Job 9 · Verse 15

Job 9:15

Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.
Job 9:15, King James Version

Job 9:15 in other translations

BSBFor even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy.
WEBThough I were righteous, yet I wouldn’t answer him. I would make supplication to my judge.
ASVWhom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer; I would make supplication to my judge.
YLTWhom, though I were righteous, I answer not, For my judgment I make supplication.
DARBYWhom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer; I would make supplication to my judge.
BBEEven if my cause was good, I would not be able to give an answer; I would make request for grace from him who was against me.
WebsterWhom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.

What does Job 9:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
15. (Job 10:15). Though I were conscious of no sin, yet I would not dare to say so, but leave it to His judgment and mercy to justify me (1Co 4:4).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 Though I were righteous - Though clear of all the crimes, public and secret, of which you accuse me, yet I would not dare to stand before his immaculate holiness. Man's holiness may profit man, but in the sight of the infinite purity of God it is nothing. Thus sung an eminent poet: - "I loathe myself when God I see,And into nothing fall; Content that thou exalted be,And Christ be all in all." I would make supplication to my Judge - Though not conscious of any sin, I should not think myself thereby justified; but would, from a conviction of the exceeding breadth of the commandment, and the limited nature of my own perfection, cry out, "Cleanse thou me from secret faults!"

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 9:14-21

Job is still righteous in his own eyes, ch. 32:1, and this answer, though it sets forth the power and majesty of God, implies that the question between the afflicted and the Lord of providence, is a question of might, and not of right; and we begin to discover the evil fruits of pride and of a self-righteous spirit. Job begins to manifest a disposition to condemn God, that he may justify himself, for which he is…

Read the full comment on Job 9:14-21 →

Job 9:15 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sher[I] whoH834
אִם\־'im-thoughH518
צָ֭דַקְתִּיTza.dak.tiI am righteousH6663
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
אֶעֱנֶ֑ה'e.'e.NehI will answerH6030
לִ֝מְשֹׁפְטִ֗יlim.sho.fe.Tito judge myH8199
אֶתְחַנָּֽן\׃'et.cha.NanI will seek favorH2603

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 9:15

  • Job 10:15

    If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;

  • Job 8:5

    If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;

  • Job 22:27

    Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.

  • Job 10:2

    I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.

  • 1 Peter 2:23

    Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

  • Job 5:8

    I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:

  • 2 Chronicles 33:13

    And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.

  • Job 23:7

    There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.

  • 1 Kings 8:38-39

    What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

  • Daniel 9:3

    And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

  • Jeremiah 31:9

    They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

  • 1 Corinthians 4:4

    For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
though.
10:15; 1Co 4:4
I would.
5:8; 8:5; 10:2; 22:27; 34:31,32; 1Ki 8:38,39; 2Ch 33:13; Jer 31:9
Da 9:3,18
my judge.
23:7; 1Pe 2:23

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 9:14

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

  • Job 9:15

    Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.

  • Job 9:16

    If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.

Read all of Job 9

Job 9:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Que aunque fuese yo justo, no responderé; antes habré de rogar á mi juez.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Si j’étais juste, je ne lui répondrais pas, je demanderais grâce à mon juge.
German
Elberfelder 1871		der ich, wenn ich gerecht wäre, nicht antworten könnte-um Gnade würde ich flehen zu meinem Richter.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		qui etiam si habuero quippiam justum, non respondebo: sed meum judicem deprecabor.