Job 9 14

Job 9:14 kjv

How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?

Job 9:14 nkjv

"How then can I answer Him, And choose my words to reason with Him?

Job 9:14 niv

"How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him?

Job 9:14 esv

How then can I answer him, choosing my words with him?

Job 9:14 nlt

"So who am I, that I should try to answer God
or even reason with him?

Job 9 verses

Job 9 14 Meaning

Job 9:14 expresses Job's deep sense of futility and despair when contemplating a legal confrontation with God. He realizes that given God's overwhelming power, unsearchable wisdom, and lack of accountability to human reason, it is utterly impossible for him, a mere mortal, to effectively argue or present his case before the Almighty. His words, no matter how carefully chosen or truthful, would be utterly insignificant and unable to withstand the divine will.

Job 9 14 Context

Job chapter 9 is Job's direct response to Bildad's speech in chapter 8. Bildad, echoing the conventional wisdom of his time, had argued that God always punishes the wicked and vindicates the righteous, subtly implying Job's guilt. In this chapter, Job acknowledges God's immense power, wisdom, and sovereignty (vv. 1-12), admitting that God is indeed righteous and beyond human scrutiny. However, he then articulates his profound struggle: if God is so transcendent and mighty, capable of doing whatever He pleases without accountability, how can a mere human like Job ever hope to reason with Him or prove his innocence? The verse 9:14 encapsulates Job's realization of his helpless position—God's omnipotence makes any human attempt to engage Him in a legal dispute utterly hopeless. It's a lament born from a sense of divine injustice and Job's inability to comprehend God's ways within the traditional retribution framework.

Job 9 14 Word analysis

• How much less (אף כי - aph ki):

  • This phrase emphasizes a strong rhetorical question implying impossibility. Aph (אף) can mean "also," "indeed," "even," or express intensification (anger or emphasis), and ki (כי) means "that," "surely," or introduces a consequence.
  • In this context, it dramatically heightens Job's sense of helplessness. If he cannot even effectively address the unrighteous, how much less could he do so with God.
  • Significance: It marks a complete concession of any ground for debate.

• shall I answer him (אנוכי אענה - anokhi a'aneh):

  • Anokhi (אנוכי) is the first-person singular pronoun "I," emphatic.
  • A'aneh (אענה) comes from the root ‘anah (ענה), meaning "to answer," "to respond," "to reply."
  • Significance: Job’s personal struggle is foregrounded. It's not just "one cannot answer," but "I specifically, even in my presumed innocence, cannot answer Him." The emphasis highlights the personal nature of Job’s agony and the futility of his specific situation. This verb carries connotations of testifying in a legal sense, underscoring the "trial" motif Job constantly references.

• and choose out my words (ואבחר מלאי - va'evchar millai):

  • Va'evchar (ואבחר) means "and I would choose," from bachar (בחר), "to choose," "to select," "to test."
  • Millai (מלאי) means "my words," from milah (מלה), "word" or "utterance." This isn't just speaking, but selecting the right words, with care and precision, as one would for a formal argument or legal defense.
  • Significance: Job imagines constructing the perfect, irrefutable defense. Yet, even such carefully crafted eloquence is useless against God's power. It challenges the common belief that one's words and reasoning hold sway in divine court. This demonstrates Job's perceived lack of leverage or influence before God.

• to reason with him (עמו - immo):

  • Immo (עמו) means "with him," implying contention, debate, or pleading a case before or against God.
  • Significance: The phrase clarifies the "answering" as an attempt to enter into a judicial dispute. It highlights Job’s yearning for vindication but the recognized impossibility of achieving it. The traditional ancient Near Eastern concept of justice, where one could present their case to a divine arbiter, is contrasted sharply with God's transcendent nature here, making such a direct contention unthinkable and ultimately useless for Job.

Job 9 14 Bonus section

Job's rhetorical question in verse 14 highlights a deep existential question: How does a finite, fallible human being approach an infinite, perfect, and all-powerful God, especially when suffering unjustly? This verse contributes to the core tension of the Book of Job: reconciling God's justice with human experience. It sets the stage for the later chapters where God Himself intervenes not by giving Job answers in human terms, but by displaying His overwhelming majesty and wisdom (Job 38-41), thereby rendering human arguments (and words) utterly irrelevant. Job's recognition here foreshadows his later silence before God's majesty (Job 40:4-5, 42:2-3). The verse is a profound theological statement on divine transcendence and human inadequacy in understanding or contending with the Most High.

Job 9 14 Commentary

Job 9:14 forms a crucial part of Job's internal conflict and his rhetorical struggle with his friends. It is not an admission of guilt, but a declaration of futility. Job recognizes that God's ways are inscrutable and His power is absolute. In a court of law where God is both judge and omnipotent ruler, a human plaintiff like Job stands no chance, regardless of innocence or the eloquence of his plea. God is not subject to human categories of justice or susceptible to human argumentation. This verse powerfully underscores the infinite chasm between human weakness and divine omnipotence, an important theological point within the Book of Job. It serves as an antithesis to the simplistic retribution theology offered by Job's friends, arguing that God operates on a plane incomprehensible to mortals, making any attempts at human argumentation before Him meaningless.