If 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?
Parallel translations
- WEB If it is a matter of strength, behold, he is mighty! If of justice, ‘Who,’ says he, ‘will summon me?’
- KJV If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?
- BSB If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
- NKJV If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?
- NASB “If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one! And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
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
Job observes that if it comes to strength, God is mighty, and if to justice, who can even summon God to court? He sees no way to get a fair hearing.
Overview
Job feels trapped: in power God is overwhelming, and in justice no one can subpoena God to answer. He longs for a fair trial yet sees no means to obtain one. This dilemma sharpens the book's question of how a person can find vindication before God, ultimately answered through the Mediator God provides.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Job 9:32–33For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, that we should come together in judgment.
- Job 9:4God who is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who has hardened himself against him, and prospered?
- 1 Cor 1:25Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
- Matt 6:13Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
- Ps 62:11God has spoken once; twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God.
- Job 40:9–10Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like him?
- Job 31:35oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me! Let the accuser write my indictment!
- Job 36:17–19“But you are full of the judgment of the wicked. Judgment and justice take hold of you.
- Job 33:5–7If you can, answer me. Set your words in order before me, and stand up.
- 1 Cor 10:22Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
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 9:19 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.