Job 9:24
in Job 9The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covereth the faces of the judges thereof: If it be not he, who then is it?
KJV
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?
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This verse in Job 9
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThe earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covereth the faces of the judges thereof. For what is denoted by the designation of 'the earth,' saving the flesh? who by the title of 'the wicked,' save the devil? The 'hands' of this wicked one were they, who were the aggressors in the death of our Redeemer. Thus 'the earth is given into the hands of the wicked,' in that our Redeemer's Soul our old enemy could never corrupt, by himself tempting Him.
This site's exposition
When the scourge brings sudden death
on Job 9:23-24
"When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent" extends Job's complaint from his case to disaster without regard to guilt. "The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges" reads corrupt courts as further evidence, unjust judgment left unchecked.
This site's exposition
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked
He blindfolds its judges recalls a custom Jamieson, Fausset and Brown find at Esther 7:8, where a condemned man's face was covered. Henry notes that the wicked is singular in the Hebrew and reads it of the devil. Job asks who else it could be.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
If it is unfitting that the punishments of the innocent please God in themselves and yet the innocent are frequently found to be punished on earth, another conclusion which is equally unfitting seems to follow, i.e. that punishments of that sort do not proceed from …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
(they enjoy large possessions and great power, have what they will and do what they will), into the hand of the wicked one (in the original, the word is singular); the devil, that wicked one, is called the god of this world, and boasts that into his hands it is delivered, Luke iv.
The earth - The dominion over it. As good men are frequently scourged, so the wicked are advanced. Faces - Meantime he covers the faces of wise and good men, fit to be Judges, and buries them alive in obscurity, perhaps suffers them to be condemned, and their faces covered as criminals, by those to whom the earth is given.
The earth is given into the hands of the wicked,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Referring to righteous "judges," in antithesis to "the wicked" in the parallel first clause, whereas the wicked oppressor often has the earth given into his hand, the righteous judges are led to execution--culprits had their faces covered preparatory to execution (Es 7:8).
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked - Is it not most evident that the worst men possess most of this world’s goods, and that the righteous are scarcely ever in power or affluence? This was the case in Job’s time; it is the case still. Therefore prosperity and adversity in this life are no marks either of God’s approbation or disapprobation. He covereth the faces of the judges thereon - Or, The faces of its decisions he shall cover. God is often stated in Scripture as doing a thing which he only permits to be done.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked - This is evidently designed as an illustration of the sentiment that Job was maintaining - that there was not a distribution of rewards and punishments in this life according to character. In illustration of this, he says that the wicked are raised to places of trust and power. They exercise a wide dominion over the earth, and the world is under their control. Of the truth of this there can be no doubt. Rulers have been, in general, eminent for wickedness, and the affairs of nations have thus far been almost always under the control of those who are strangers to God. At the present time there is scarcely a pious man on any throne in the world, and the rulers of even Christian nations are in general eminent for anything rather than for personal religion. He covereth the faces of the judges thereof - There has been considerable variety in the exposition of this expression. Some suppose that it refers to the wicked, meaning that they cover the faces of the judges under them so that they connive at and tolerate crime. Others, that it means that God blinds the eyes of wicked rulers, so that they connive at crime, and are partial and unjust in their decisions. Others, that it means that God covers the faces of the judges of the earth with shame and confusion, that though he admits them to prosperity and honor for a time, yet that he overwhelms them at length with calamities and sorrows. Dr. Good supposes it to mean that the earth is given over into the hands of injustice, and that this hoodwinks the faces of the judges. The phrase properly means, to hoodwink, to blind, to conceal the face. It seems to me that the true sense is not expressed by either of the views above. […]
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶ֤רֶץ׀ | ʾeretz | a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| נִתְּנָ֬ה | nitenah | it has been given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| בְֽיַד־ | veyad- | in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| רָשָׁ֗ע | rasha' | a wicked [person] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| פְּנֵֽי־ | penei- | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| שֹׁפְטֶ֥יהָ | shofeteiha | judges its | H8199 → | 202 times |
| יְכַסֶּ֑ה | yekhaseh | he covers | H3680 → | 152 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֖א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֵפ֣וֹא | ʾefo' | then | H645 → | 15 times |
| מִי־ | mi- | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | [is] it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
אֶ֤רֶץ׀a land
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
נִתְּנָ֬הit has been given
nitenahH5414 →2011 times
בְֽיַד־in [the] hand of
veyad-H3027 →1618 times
רָשָׁ֗עa wicked [person]
rasha'H7563 →263 times
פְּנֵֽי־[the] face of
penei-H6440 →2123 times
שֹׁפְטֶ֥יהָjudges its
shofeteihaH8199 →202 times
יְכַסֶּ֑הhe covers
yekhasehH3680 →152 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֖אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֵפ֣וֹאthen
ʾefo'H645 →15 times
מִי־who?
mi-H4310 →423 times
הֽוּא׃[is] it
hu'H1931 →1879 times
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
Job 10:3Does it please You to oppress me, to reject the work of Your hands and favor the schemes of the wicked?
it leads to
- Isaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
- Job 14:15
You will call, and I will answer; You will desire the work of Your hands.
- Psalms 138:8
The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever— do not abandon the works of Your hands.
- Isaiah 64:8
Through
2 Samuel 15:30But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up,…
it leads to
- Esther 6:12
Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.
- Luke 19:41
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it
- 2 Samuel 19:4
But the king covered his face and cried out at the top of his voice, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
- Jeremiah 14:3–4
The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
- Ezekiel 24:23
Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins, and you will groan among yourselves.
- Esther 6:12
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.