Job 9:32
New International Version
“He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court.

New Living Translation
“God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.

English Standard Version
For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together.

Berean Standard Bible
For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.

King James Bible
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.

New King James Version
“For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together.

New American Standard Bible
“For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him— That we may go to court together!

NASB 1995
“For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him, That we may go to court together.

NASB 1977
“For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him, That we may go to court together.

Legacy Standard Bible
For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him, That we may go to court for judgment together.

Amplified Bible
“For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him, That we may go to court and judgment together.

Christian Standard Bible
For he is not a man like me, that I can answer him, that we can take each other to court.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.

American Standard Version
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, That we should come together in judgment.

Contemporary English Version
God isn't a mere human like me. I can't put him on trial.

English Revised Version
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, that we should come together in judgment.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
A human like me cannot answer God, 'Let's take our case to court.'

Good News Translation
If God were human, I could answer him; we could go to court to decide our quarrel.

International Standard Version
He's not a man like me, so that I can answer him, or that we can enter into litigation with one another.

Majority Standard Bible
For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.

NET Bible
For he is not a human being like I am, that I might answer him, that we might come together in judgment.

New Heart English Bible
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, that we should come together in judgment.

Webster's Bible Translation
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.

World English Bible
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, that we should come together in judgment.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
But if a man like myself—I answer Him, "" We come together into judgment.

Young's Literal Translation
But if a man like myself -- I answer him, We come together into judgment.

Smith's Literal Translation
For not a man as I; I shall answer him, we shall come together in judgment.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For I shall not answer a man that is like myself: nor one that may be heard with me equally in judgment.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For even I would not answer a man who were like myself, nor one who could be heard with me equally in judgment.

New American Bible
For he is not a man like myself, that I should answer him, that we should come together in judgment.

New Revised Standard Version
For he is not a mortal, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For God is not a man as I am, that I might answer him. and that we should come together for trial.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Because he is not a man like me that I would give him an answer, and we would enter as one to judgment
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For He is not a man, as I am, that I should answer Him, That we should come together in judgment.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For thou art not man like me, with whom I could contend, that we might come together to judgment.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job: How Can I Argue with God?
31then You would plunge me into the pit, and even my own clothes would despise me. 32For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court. 33Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both.…

Cross References
Isaiah 45:9
Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?

Romans 9:20
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”

Isaiah 41:21-24
“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob. / “Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming. / Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay. ...

Ecclesiastes 6:10
Whatever exists was named long ago, and it is known what man is; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.

Isaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.

Jeremiah 18:6
“O house of Israel, declares the LORD, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.

Romans 11:34
“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?”

1 Corinthians 2:16
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Isaiah 29:16
You have turned things upside down, as if the potter were regarded as clay. Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pottery say of the potter, “He has no understanding”?

Isaiah 40:13-14
Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor? / Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the paths of justice? Who imparted knowledge to Him and showed Him the way of understanding?

Romans 3:19
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

1 Corinthians 1:25
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

Isaiah 55:8-9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. / “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Psalm 50:21
You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.

Psalm 100:3
Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.


Treasury of Scripture

For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.

not a man

Job 33:12
Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.

Job 35:5-7
Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou…

Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

we should

Job 13:18-23
Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified…

Job 23:3-7
Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! …

Psalm 143:2
And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

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Job 9
1. Job acknowledges God's justice
22. Man's innocence is not to be condemned by afflictions














For He is not a man like me
This phrase highlights the fundamental difference between God and humanity. The Hebrew word for "man" here is "אִישׁ" (ish), which often denotes a mortal human being. Job acknowledges the vast chasm between the divine and the human, emphasizing God's transcendence and sovereignty. In the ancient Near Eastern context, gods were often anthropomorphized, but the God of Israel is distinct, not bound by human limitations or frailties. This recognition of God's otherness is a cornerstone of Job's lament, as he grapples with the divine mystery and his own suffering.

that I can answer Him
The Hebrew root for "answer" is "עָנָה" (anah), which implies a response or a defense. Job is expressing his inability to engage in a dialogue or debate with God on equal terms. This reflects the biblical theme of God's wisdom and knowledge being far beyond human comprehension, as seen in Isaiah 55:8-9, where God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours. Job's humility here is instructive, reminding believers of the importance of reverence and submission before God's inscrutable will.

that we can take each other to court
The imagery of a courtroom is significant, as it suggests a legal dispute or a quest for justice. The Hebrew word "שָׁפַט" (shaphat) relates to judging or litigating. In the ancient world, legal proceedings were a means to resolve disputes and establish truth. Job longs for a mediator or an arbitrator who could bridge the gap between him and God, a theme that foreshadows the New Testament revelation of Christ as the ultimate mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). This phrase underscores the human desire for justice and vindication, while also pointing to the limitations of human understanding in the face of divine sovereignty.

(32, 33) For he is not a man, as I am . . .--Is not that confession, if we believe that such a daysman as Job longed for has been given, itself a witness that it came from God, and was given by God? The light that has shined upon us was shining then in the heart of Job, and shines for ever in the pages of his book. Job felt, as he had been taught to feel, that in himself there not only was no hope, but no possibility of justification with God, unless there should be an umpire and impartial mediator, who could make the cause of both his own, and reconcile and unite the two in himself. It is useless to inquire what other particular form the aspiration of Job may have taken, or how far he understood and meant what he said; but here are his words, and this is what they must mean, and it is for us to adore the wisdom by which they were taught accurately to correspond with what we know has been given to us by God. We know that a daysman has laid his hand upon us both; and while we see that this is what Job wanted, we cannot but see more plainly that this is what we want. It is to be observed that this word daysman, or judge, is immediately connected with the Scripture phrase, "the day of the Lord," and St. Paul's words, "the day shall declare it" (1Corinthians 3:13).

Verse 32. - For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him; and we should come together in judgment (comp. vers. 2-14). On one of two conditions only, Job thinks, could the contest be even between himself and God.

(1) If God, divesting himself of all his Divine attributes, became man;

(2) if some thirdsman could be found, some umpire or arbitrator, to preside over the contest, and decide it. Neither condition, however, was (he thought) possible; and therefore no satisfactory judgment could take place. Recent commentators observe that the Christian scheme, which Job could not anticipate, provides almost a literal fulfilment of both conditions, since the God who is to judge us is "true Man," and is also a Mediator, or "Thirds-man," between us and the offended Father, with authority to make the final decision, 'the Father having committed all judgment unto the Son "(John 5:22), and" given him authority to execute judgment also'" for the very reason that he is "the Son of man" (John 5:27).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

He is not
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

a man
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

like me,
כָּמֹ֣נִי (kā·mō·nî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 3644: Like, as, when

that I can answer Him,
אֶֽעֱנֶ֑נּוּ (’e·‘ĕ·nen·nū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6030: To answer, respond

that we can take
נָב֥וֹא (nā·ḇō·w)
Adverb
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

each other
יַ֝חְדָּ֗ו (yaḥ·dāw)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common plural
Strong's 3162: A unit, unitedly

to court.
בַּמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃ (bam·miš·pāṭ)
Preposition, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4941: A verdict, a sentence, formal decree, divine law, penalty, justice, privilege, style


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OT Poetry: Job 9:32 For he is not a man as (Jb)
Job 9:31
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