job does not want to say simply that God is superior to him in power but also that God is able to do whatever he wants.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Note that in the text, "If I appealed to him and he hears my call, etc." (v.16) he evidently has explained what he had said above in a more metaphorical way, "Should he come near me, I will not see." (v.11) For one should observe …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Is Strong - Stronger than I. Judgment - If I would contend with him in a way of right. Who - There is no superior judge that can summon him and me together.
If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong,....
He knew how to make his part good with his friends, and thought himself able to deal with them; but, though his cause had been better than it was, he knew it was to no purpose to debate it with God.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
"I dare not try the merits of the cause. If I speak of judgment, and insist upon my right, who will set me a time to plead? There is no higher power to which I may appeal, no superior court to appoint a hearing of the cause; for he is supreme and from him proceeds every man's judgment, which he must abide by." 2.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Who will appoint me a time to plead?" (So Jer 49:19). The last words certainly apply better to God than to Job. The sense is substantially the same if we make "me" apply to Job.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong - Human wisdom, power, and influence avail nothing before him. Who shall set me a time - מי יועידני mi yoideni, “Who would be a witness for me?” or, Who would dare to appear in my behalf? Almost all the terms in this part of the speech of Job, Job 9:11-24, are forensic or juridical, and are taken from legal processes and pleadings in their gates or courts of justice.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong - There has been a considerable variety in the interpretation of this passage. The meaning seems to be this. It refers to a judicial contest, and Job is speaking of the effect if he and God were to come to a trial, and the cause were to be settled before judges. He is urging reasons why he would have no hope of success in such a case.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לְכֹ֣חַ | lekhoach | to power | H3581 → | 126 times |
| אַמִּ֣יץ | ʾamitz | a strong [one] | H533 → | |
| הִנֵּ֑ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לְ֝מִשְׁפָּ֗ט | lemishpat | to justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יוֹעִידֵֽנִי׃ | yoideni | will he summon me | H3259 → |
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לְכֹ֣חַto power
lekhoachH3581 →126 times
אַמִּ֣יץa strong [one]
ʾamitzH533 →
הִנֵּ֑הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
לְ֝מִשְׁפָּ֗טto justice
lemishpatH4941 →422 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
יוֹעִידֵֽנִי׃will he summon me
yoideniH3259 →
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
Matthew 6:13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will…
- Matthew 26:41
“Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
- John 17:15
I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.
- Revelation 7:14–17
“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the…
- 2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
Through
Psalms 62:11God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: that power belongs to God,
it leads to
- Revelation 19:1
After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!
- Job 33:14
For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.
- Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
- Revelation 19:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Job
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book IX; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 9:18-19; 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.