New King James Version
Job 9:20
20Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.
Job 9:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
- New International Version (NIV)Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty. Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.
Context of Job 9:20
18He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills me with bitterness. 19If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court? Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse. 21“I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life. 22It is all one thing; Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’
Read all of Job 9Job 9:20 word by word
אִם־אֶ֭צְדָּק פִּ֣י יַרְשִׁיעֵ֑נִי תָּֽם־אָ֝֗נִי וַֽיַּעְקְשֵֽׁנִי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 9:20
- Job 9:2“Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God?
- Job 4:17‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
- Job 32:1So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
- Psalms 130:3If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
- Psalms 143:2Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no one living is righteous.
- Luke 10:29But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
- Luke 16:15And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
- Job 15:5For your iniquity teaches your mouth, And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
- Job 34:35‘Job speaks without knowledge, His words are without wisdom.’
- Job 35:16Therefore Job opens his mouth in vain; He multiplies words without knowledge.”
- Proverbs 10:19In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.
- Isaiah 6:5So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
- Matthew 12:36But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
- James 3:2For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
- Job 1:1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.
- Philippians 3:12Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Commentaries on Job 9:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20If I justify myself - God must have some reason for his conduct towards me; I therefore do not pretend to justify myself; the attempt to do it would be an insult to his majesty and justice. Though I am conscious of none of the crimes of which you accuse me; and know not why he contends with me; yet he must have some reason, and that reason he does not choose to explain.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me - That is, referring still to the form of a judicial trial, if I should undertake to manage my own cause, I should lay myself open to condemnation even in my argument on the subject, and should show that I was far from the perfection which I had undertaken to maintain. By passionate expressions; by the language of complaint and murmuring; by a want of suitable reverence; by showing my ignorance of the…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. 2020. it--(Job 15:6; Lu 19:22); or "He," God.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 9:20
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries