God’s Word Translation
Job 9:4
4“God is wise in heart and mighty in power. Who could oppose him and win?
Job 9:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?
- New International Version (NIV)His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
- English Standard Version (ESV)He is wise in heart and mighty in strength —who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—
- New King James Version (NKJV)God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
Context of Job 9:4
2“Yes, I know that this is true. But how can a mortal be declared righteous to God? 3If he wished to debate with God, he wouldn’t be able to answer one question in a thousand. “God is wise in heart and mighty in power. Who could oppose him and win? 5He moves mountains without their knowing it, and he topples them in his anger. 6He shakes the earth from its place, and its pillars tremble.
Read all of Job 9Job 9:4 word by word
חֲכַ֣ם לֵ֭בָב וְאַמִּ֣יץ כֹּ֑חַ מִֽי־הִקְשָׁ֥ה אֵ֝לָ֗יו וַיִּשְׁלָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 9:4
- Job 9:19If it is a matter of strength, then he is the mighty one. If it is about justice, who will charge me with a crime?
- Job 36:5“Certainly, God is mighty. He doesn’t despise anyone. He is mighty and brave.
- Psalms 104:24What a large number of things you have made, O Lord! You made them all by wisdom. The earth is filled with your creatures.
- Psalms 136:5to the one who made the heavens by his understanding— because his mercy endures forever.
- Daniel 2:20He said, “Praise God’s name from everlasting to everlasting because he is wise and powerful.
- Daniel 4:34At the end of the seven time periods, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my mind came back to me. I thanked the Most High, and I praised and honored the one who lives forever, because his power lasts forever and his kingdom lasts from one generation to the next.
- Romans 11:33God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep that it is impossible to explain his decisions or to understand his ways.
- Ephesians 1:8He poured out his kindness by giving us every kind of wisdom and insight
- Ephesians 3:10He did this so that now, through the church, he could let the rulers and authorities in heaven know his infinite wisdom.
- Jude 1:24God can guard you so that you don’t fall and so that you can be full of joy as you stand in his glorious presence without fault.
- Job 6:10Then I would still have comfort. I would be happy despite my endless pain, because I have not rejected the words of the Holy One.
- Job 15:23He wanders around for food and asks, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that his ruin is close at hand.
- Job 40:9Do you have power like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like his?
- Exodus 9:14Now I will send plagues that will affect you personally as well as your officials and people. This is how you will know that there is no one like me anywhere on earth.
- Exodus 14:17I am making the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow the Israelites. I will receive honor because of what I will do to Pharaoh, his entire army, his chariots, and cavalry.
- Proverbs 28:14Blessed is the one who is always fearful ⌞of sin⌟, but whoever is hard-hearted falls into disaster.
Commentaries on Job 9:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength - By his infinite knowledge he searches out and sees all things, and by his almighty power he can punish all delinquencies. He that rebels against him must be destroyed.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4He is wise in heart - Herder renders this, Even the wise and the powerful, Who hath withstood him and prospered? But the more common interpretation is to refer it to God. The meaning of Job appears to be, that God was a sagacious adversary; that he was able to manage his cause; that he could meet and refute all objections which could be urged; and that it would be in vain to engage in a litigation before him. He so well understood the whole ground of…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. 44. wise in heart--in understanding!--and mighty in power! God confounds the ablest arguer by His wisdom, and the mightiest by His power. hardened himself--or his neck (Pr 29:1); that is, defied God. To prosper, one must fall in with God's arrangements of providence and grace.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 9:4
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
Commentaries