New Living Translation
Job 9:32
32“God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.
Job 9:32 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.
- New International Version (NIV)“He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together.
Context of Job 9:32
30Even if I were to wash myself with soap and clean my hands with lye, 31you would plunge me into a muddy ditch, and my own filthy clothing would hate me. “God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial. 33If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together. 34The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.
Read all of Job 9Job 9:32 word by word
כִּי־לֹא־אִ֣ישׁ כָּמֹ֣נִי אֶֽעֱנֶ֑נּוּ נָב֥וֹא יַ֝חְדָּ֗ו בַּמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 9:32
- Job 33:12“But you are wrong, and I will show you why. For God is greater than any human being.
- Job 35:5Look up into the sky, and see the clouds high above you.
- Numbers 23:19God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
- 1 Samuel 16:7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
- Ecclesiastes 6:10Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.
- Isaiah 45:9“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’
- Jeremiah 49:19I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan, leaping on the sheep in the pasture. I will chase Edom from its land, and I will appoint the leader of my choice. For who is like me, and who can challenge me? What ruler can oppose my will?”
- Romans 9:20No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?”
- 1 John 3:20Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.
- Job 13:18I have prepared my case; I will be proved innocent.
- Job 23:3If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his court.
- Psalms 143:2Don’t put your servant on trial, for no one is innocent before you.
Commentaries on Job 9:32
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 32For he is not a man as I am - I cannot contend with him as with one of my fellows in a court of justice.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 32For he is not a man as I am - He is infinitely superior to me in majesty and power. The idea is, that the contest would be unequal, and that he might as well surrender without bringing the matter to an issue. It is evident that the disposition of Job to yield, was rather because he saw that God was superior in power than because he saw that he was right, and that he felt that if he had ability to manage the cause as well as God could, the matter would not…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-35Verses 25-35 What little need have we of pastimes, and what great need to redeem time, when it runs on so fast towards eternity! How vain the enjoyments of time, which we may quite lose while yet time continues! The remembrance of having done our duty will be pleasing afterwards; so will not the remembrance of having got worldly wealth, when it is all lost and gone. Job's complaint of God, as one that could not be appeased and would not relent, was the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 32-33A mediator does not judge God and man. Instead, the mediator helps bring them together (see 16:19–21).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3232. (Ec 6:10; Is 45:9).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 9:32
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 Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
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