New Living Translation
Job 9:4
4For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully?
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 all this is true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight? 3If someone wanted to take God to court, would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times? For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully? 5“Without warning, he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger. 6He shakes the earth from its place, and its foundations 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’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one. If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court?
- Job 36:5“God is mighty, but he does not despise anyone! He is mighty in both power and understanding.
- Psalms 104:24O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures.
- Psalms 136:5Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully. His faithful love endures forever.
- Daniel 2:20He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power.
- Daniel 4:34“After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal.
- Romans 11:33Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
- Ephesians 1:8He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
- Ephesians 3:10God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
- Jude 1:24Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.
- Job 6:10At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
- Job 15:23They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’ They know their day of destruction is near.
- Job 40:9Are you as strong as God? Can you thunder with a voice like his?
- Exodus 9:14If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
- Exodus 14:17And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will charge in after the Israelites. My great glory will be displayed through Pharaoh and his troops, his chariots, and his charioteers.
- Proverbs 28:14Blessed are those who fear to do wrong, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble.
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
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