Bible Strands
Job 23:6
Would He contend with me in His great power? No, He would certainly take note of me.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job speaks to God directly during his search for a formal hearing amid intense suffering. He voices a conditional request to stand trial before the Almighty.
The words — יָרִ֣יב (ya.Riv) means he will conduct a legal case or contend, and אַךְ (akh) means surely. The verse moves from a question about God’s overwhelming power to a declaration that God will notice the petitioner.
The thread — The struggle between human pleading and divine power runs through Job 9:33, which notes no mediator exists to bridge the gap, and Job 13:21, where Job asks God to withdraw His terrifying presence. The motif of divine power meeting human limitation also surfaces in 2 Corinthians 12:9.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to drop the expectation of winning a legal case against God and accept that divine attention, not human victory, is the only outcome. It demands humility before a sovereign who chooses to notice rather than overwhelm.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.
Cross-references
- Job 9:33 Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both.
- Job 13:21 Withdraw Your hand from me, and do not let Your terror frighten me.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
- Job 9:4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?
- Job 9:19 If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
- Isaiah 27:4 I am not angry. If only thorns and briers confronted Me, I would march and trample them, I would burn them to the ground.
- Isaiah 27:8 By warfare and exile You contended with her and removed her with a fierce wind, as on the day the east wind blows.
- Ezekiel 20:33 As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath I will rule over you.
- Ezekiel 20:35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, where I will enter into judgment with you face to face.
- Psalms 138:3 On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.