God’s Word Translation
Job 9:15
15Even if I were right, I could not answer ⌞him⌟. I would have to plead for mercy from my judge.
Job 9:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.
- New International Version (NIV)Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge.
Context of Job 9:15
13God does not hold back his anger. Even Rahab’s helpers bow humbly in front of him. 14“How can I possibly answer God? How can I find the right words ⌞to speak⌟ with him? Even if I were right, I could not answer ⌞him⌟. I would have to plead for mercy from my judge. 16If I cried out and he answered me, I do not believe that he would listen to me. 17He would knock me down with a storm and bruise me without a reason.
Read all of Job 9Job 9:15 word by word
אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִם־צָ֭דַקְתִּי לֹ֣א אֶעֱנֶ֑ה לִ֝מְשֹׁפְטִ֗י אֶתְחַנָּֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 9:15
- Job 10:15How terrible it will be for me if I’m guilty! Even if I’m righteous, I dare not lift up my head. I am filled with disgrace while I look on my misery.
- 1 Corinthians 4:4I have a clear conscience, but that doesn’t mean I have God’s approval. It is the Lord who cross-examines me.
- Job 5:8“But I would seek God’s help and present my case to him.
- Job 8:5If you search for God and plead for mercy from the Almighty,
- Job 10:2I will say to God, ‘Don’t condemn me. Let me know why you are quarreling with me.
- Job 22:27You will pray to him, and he will listen to you, and you will keep your vow to him.
- Job 34:31“But suppose such a person says to God, ‘I am guilty, I will stop my immoral behavior.
- 1 Kings 8:38⌞hear⌟ every prayer for mercy, made by one person or by all the people in Israel, whose consciences bother them, who stretch out their hands toward this temple.
- 2 Chronicles 33:13He prayed to the Lord, and the Lord accepted his prayer and listened to his request. The Lord brought him back to his kingdom in Jerusalem. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.
- Jeremiah 31:9They will cry as they return. They will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams on a level path where they will not stumble. I will be a Father to Israel, and Ephraim will be my firstborn.
- Daniel 9:3So I turned to the Lord God and looked to him for help. I prayed, pleaded, and fasted in sackcloth and ashes.
- Job 23:7Then decent people could argue with him, and I would escape my judgment forever.
- 1 Peter 2:23Christ never verbally abused those who verbally abused him. When he suffered, he didn’t make any threats but left everything to the one who judges fairly.
Commentaries on Job 9:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Though I were righteous - Though clear of all the crimes, public and secret, of which you accuse me, yet I would not dare to stand before his immaculate holiness. Man's holiness may profit man, but in the sight of the infinite purity of God it is nothing. Thus sung an eminent poet: - "I loathe myself when God I see, And into nothing fall; Content that thou exalted be, And Christ be all in all." I would make supplication to my Judge - Though not conscious…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Whom, though I were righteous - That is, if I felt the utmost confidence that I was righteous, yet, if God judged otherwise, and regarded me as a sinner, I would not reply to him, but would make supplication to him as a sinner. I would have so much confidence in him, and would feel that he was so much better qualified than I am to judge, and that I am so liable to be deceived, that I would come to him as a sinner, if he judged and declared me to be one…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-21Verses 14-21 Job is still righteous in his own eyes, ch. 32:1, and this answer, though it sets forth the power and majesty of God, implies that the question between the afflicted and the Lord of providence, is a question of might, and not of right; and we begin to discover the evil fruits of pride and of a self-righteous spirit. Job begins to manifest a disposition to condemn God, that he may justify himself, for which he is afterwards reproved. Still Job…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-35Job answered Bildad by describing God's universal and legal power. His speech resembles a complex legal case. It includes: A summons and response (9:3, 14–16, 19b, 32). The risk of proving himself guilty (9:20). A "mediator" (9:33–34). A question of accusation (9:12). A legal sentence (9:22). A declaration of guilt (9:28–30).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. (Job 10:15). Though I were conscious of no sin, yet I would not dare to say so, but leave it to His judgment and mercy to justify me (1Co 4:4).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 9:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 9
- 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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