God’s Word Translation
Job 4:17
17‘Can ⌞any⌟ mortal be righteous to God? Can ⌞any⌟ human being be pure to his maker?’
Job 4:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
- New International Version (NIV)‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?
- English Standard Version (ESV)'Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?
- New King James Version (NKJV)‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
Context of Job 4:17
15A spirit passed in front of me. It made my hair stand on end. 16Something stood there. I couldn’t tell what it was. A vague image was in front of my eyes. I heard a soft voice: ‘Can ⌞any⌟ mortal be righteous to God? Can ⌞any⌟ human being be pure to his maker?’ 18“You see, God doesn’t trust his own servants, and he accuses his angels of making mistakes. 19How much more will he accuse those who live in clay houses that have their foundation in the dust. Those houses can be crushed quicker than a moth!
Read all of Job 4Job 4:17 word by word
הַֽ֭אֱנוֹשׁ מֵאֱל֣וֹהַ יִצְדָּ֑ק אִ֥ם מֵ֝עֹשֵׂ֗הוּ יִטְהַר־גָּֽבֶר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 4:17
- Job 8:3Does God distort justice, or does the Almighty distort righteousness?
- Job 9:2“Yes, I know that this is true. But how can a mortal be declared righteous to God?
- Job 35:2“Do you think this is right when you say, ‘My case is more just than God’s,’
- Job 40:8“Would you undo my justice? Would you condemn me so that you can be righteous?
- Genesis 18:25It would be unthinkable for you to do such a thing, to treat the innocent and the guilty alike and to kill the innocent with the guilty. That would be unthinkable! Won’t the judge of the whole earth do what is fair?”
- Psalms 143:2Do not take me to court for judgment, because there is no one alive who is righteous in your presence.
- Psalms 145:17The Lord is fair in all his ways and faithful in everything he does.
- Ecclesiastes 7:20Certainly, there is no one so righteous on earth that he always does what is good and never sins.
- Jeremiah 12:1O Lord, even if I would argue my case with you, you would always be right. Yet, I want to talk to you about your justice. Why do wicked people succeed? Why do treacherous people have peace and quiet?
- Romans 2:5Since you are stubborn and don’t want to change the way you think and act, you are adding to the anger that God will have against you on that day when God vents his anger. At that time God will reveal that his decisions are fair.
- Romans 3:4That would be unthinkable! God is honest, and everyone else is a liar, as Scripture says, “So you hand down justice when you speak, and you win your case in court.”
- Romans 9:20Who do you think you are to talk back to God like that? Can an object that was made say to its maker, “Why did you make me like this?”
- Romans 11:33God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep that it is impossible to explain his decisions or to understand his ways.
- Job 9:30If I wash myself with lye soap and cleanse my hands with bleach,
- Job 14:4“If only an unclean person could become clean! It’s not possible.
- Job 15:14Why should a mortal be considered faultless or someone born of a woman be considered righteous?
Commentaries on Job 4:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Shall mortal man - אנוש enosh ; Greek poor, weak, dying man. Be more just than God? - Or, יצדק מאלוה האנוש haenosh meeloah yitsdak ; shall poor, weak, sinful man be justified before God? Shall a man - גבר gaber, shall even the strong and mighty man, be pure before his Maker? Is any man, considered merely in and of himself, either holy in his conduct, or pure in his heart? No. He must be justified by the mercy of God, through an atoning sacrifice; he must…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Shall mortal man - Or, shall feeble man. The idea of “mortal” is not necessarily implied in the word used here, אנושׁ 'ĕnôsh It means man; and is usually applied to the lower classes or ranks of people; see the notes at Isaiah 8:1. The common opinion in regard to this word is, that it is derived from אנשׁ 'ânash to be sick, or ill at ease; and then desperate, or incurable - as of a disease or wound; Jeremiah 15:18; Micah 1:9; Job 34:6. Gesenius (Lex)…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-21Verses 12-21 Eliphaz relates a vision. When we are communing with our own hearts, and are still, Psa 4:4, then is a time for the Holy Spirit to commune with us. This vision put him into very great fear. Ever since man sinned, it has been terrible to him to receive communications from Heaven, conscious that he can expect no good tidings thence. Sinful man! shall he pretend to be more just, more pure, than God, who being his Maker, is his Lord and Owner?…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17The characters in the book often say that no one is truly righteous or pure (see 9:2; 15:14; 25:4; 35:7). This is because everyone is flawed (Psalms 14:3; 53:3; Romans 3:10–11). Eliphaz used these terms to say that humans are full of sin and God has no sin. Job and God used them to show that Job had fulfilled his duties to God. Job and Eliphaz never agreed on what these terms meant. Later, God said that Eliphaz had not spoken about him "accurately" (Job…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. mortal man ... a man--Two Hebrew words for "man" are used; the first implying his feebleness; the second his strength. Whether feeble or strong, man is not righteous before God. more just than God ... more pure than his maker--But this would be self-evident without an oracle.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 4:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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