Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
Parallel translations
- WEB Why do you strive against him, because he doesn’t give account of any of his matters?
- BSB Why do you complain to Him that He answers nothing a man asks?
- NKJV Why do you contend with Him? For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.
- NASB ¶“Why do you complain to Him That He does not give an account of all His doings?
- NLT So why are you bringing a charge against him? Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses asks God to show him His ways so he may truly know God and keep finding favor. He longs above all to know God personally.
Overview
Moses' deepest desire is not success but intimate knowledge of God and His ways. He also intercedes by reminding God that this nation is His people. This prayer captures the heart of true faith, which seeks God Himself, the very knowledge that eternal life consists of (John 17:3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Job 40:2Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
- Isa 45:9Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
- Rom 11:34For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
- Dan 4:35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
- Ps 62:11God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.
- Acts 1:7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
- Ezek 22:14Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it.
- Job 15:25–26For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
- Acts 9:4–5And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
- Isa 46:10Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
- Jer 50:24I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD.
- Matt 20:15Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
- Deut 29:29The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
- 1 Cor 10:22Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
- Acts 5:39But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
- Job 9:14How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 33:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.