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Texts -- Job 9:15-35 (NET)

Context
9:15 Although I am innocent , I could not answer him; I could only plead with my judge for mercy . 9:16 If I summoned him, and he answered me, I would not believe that he would be listening to my voice 9:17 he who crushes me with a tempest , and multiplies my wounds for no reason . 9:18 He does not allow me to recover my breath , for he fills me with bitterness . 9:19 If it is a matter of strength , most certainly he is the strong one ! And if it is a matter of justice , he will say, ‘Who will summon me?’ 9:20 Although I am innocent , my mouth would condemn me; although I am blameless , it would declare me perverse . 9:21 I am blameless . I do not know myself . I despise my life .
Accusation of God’s Justice
9:22 “It is all one ! That is why I say , ‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty .’ 9:23 If a scourge brings sudden death , he mocks at the despair of the innocent . 9:24 If a land has been given into the hand of a wicked man, he covers the faces of its judges ; if it is not he, then who is it ?
Renewed Complaint
9:25 “My days are swifter than a runner , they speed by without seeing happiness . 9:26 They glide by like reed boats , like an eagle that swoops down on its prey . 9:27 If I say , ‘I will forget my complaint , I will change my expression and be cheerful ,’ 9:28 I dread all my sufferings , for I know that you do not hold me blameless . 9:29 If I am guilty , why then weary myself in vain ? 9:30 If I wash myself with snow water , and make my hands clean with lye , 9:31 then you plunge me into a slimy pit and my own clothes abhor me. 9:32 For he is not a human being like I am, that I might answer him, that we might come together in judgment . 9:33 Nor is there an arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both , 9:34 who would take his rod away from me so that his terror would not make me afraid . 9:35 Then would I speak and not fear him, but it is not so with me .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • What this book is all about has been the subject of considerable debate. Many people think God gave it to us to provide His answer to the age-old problem of suffering. In particular, many believe it is in the Bible to help us...
  • I. Prologue chs. 1-2A. Job's character 1:1-5B. Job's calamities 1:6-2:101. The first test 1:6-222. The second test 2:1-10C. Job's comforters 2:11-13II. The dialogue concerning the basis of the divine-human relationship 3:1-42...
  • The writer composed the prologue and epilogue of this book in prose narrative and the main body (3:1-42:6) in poetry. The prologue and epilogue form a frame around the main emphasis of the revelation, the poetic section, and ...
  • These verses reveal that angels ("sons of God,"v. 6), including Satan, periodically report to God on their activities. Satan was doing then what he still does today, namely, "seeking whom he may devour"(1 Pet. 5:8).25Satan's ...
  • Satan again claimed that Job served God only because God had made it advantageous for Job to do so. Job still had his own life. Satan insinuated that Job had been willing to part with his own children and his animals (wealth)...
  • Much of Job's suffering was intellectual. He asked, "Why?"frequently in this soliloquy (vv. 11, 12, 20, 23) and in the dialogue that follows (7:20, 21; 9:29; 13:24; 21:4; 24:1)."My groaning comes at the sight of my food"(v. 2...
  • The two soliloquies of Job (chs. 3 and 29-31) enclose three cycles of dialogue between Job and his three friends. Each cycle consists of speeches by Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in that order interspersed with Job's reply to e...
  • Job began his response to Bildad by acknowledging that much of what his friends had said was true (v. 2). Many of Job's speeches began with sarcasm or irony. He then turned to a question that Eliphaz had raised earlier (4:17)...
  • Rahab (v. 13) was a name ancient Near Easterners used to describe a mythical sea monster that was symbolic of evil. Such a monster, also called Leviathan (7:12), was a major character in the creation legends of several ancien...
  • In short, Job believed it was useless for him to try to prove himself upright since God seemed determined to punish him.The Book of Job uses legal terms and metaphors extensively in the sections that deal with Job's disputes ...
  • Verse 2 is irony; his companions were not as wise as they thought. Job pointed out that much of what they had said about God was common knowledge (cf. 5:9-10; 8:13-19; 11:7-9). Nonetheless their conclusion, that the basis of ...
  • As in his replies to Eliphaz (7:12-21) and Bildad (9:28-33; 10:2-19), Job also addressed God in this reply to Zophar (13:20-14:22).Job asked God to stop afflicting him and to stop terrifying him (13:20-21). He also requested ...
  • In this melancholic lament Job bewailed the brevity of life (vv. 1-6), the finality of death (vv. 7-17), and the absence of hope (vv. 18-22)."Born of woman"(v. 1) reflects man's frailty since woman who bears him is frail. Ver...
  • Perhaps Eliphaz wanted to scare Job into repenting with these words. As before, Eliphaz's authority was his own observations (v. 17; cf. 4:8). To this he added the wisdom of their ancestors (vv. 18-19; cf. 8:8). Probably vers...
  • "But it is just here, when everything is blackest, that his faith . . . like the rainbow in the cloud . . . shines with a marvelous splendor."89This short section contains probably the best known verses in the book (vv. 23-27...
  • Job admitted that he had rebelled against God to the extent that he had complained about his condition (v. 2a). "His hand"(v. 2b) is "My hand"in the Hebrew text. Job had not given up his desire to present his case before God ...
  • Elihu began by voicing his respect for Job's three friends (vv. 6-10). They were older than he, and for this reason he said he had refrained from speaking until now. However he had become convinced that advancing age does not...
  • This whole speech is an attempt to explain to Job why God was not responding to him. Elihu was very wordy, which he admitted in 32:18. In summary, he told Job that God was not silent, as Job had charged, but that He was speak...
  • Job had said that living a righteous life does not benefit a person since God does not consistently bless the righteous and punish the wicked in this life (9:30-31; cf. 34:9; 35:3). Elihu thought this assertion was hardly a s...
  • Finally God spoke to Job and gave revelation that Job had been demanding for so long (cf. 13:22; 31:35). There was now no need for the middle-man that Job had requested who could mediate between them (cf. 9:33; 16:19). Yahweh...
  • 139:7 Evidently the confining awareness of God's omniscience led David to try to escape from the Lord. His two rhetorical questions in this verse express his inability to hide from God (cf. Jer. 23:24).139:8-10 David gave hyp...
  • 3:1 Jeremiah claimed to have seen much affliction because Yahweh had struck Jerusalem in His anger (cf. Job 9:34; 21:9; Ps. 89:32; Isa. 10:5)."The two preceding poems ended with sorrowful complaint. This third poem begins wit...
  • "The opening verses of Nahum form a prologue dominated by the revelation of God's eternal power and divine nature in creation (cf. Rom 1:20). As in Romans 1:18-32, this revelation is characterized preeminently by God's justic...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • "Then Job answered the Lord, and said, 2. I know that Thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from Thee. 3. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood ...
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