Job 9:25-35

Job 9:25-35

[25] Now my days  are swifter  than a post:  they flee away,  they see  no good.  [26] They are passed away  as  the swift  ships:  as the eagle  that hasteth  to the prey.  [27] If I say,  I will forget  my complaint,  I will leave off  my heaviness,  and comfort  [28] I am afraid  of all my sorrows,  I know  that thou wilt not hold me innocent.  [29] If I be wicked,  why then labour  I in vain?  [30] If I wash  snow water,  and make my hands  so clean;  [31] Yet  shalt thou plunge  me in the ditch,  and mine own clothes  shall abhor  [32] For he is not a man,  as I am, that I should answer  him, and we should come  together  in judgment.  [33] Neither is  there any daysman  betwixt us, that might lay  his hand  upon us both.  [34] his rod  away  from me, and let not his fear  terrify  [35] Then would I speak,  and not fear 

What does Job 9:25-35 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

In short, Job believed it was useless for him to try to prove himself upright since God seemed determined to punish him.
The Book of Job uses legal terms and metaphors extensively in the sections that deal with Job"s disputes with God. Job had previously served as a judge in his town ( Job 29:7-17), and he wanted justice (Heb. mispat) from God. [1] Therefore he used legal terminology frequently in his dialogues. These legal metaphors are one of the key features of the book since they help us identify its purpose. [2]
Job"s frustration, expressed in Job 9:32-33, is understandable since God was both his legal adversary and his judge. This accounts for his urgent yet hopeless cry for a neutral party (mediator, umpire) to arbitrate a settlement between himself and God. In the ancient Near East this arbitrator was a judge whose verdict was more often a settlement proposal that the litigants could either accept or reject (cf. Job 13:7-12; Job 16:18-21. [3] Job had no hope of receiving justice from God-only mercy ( Job 9:34). He felt that since God was so great, he could not vindicate himself.
"This is the persistent problem, the real problem of the book: not the problem of suffering, to be solved intellectually by supplying a satisfactory answer which explains why it happened; but the attainment of a right relationship with God which makes existence in suffering holy and acceptable." [4]
""I am not like that in myself" ( Job 9:35) means "that is not the way it is with regard to my case."" [5]