Job continues to argue both that he, Job, is innocent but also that God is too powerful for one to know or understand.
Job 9:1-4, Vast wisdom and power
Then Job replied:
"Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can a mortal be righteous before God?
Though one wished to dispute with him,
he could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.
Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
Job begins by admitting Bildad's thesis that God is just. Job then argues that one cannot resist or argue with God. As for morality, God is more righteous than us.
Job wants to debate God but knows he would be unable to answer Him.
Job 9:5-10, Mountains, sun, Orion
He moves mountains without their knowing it
and overturns them in his anger.
He shakes the earth from its place
and makes its pillars tremble.
He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;
he seals off the light of the stars.
He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads on the waves of the sea.
He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
Job has a long list of powers and powerful actions of God that are far beyond us. Following the ancient Near East beliefs, Job speaks of an earth on pillars. The seas, a realm of chaos in the ancient Near East, are controlled by God who easily walks across them. God is even in control of stellar configurations such at the Orion and the Pleiades, and the constellations "of the south".
There is considerable debate over the four celestial objects that Job mentions in verse 9, here translated "Bear, Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south", since our names of stars and constellations come from the Greeks much later. Hartley argues that the first object is the star Aldebaran, not the Big Dipper (sometimes called the Bear.) The phrase "constellations of the south" is an attempt at a literal translation, without an explanation. Notable constellations "of the south" might include bright stars in the Southern Cross or bright stars in the southern zodiac. One can experiment at BibleGateway.com with different translations. Young's Literal Translation translates the Hebrew of Job 9: 9 as
"Making Osh, Kesil, and Kimah, And the inner chambers of the south."
The Wycliffe Bible translation reads:
"He maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and Pleiades, that is, the seven stars,
and the inner things of the south."
The King James Version and the New American Standard Bible agree with the Wycliffe Bible (leaving out the explanatory "seven stars") but replace "inner things" with "constellations". The Living Bible changes the last phrase to "constellations of the southern zodiac." None of this, of course, affects the point of the passage: Job sees YHWH as the Maker of the stars and constellations, as One Who can easily stride across the skies and turbulent seas.
Job 9:11-13, Invisible, unstoppable
When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
If he snatches away, who can stop him?
Who can say to him, `What are you doing?'
God does not restrain his anger;
even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.
Furthermore, God is invisible. God can defeat even the cohorts of Rahab. The meaning of these cohorts not clear; they could represent beings of the underworld or agents of Egypt. Rahab (says Hartley) is one of the monsters who inhabits the chaotic sea.
Job 9:14-18, No hearing
"How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?
Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;
I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
He would crush me with a storm
and multiply my wounds for no reason.
He would not let me regain my breath
but would overwhelm me with misery.
Job returns to an earlier complaint -- he cannot even argue with God -- arguing with God is like arguing with a thunderstorm. Job is distressed and confused but still thinks he is innocent.
In verse 17, Job complains that God can multiply his wounds "for no reason." The phrase "for no reason" is a translation of the Hebrew word chinnam, which is the same word used by The Accuser in Job 1: 9 and by God is Job 2: 3. The astute reader will recognize that Job is coming close to the earlier conversation in Heaven. It appears that God does indeed hurt Job without cause! (The author of Job continues to confront our simplistic view of God and righteousness! This is not an easy book!)
Job says that God could "crush me with a storm". Eventually God will answer Job out of a storm, at the end of the book.
Job 9:19-20, Awesome in justice and power
If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!
And if it is a matter of justice, who will summon him?
Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;
if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.
God's strength and justice overwhelm Job.
Job 9:21-24, Awesome in justice and power
"Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself;
I despise my own life.
It is all the same;
that is why I say, `He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'
When a scourge brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.
When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,
he blindfolds its judges.
If it is not he, then who is it?
Job continues to insist on his own innocence. God, in his overwhelming power, is capable of destroying both the innocent and the wicked. Job is very aware of all the many tragedies of life and that the innocent are often victims. (I write this as I grieve over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, massacring civilians -- and as I hear reports of innocents in Israel massacred by Hamas, while later oppressed citizens of the Gaza Strip also die.) Job, in pain himself, cannot retreat from asking a poignant question about the agent of destruction of the innocent: "If it is not He, the who is it?"
Job 9:25-26, Fleeting life
"My days are swifter than a runner;
they fly away without a glimpse of joy.
They skim past like boats of papyrus,
like eagles swooping down on their prey.
The swift frailty of life is described in terms of weeds or birds sweeping by, leaving no trace.
Job 9:27-31, I will not smile
If I say, `I will forget my complaint,
I will change my expression, and smile,'
I still dread all my sufferings,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
Since I am already found guilty,
why should I struggle in vain?
Even if I washed myself with soap
and my hands with washing soda,
you would plunge me into a slime pit
so that even my clothes would detest me.
Job could pretend he is not hurting. He could smile. But why? He believes a judgment has already been rendered against him.
Job 9:32-35, Not a man
"He is not a man like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.
If only there were someone to arbitrate between us,
to lay his hand upon us both,
someone to remove God's rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.
Job emphasizes the "otherness" of God. God is just powerfully different and this leaves Job with no options. If only God's rod (ie., staff of punishment) were removed, then Job might be able to speak up and protest his innocene.
Hartley points out that Job's arguments in this chapter and the next, cover three different fields of language or worship -- these also appear in the psalms. Job begins with a legal argument, imagining himself in court making his case to YHWH. Job wants to challenge God, to debate God about his treatment. Job also speaks psalms of lament intermixed with hymns of praise. The next chapter will be a chapter of lament.
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