Job 13:19 kjv
Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.
Job 13:19 nkjv
Who is he who will contend with me? If now I hold my tongue, I perish.
Job 13:19 niv
Can anyone bring charges against me? If so, I will be silent and die.
Job 13:19 esv
Who is there who will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die.
Job 13:19 nlt
Who can argue with me over this?
And if you prove me wrong, I will remain silent and die.
Job 13 19 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 9:32-33 | "For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together. There is no umpire... to lay his hand upon us both." | Job longs for an arbiter/mediator between him and God. |
| Job 16:19-21 | "Even now my witness is in heaven... my eye pours out tears to God, that he would argue the case of a man with God..." | Job’s yearning for a divine advocate for his case. |
| Job 19:25-27 | "For I know that my Redeemer lives... And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God..." | Job's ultimate hope in God as his Vindicator and Redeemer. |
| Job 23:3-4 | "Oh, that I knew where I might find him... I would lay my case before him..." | Job desires direct access to God to present his case. |
| Gen 18:25 | "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" | God's inherent justice and role as the ultimate arbiter. |
| Ps 7:11 | "God is a righteous judge..." | Confirms God's perfect justice. |
| Ps 50:6 | "The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!" | God is the righteous judge and witness. |
| Ps 143:2 | "Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you." | Humility before God's judgment; man cannot be justified on his own merits. |
| Prov 20:9 | "Who can say, 'I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin'?" | Universal human sinfulness, making self-justification before God impossible. |
| Isa 41:10-11 | "Fear not, for I am with you... For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand... All who rage against you shall be put to shame..." | God's defense of His righteous ones, shaming their accusers. |
| Isa 45:9 | "Woe to him who strives with his Maker..." | Emphasizes the futility of arguing against God Himself. |
| Isa 54:17 | "No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed... this is the heritage of the servants of the LORD..." | God ensures His servants are ultimately vindicated against false accusations. |
| Rom 3:19 | "so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God." | God's truth silences all human claims and arguments. |
| Rom 3:20 | "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight..." | Man's inability to achieve righteousness through his own efforts. |
| Rom 8:31-33 | "If God is for us, who can be against us?... Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies." | God's sovereign defense and justification of His chosen ones. |
| Gal 2:16 | "a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ..." | New Covenant path to justification before God, not by works. |
| 1 Tim 2:5 | "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus..." | Christ's ultimate role as the needed Mediator Job longed for. |
| Heb 7:25 | "He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." | Christ's ongoing intercession for believers as an advocate. |
| Heb 9:15 | "Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant..." | Christ as the mediator establishing the new covenant. |
| Heb 12:23 | "and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect..." | God as the supreme Judge whom all must face. |
| 1 Jn 2:1 | "we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." | Believers have Christ as an Advocate who presents their case to the Father. |
| Rev 12:10 | "the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God." | The great accuser (Satan) who levels charges against believers. |
Job 13 verses
Job 13 19 Meaning
Job 13:19 declares Job's unwavering conviction that no human could successfully argue or contend against him, provided that God Himself would hear and uphold Job's case. It is a rhetorical challenge underscoring Job's profound belief in his own righteousness and the ultimate justice of God. If anyone could somehow stand against Job after he had brought his case before God, then Job implies that he himself would be utterly silenced, overwhelmed, or even perish from the sheer impossibility and shock of such a reversal. This statement is a powerful assertion of his trust that divine vindication would inevitably render any human accusation baseless.
Job 13 19 Context
Job 13 finds Job directly challenging his three friends, whom he accuses of being unhelpful and even deceitful comforters. He states their "proverbs are proverbs of ashes" (v. 12) and desires to directly address God instead (v. 3). Job 13:19 falls within Job's declaration of his resolve to argue his case before God, despite the potentially dire consequences for himself (vv. 13-18). He expresses profound trust that even if God were to strike him dead, he would still hope for vindication (v. 15). Therefore, in verse 19, Job is asserting that his integrity is so clear, and his conviction that God would find him blameless is so strong, that if God were truly engaged in his defense, no one—not even his accusing friends—could possibly counter him successfully. It underscores his deep longing for divine affirmation and justice against human misunderstanding and false accusations.
Job 13 19 Word analysis
- מי (mī): Who?
- This is an interrogative pronoun. In this context, it functions as a rhetorical question, strongly implying "no one." It conveys Job's absolute certainty that there is no one who fits the description that follows.
- הוא (hû'): He/is he
- A personal pronoun, often used for emphasis, creating the structure "Who is he who..." It refers to anyone who might try to contend with Job.
- יריב (yārîḇ): will argue / contend
- From the root ריב (rîḇ), meaning "to contend, strive, dispute, plead a cause." It carries a strong legal connotation, implying a courtroom or a formal dispute. Job imagines a scene where someone tries to oppose him in a legal sense. This verb is also used for God contending with nations (e.g., Isa 3:13). Here, Job foresees any human challenger facing his divinely supported case.
- עמדי ('immādî): with me / against me
- Literally "with me," but in the context of legal dispute (from 'yārîḇ'), it signifies "against me" or "in contention with me." It highlights the adversarial nature of the imagined scenario.
- ואוטה (wə’ōṭāh): and I will be silent / I would perish
- This is the most debated word. The root is likely טאה (ṭaʾâ), meaning "to be swept away, annihilated, consumed, perish." Some interpret it as related to "silence" or being stunned into silence (e.g., Gesenius), or from a sense of being confounded/put to shame, leading to utter silence or even extinction.
- Significance: This is a strong, even hyperbolic, statement by Job. He is so certain that no one could successfully argue against him if God is his advocate that he is willing to concede that if someone could—an impossible scenario to him—then he (Job) would be so profoundly in error or overwhelmed that he would simply perish or be completely silenced by shame and defeat. It serves to underscore the utter impossibility of such an occurrence and thus the strength of Job's conviction that he will be vindicated.
Job 13 19 Bonus section
The legal/forensic language prevalent in Job 13:19 (and throughout the book of Job) is significant. Terms like "argue," "contend," "case," "plead," and "judge" paint a vivid picture of a divine courtroom. Job desires a trial where he can present his innocence directly to the highest Judge. This legal framework highlights a fundamental Old Testament theological understanding of God not just as a Creator but as the supreme Judge and the ultimate source of justice. Job's assertion is a cry for proper legal due process before God Himself, contrasting sharply with the biased, human, and arguably prejudiced judgment offered by his friends. This foreshadows the ultimate need for a divine Advocate who could effectively represent humanity's case before a holy God, a role fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus Christ (1 Tim 2:5).
Job 13 19 Commentary
Job 13:19 is a dramatic expression of Job's profound conviction in his own integrity and, more importantly, in God's ultimate justice. Strikingly, it follows Job's declaration that he is ready to face even death from God (v. 15), but not without presenting his case. His rhetorical question, "Who is he that will plead against me?", is not an act of arrogance towards his friends but a declaration of his resolute belief that if God truly engaged in his defense—or even allowed him to present his case directly—no human could successfully counter his arguments. The final clause, "then I will be silent (or 'perish')", is a powerful figure of speech. It means that if, contrary to his absolute certainty, someone could indeed win an argument against him when God was the ultimate judge, then Job himself would be so thoroughly discredited or bewildered that he would be struck dumb with shame, or even simply cease to be, unable to process such an impossible reality. It amplifies his assurance by stating the consequence of being proven wrong, a consequence he deems unfathomable. This verse perfectly encapsulates Job's deep desire for vindication and his fundamental trust that divine scrutiny would prove him blameless, silencing all human accusations.
- Example 1: A believer, though falsely accused, stands firm, trusting that God knows the truth and will eventually vindicate them, much like Job expects his honest plea to God to silence his accusers.
- Example 2: In spiritual warfare, when Satan the accuser brings charges against a believer (Rev 12:10), the believer rests in Christ's advocacy (1 Jn 2:1), knowing that if Christ is their defender, no accusation will ultimately stand.