Job 9 Study Notes: Job Longs for a Mediator
Job asks how any mortal could be in the right before God, whose wisdom and power rule mountains, sea and stars. He feels unable to argue his case, charges that God ruins innocent and guilty alike, and laments that no one stands between him and God to settle the dispute.
General
In 9:4-10, Job describes God’s work in creation. What does this passage stress?
Answer: God’s wisdom and power are so great that no one can resist Him
Job describes God as having a wise heart and great strength, and asks who has ever resisted Him and come out well (9:4). God moves mountains, shakes the earth, commands the sun, seals up the stars, spreads out the heavens by Himself and walks on the sea’s waves (9:5-8). He made the constellations — the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades — and does wonders too great to count (9:9-10). Job’s words echo Eliphaz’s earlier description of God (5:9), and later the LORD Himself asks Job whether he can tie up the Pleiades or untie Orion (38:31). The prophet Amos also praises the LORD as the Maker of those same stars (Amos 5:8). For Job this power is part of his problem: how could anyone argue his case with such a God?
- Job 9:4-10 (BSB)“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered? He moves mountains without their knowledge and overturns them in His anger. He shakes the earth from its place, so that its foundations tremble. He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off 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, of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number.”Job describes God’s wisdom and strength in moving mountains, shaking the earth, ruling the sky and sea, and making the constellations.
- Job 5:9 (BSB)“the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.”Eliphaz had used nearly the same words about God’s great and countless wonders.
- Job 38:31 (BSB)“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?”The LORD later asks Job whether he can tie up the Pleiades or untie Orion.
- Amos 5:8 (BSB)“He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth—the LORD is His name—”Amos praises the LORD as the One who made the Pleiades and Orion.
Theological
What is the main emphasis of Job’s hymn to God’s power in creation (9:4-10)?
Answer: God’s wisdom and power are so great that no one can resist Him
Job extols God as wise in mind and vast in power, asking who has ever opposed Him and come out unharmed (9:4). God overturns mountains, makes the earth’s foundations tremble, commands the sun, seals up the stars, alone spreads the sky and walks upon the sea (9:5-8); He made the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades and works wonders past counting (9:9-10). The language echoes Eliphaz (5:9) and anticipates the LORD’s own questions to Job about those very constellations (38:31), and Amos likewise praises the LORD as their Maker (Amos 5:8). For Job, however, divine omnipotence sharpens his dilemma: such a God cannot be summoned to court.
- Job 9:4-10 (BSB)“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered? He moves mountains without their knowledge and overturns them in His anger. He shakes the earth from its place, so that its foundations tremble. He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off 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, of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number.”Job describes God’s wisdom and strength in moving mountains, shaking the earth, ruling the sky and sea, and making the constellations.
- Job 5:9 (BSB)“the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.”Eliphaz had used nearly the same words about God’s great and countless wonders.
- Job 38:31 (BSB)“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?”The LORD later asks Job whether he can tie up the Pleiades or untie Orion.
- Amos 5:8 (BSB)“He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth—the LORD is His name—”Amos praises the LORD as the One who made the Pleiades and Orion.
General
After agreeing in 9:2 that what has been said is so, what question does Job raise?
Answer: How a mere human being could ever be in the right before God
Job grants that what has been said is so, but he presses a deeper problem: how could any mortal stand in the right before God? Anyone who tried to argue a case against God would be unable to reply to Him even once in a thousand times (9:2-3). Eliphaz had reported a voice in a vision asking a similar question, whether any mortal could be purer than his Maker (4:17). For Job the problem is that no one could win a case against God. Scripture’s fullest answer to his question comes in the gospel. Paul says no one is justified — declared right with God — by doing what the law requires (Romans 3:20). Instead, though everyone has sinned, sinners are declared right with God as a free gift of His grace, because Christ Jesus redeemed them (Romans 3:23-24).
- Job 9:1-3 (BSB)“Then Job answered: “Yes, I know that it is so, but how can a mortal be righteous before God? If one wished to contend with God, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.”Job grants the point but asks how a mortal can be righteous before God, since no one could answer Him.
- Job 4:17 (BSB)“‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker?”Eliphaz reports a voice in a vision asking whether a mortal could be more righteous or pure than his Maker.
- Romans 3:20 (BSB)“Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.”Paul says no one is justified in God’s sight by works of the law.
- Romans 3:23-24 (BSB)“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”Paul says all have sinned, yet sinners are justified freely by God’s grace through Christ’s redemption.
Theological
Having conceded the point in 9:2, what question does Job pose?
Answer: How a mere human being could ever be in the right before God
Job concedes the point just made but sharpens the dilemma: how can mortal man be just before God? Were one to contend with Him, he would fail to answer once in a thousand (9:2-3). Eliphaz had reported a voice in his vision posing a cognate question about whether man could be purer than his Maker (4:17). The question receives its full answer only in the gospel: no one is justified before God by doing what the law requires (Romans 3:20), but all who have sinned are justified as a free gift of grace on the ground of Christ Jesus’s redeeming work (Romans 3:23-24) — a righteousness given, not achieved.
- Job 9:1-3 (BSB)“Then Job answered: “Yes, I know that it is so, but how can a mortal be righteous before God? If one wished to contend with God, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.”Job grants the point but asks how a mortal can be righteous before God, since no one could answer Him.
- Job 4:17 (BSB)“‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker?”Eliphaz reports a voice in a vision asking whether a mortal could be more righteous or pure than his Maker.
- Romans 3:20 (BSB)“Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.”Paul says no one is justified in God’s sight by works of the law.
- Romans 3:23-24 (BSB)“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”Paul says all have sinned, yet sinners are justified freely by God’s grace through Christ’s redemption.
General
What bold claim does Job make about God in 9:22-24?
Answer: That God brings ruin on innocent and guilty alike
Job says that even if he were righteous his own mouth would condemn him, and that he despises his life (9:20-21). Then he declares that it makes no difference: God ruins the innocent along with the wicked, laughs at the hopelessness of the innocent when disaster strikes, hands the earth to the wicked and covers the eyes of its judges — and if not God, who else (9:22-24)? Job holds firmly that God rules over everything, but in his pain he charges God with injustice. The LORD later confronts this, asking whether Job would condemn God in order to justify himself (40:8). Abraham, by contrast, had appealed to God’s justice, trusting that He would not treat righteous and wicked alike (Genesis 18:25). Even so, the LORD says Job spoke of Him accurately, unlike his friends (42:7).
- Job 9:22-24 (BSB)“It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?”Job charges that God destroys both the blameless and the wicked and hands the earth to the wicked.
- Job 40:8 (BSB)“Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?”The LORD asks whether Job would condemn Him in order to justify himself.
- Genesis 18:25 (BSB)“Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?””Abraham appeals to God not to treat the righteous and the wicked alike.
- Job 42:7 (BSB)“After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has.”The LORD still says Job spoke of Him accurately, unlike the friends.
Theological
What accusation does Job level against God in 9:22-24?
Answer: That God brings ruin on innocent and guilty alike
Job insists that his own mouth would condemn him even if he were righteous, and he loathes his life (9:20-21). He then concludes that it is all one: God destroys innocent and guilty alike, derides the anguish of the guiltless in sudden calamity, surrenders the earth to the wicked and blinds its judges — and if not He, who (9:22-24)? Job’s grip on divine sovereignty is firm, but here he impugns divine justice. The LORD later confronts precisely this, asking whether Job would condemn Him to justify himself (40:8), whereas Abraham appealed to God’s justice not to treat righteous and wicked alike (Genesis 18:25). Yet the LORD still vindicates Job’s speech over the friends’ (42:7).
- Job 9:22-24 (BSB)“It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?”Job charges that God destroys both the blameless and the wicked and hands the earth to the wicked.
- Job 40:8 (BSB)“Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?”The LORD asks whether Job would condemn Him in order to justify himself.
- Genesis 18:25 (BSB)“Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?””Abraham appeals to God not to treat the righteous and the wicked alike.
- Job 42:7 (BSB)“After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has.”The LORD still says Job spoke of Him accurately, unlike the friends.
General
What does Job lament in 9:32-33?
Answer: He has nobody to stand between him and God and touch both
Job says God is not a human being as he is, so the two of them cannot meet as equals in a court case (9:32). He longs for someone to stand between them — a mediator, a go-between who could lay a hand on both God and Job and settle the case (9:33). Later Job voices hope that he has a witness and advocate in heaven (16:19-21). Many Christians have seen Job’s longing answered in Christ: Paul writes that God is one, and only one mediates between God and people, Christ Jesus, Himself a man (1 Timothy 2:5).
- Job 9:32-33 (BSB)“For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court. Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both.”Job says God is not a man he can face in court, and there is no mediator to lay a hand on them both.
- Job 16:19-21 (BSB)“Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high. My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God. Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!”Later Job voices hope that he has a witness and advocate in heaven.
- 1 Timothy 2:5 (BSB)“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”Paul says there is one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus.
Theological
What lack does Job lament in 9:32-33?
Answer: He has nobody to stand between him and God and touch both
Job reasons that God is not human as he is, so they cannot face each other in a court of law (9:32); there is no mediator between them to lay a hand on both and adjudicate (9:33). Later Job voices hope of a witness and advocate on high (16:19-21). Many Christians have seen Job’s longing answered in Christ, whom Paul names as the sole mediator standing between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, Himself a man (1 Timothy 2:5).
- Job 9:32-33 (BSB)“For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court. Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both.”Job says God is not a man he can face in court, and there is no mediator to lay a hand on them both.
- Job 16:19-21 (BSB)“Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high. My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God. Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!”Later Job voices hope that he has a witness and advocate in heaven.
- 1 Timothy 2:5 (BSB)“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”Paul says there is one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus.
General
According to 9:14-15, what does Job say he could do even if he were in the right before God?
Answer: Beg for mercy from the One who judges him
Job sees no way to win an argument with God. Even if he were right, he would have no reply; all he could do would be to plead for mercy from his Judge (9:14-15). Even if God answered when Job called, Job doubts He would listen, since He crushes him with a storm and adds wound to wound for no reason (9:16-17). God leaves him no time to catch his breath, and whether the issue is strength or justice, no one can call God into court (9:18-19). David likewise asked God not to put him on trial, because no one living is righteous before Him (Psalm 143:2). Job doubts he will be heard, yet in the end the LORD does answer him from the whirlwind (38:1). The New Testament shows that God is ready to give mercy: because their High Priest understands human weakness, believers may come boldly to God’s gracious throne (Hebrews 4:15-16).
- Job 9:14-17 (BSB)“How then can I answer Him or choose my arguments against Him? For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy. If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice. For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.”Job says that even if he were right he could only beg his Judge for mercy, and doubts God would listen.
- Psalm 143:2 (BSB)“Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous before You.”David asks God not to bring him into judgment, since no one living is righteous before Him.
- Job 38:1 (BSB)“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:”The LORD does answer Job out of the whirlwind.
- Hebrews 4:15-16 (BSB)“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”Believers may approach God’s throne with confidence to receive mercy.
Theological
According to 9:14-15, what is the only recourse Job sees open to him, even if he were in the right?
Answer: Beg for mercy from the One who judges him
Job despairs of litigating with God: though in the right he would have no reply, but could only make supplication to his Judge (9:14-15). Even were God to respond to his summons, Job doubts He would heed him, since He batters him with a storm and multiplies his wounds without cause (9:16-17); He gives Job no respite, and in strength or in justice no one can summon Him (9:18-19). David’s prayer likewise renounces a trial before God, since no one living is righteous before Him (Psalm 143:2). Job’s doubt is answered when the LORD speaks to him from the whirlwind (38:1), and Hebrews presents God’s gracious throne, approached through a sympathetic High Priest, as the place where mercy is found (Hebrews 4:15-16).
- Job 9:14-17 (BSB)“How then can I answer Him or choose my arguments against Him? For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy. If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice. For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.”Job says that even if he were right he could only beg his Judge for mercy, and doubts God would listen.
- Psalm 143:2 (BSB)“Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous before You.”David asks God not to bring him into judgment, since no one living is righteous before Him.
- Job 38:1 (BSB)“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:”The LORD does answer Job out of the whirlwind.
- Hebrews 4:15-16 (BSB)“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”Believers may approach God’s throne with confidence to receive mercy.
General
What does Job ask for in 9:34-35 so that he could speak freely?
Answer: That God would take away His rod so dread no longer silenced him
Job asks God to take away His rod, so that the terror of God would stop frightening him; then he could speak without being afraid (9:34-35). As things are, he says, he is left on his own (9:35). Job makes the same request later, asking God to withdraw His hand and to stop overwhelming him with dread (13:21). In the end the LORD does speak with Job from the whirlwind (38:1), and Job, having met Him, says that now he has seen God, and he repents in humility (42:5-6).
- Job 9:34-35 (BSB)“Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me. Then I would speak without fear of Him. But as it is, I am on my own.”Job asks God to remove His rod so that he could speak without fear.
- Job 13:21 (BSB)“Withdraw Your hand from me, and do not let Your terror frighten me.”Job makes the same request later, asking God to withdraw His hand and His terror.
- Job 38:1 (BSB)“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:”The LORD does speak to Job out of the whirlwind.
- Job 42:5-6 (BSB)“My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes.””After hearing the LORD, Job says he has now seen Him and repents.
Theological
What condition does Job set in 9:34-35 for being able to speak?
Answer: That God would take away His rod so dread no longer silenced him
Job asks that God remove His rod and that the dread of Him cease to terrify him, so that he might speak without fear (9:34-35); as matters stand, he is alone (9:35). He renews the plea later, asking God to withdraw His hand and His terror (13:21). The LORD does at last address Job from the whirlwind (38:1), and Job, confronted with Him, confesses that he now sees God and repents in humility (42:5-6).
- Job 9:34-35 (BSB)“Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me. Then I would speak without fear of Him. But as it is, I am on my own.”Job asks God to remove His rod so that he could speak without fear.
- Job 13:21 (BSB)“Withdraw Your hand from me, and do not let Your terror frighten me.”Job makes the same request later, asking God to withdraw His hand and His terror.
- Job 38:1 (BSB)“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:”The LORD does speak to Job out of the whirlwind.
- Job 42:5-6 (BSB)“My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes.””After hearing the LORD, Job says he has now seen Him and repents.
General
In 9:30-31, what does Job say would happen even if he washed himself with snow and lye?
Answer: God would still throw him into a pit and leave him filthy
Job says his days race past like a runner, like boats of reed, like an eagle diving on prey (9:25-26). If he tried to forget his complaint and put on a cheerful face, he would still dread his suffering, sure that God will not count him innocent (9:27-28). Since he is already treated as guilty, he asks why he should struggle for nothing (9:29). Even if he scrubbed himself with snow and cleaned his hands with lye, God would plunge him into a pit until his own clothes loathed him (9:30-31). Job is right that no human washing can make a person clean before God; through Jeremiah the LORD says that washing with lye cannot remove the stain of guilt (Jeremiah 2:22). Yet Scripture also shows the cleansing God Himself gives: He promises that scarlet sins will become white (Isaiah 1:18), and David asks God to wash him whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7).
- Job 9:30-31 (BSB)“If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye, then You would plunge me into the pit, and even my own clothes would despise me.”Job says that however he washed, God would plunge him into the pit.
- Jeremiah 2:22 (BSB)“Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.”The LORD says washing with lye cannot remove the stain of guilt before Him.
- Isaiah 1:18 (BSB)““Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.”The LORD promises that scarlet sins will become white as snow.
- Psalm 51:7 (BSB)“Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”David asks God to wash him so that he will be whiter than snow.
Theological
What does Job say in 9:30-31 would follow even if he cleansed himself with snow and lye?
Answer: God would still throw him into a pit and leave him filthy
Job’s days rush past like a runner, a reed boat and a swooping eagle (9:25-26), and even a resolve to set aside his complaint and brighten his face would not lift his dread, since he is convinced God will not acquit him (9:27-28); condemned already, why labor in vain (9:29)? Were he to wash in snow and scrub his hands with lye, God would plunge him into the pit until his own garments abhorred him (9:30-31). Job rightly sees that no self-cleansing avails before God, as the LORD declares through Jeremiah that lye cannot remove guilt’s stain (Jeremiah 2:22). What man cannot do, God does: He promises to make scarlet sins white (Isaiah 1:18), and David prays to be washed whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7).
- Job 9:30-31 (BSB)“If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye, then You would plunge me into the pit, and even my own clothes would despise me.”Job says that however he washed, God would plunge him into the pit.
- Jeremiah 2:22 (BSB)“Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.”The LORD says washing with lye cannot remove the stain of guilt before Him.
- Isaiah 1:18 (BSB)““Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.”The LORD promises that scarlet sins will become white as snow.
- Psalm 51:7 (BSB)“Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”David asks God to wash him so that he will be whiter than snow.
General
True or False: In 9:11-12, Job says that when God passes by, he can see Him clearly and call Him to account.
Answer: False
This is false. Job says God could pass right by him and move on without Job seeing or perceiving Him (9:11). If God takes something away, no one can stop Him, and no one dares to question what He is doing (9:12). Job had confessed this same rule of God at the start, when he blessed the LORD, who both gives and takes away (1:21). Scripture elsewhere affirms that no one can hold back God’s hand or demand an account of His actions (Daniel 4:35), and Paul asks who a human being is to answer back to God (Romans 9:20). God rules over all things, including loss, while remaining perfectly just.
- Job 9:11-12 (BSB)“Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him. If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’”Job says God passes by unseen and no one can stop Him or question what He does.
- Job 1:21 (BSB)“saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.””Job’s first response to his losses blessed the LORD who gives and takes away.
- Daniel 4:35 (BSB)“All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’””Nebuchadnezzar confesses that no one can restrain God’s hand or question His deeds.
- Romans 9:20 (BSB)“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?””Paul asks who a human being is to answer back to God.
Theological
True or False: In 9:11-12, Job claims that he perceives God clearly as He passes and can hold Him to account.
Answer: False
This is false. Job confesses God’s hiddenness and sovereignty: God passes by unseen and moves on unperceived (9:11); when He seizes, none can turn Him back or demand what He is doing (9:12). Job had confessed the same sovereignty at the outset, blessing the LORD who gives and takes (1:21). Scripture affirms that no creature can stay God’s hand or call Him to account (Daniel 4:35), and Paul rebukes man for answering back to God (Romans 9:20). God’s rule extends over loss and calamity, and He remains righteous in all of it.
- Job 9:11-12 (BSB)“Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him. If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’”Job says God passes by unseen and no one can stop Him or question what He does.
- Job 1:21 (BSB)“saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.””Job’s first response to his losses blessed the LORD who gives and takes away.
- Daniel 4:35 (BSB)“All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’””Nebuchadnezzar confesses that no one can restrain God’s hand or question His deeds.
- Romans 9:20 (BSB)“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?””Paul asks who a human being is to answer back to God.