Job 9:16
New International Version
Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing.

New Living Translation
And even if I summoned him and he responded, I’m not sure he would listen to me.

English Standard Version
If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.

Berean Standard Bible
If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice.

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

New King James Version
If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.

New American Standard Bible
“If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.

NASB 1995
“If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.

NASB 1977
“If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.

Legacy Standard Bible
If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was giving ear to my voice.

Amplified Bible
“If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.

Christian Standard Bible
If I summoned him and he answered me, I do not believe he would pay attention to what I said.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would pay attention to what I said.

American Standard Version
If I had called, and he had answered me, Yet would I not believe that he hearkened unto my voice.

Contemporary English Version
And if God came into court when I called him, he would not hear my case.

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
If I cried out and he answered me, I do not believe that he would listen to me.

Good News Translation
Yet even then, if he lets me speak, I can't believe he would listen to me.

International Standard Version
"Were I to be summoned, and he were to answer me, I wouldn't even believe that he was listening to what I have to say.

Majority Standard Bible
If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice.

NET Bible
If I summoned him, and he answered me, I would not believe that he would be listening to my voice--

New Heart English Bible
If I had called, and he had answered me, yet I wouldn't believe that he listened to my voice.

Webster's Bible Translation
If I had called, and he had answered me; yet I would not believe that he had hearkened to my voice.

World English Bible
If I had called, and he had answered me, yet I wouldn’t believe that he listened to my voice.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Though I had called and He answers me, I do not believe that He gives ear [to] my voice.

Young's Literal Translation
Though I had called and He answereth me, I do not believe that He giveth ear to my voice.

Smith's Literal Translation
If I called and he will answer me, I shall not believe that he will give ear to my voice.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And if he should hear me when I call, I should not believe that he had heard my voice.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And if he should listen to me when I call, I would not believe that he had heard my voice.

New American Bible
If I appealed to him and he answered me, I could not believe that he would listen to me;

New Revised Standard Version
If I summoned him and he answered me, I do not believe that he would listen to my voice.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
If I had called, and he had answered me, yet I would not believe that he had hearkened to my voice.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
If I called and he answered me, still I would not believe that he heard my voice
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
If I had called, and He had answered me; Yet would I not believe that He would hearken unto my voice--

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And if I should call and he should not hearken, I cannot believe that he has listened to my voice.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job: How Can I Argue with God?
15For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy. 16If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice. 17For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.…

Cross References
Psalm 66:18-20
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. / But God has surely heard; He has attended to the sound of my prayer. / Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld from me His loving devotion!

Isaiah 1:15
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.

Lamentations 3:8
Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.

Psalm 22:2
I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.

Psalm 18:41
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.

Isaiah 59:1-2
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. / But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.

Proverbs 15:29
The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.

Psalm 34:15-16
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry. / But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to wipe out all memory of them from the earth.

Psalm 145:18-19
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth. / He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.

Jeremiah 11:11
Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them.

Matthew 7:7-8
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. / For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

John 9:31
We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will.

1 John 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. / And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.

James 4:3
And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

1 Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”


Treasury of Scripture

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

If I had

Psalm 18:6
In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

Psalm 66:18-20
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: …

Psalm 116:1,2
I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications…

would I

Job 29:24
If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down.

Exodus 6:9
And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

Judges 6:13
And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

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














If I summoned Him
In the context of Job, this phrase reflects Job's desire to call upon God for a direct audience. Job is in the midst of his suffering and seeks to understand the reasons behind his afflictions. The idea of summoning God highlights the ancient Near Eastern practice where individuals sought divine intervention or answers through prayer or ritual. This reflects Job's deep yearning for a personal encounter with God, similar to the patriarchs like Abraham, who had direct communication with God (Genesis 18).

and He answered me
Job expresses a hypothetical situation where God responds to his call. This reflects Job's understanding of God's sovereignty and the belief that God is capable of responding to human pleas. In the broader biblical narrative, God often answers His people, as seen in the stories of Moses (Exodus 3) and Elijah (1 Kings 19). However, Job's situation is unique because he feels unheard despite his righteousness, which is a central theme in the book.

I do not believe He would listen to my voice
Here, Job reveals his deep sense of despair and doubt. Despite his faith, he struggles with the belief that God would truly listen to him. This sentiment is echoed in other parts of Scripture where individuals feel abandoned or unheard by God, such as in the Psalms (Psalm 22:1-2). Job's statement also foreshadows the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ as the mediator between God and humanity (1 Timothy 2:5), providing assurance that God hears the cries of His people. This reflects the human condition of feeling distant from God, yet it also points to the hope of reconciliation and understanding through Christ.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Job
A man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He is the central figure in the Book of Job, experiencing intense suffering and questioning the justice and presence of God.

2. God
The Almighty Creator, whom Job is addressing in his lament. Job is expressing his struggle to understand God's ways and his own suffering.

3. Job's Suffering
The context of this verse is Job's immense suffering, having lost his wealth, children, and health. This suffering prompts his deep questioning and dialogue with God.
Teaching Points
Understanding God's Sovereignty
Job's struggle highlights the mystery of God's sovereignty. We must acknowledge that God's ways are beyond our understanding, and trust in His ultimate wisdom and justice.

The Reality of Human Doubt
Job's expression of doubt is a common human experience. It is important to bring our doubts and questions to God, trusting that He is big enough to handle them.

The Importance of Faith in Trials
Even when we feel unheard, like Job, we are called to maintain faith. Our relationship with God is not based on our circumstances but on His unchanging nature.

The Role of Lament in Faith
Lament is a biblical way to process pain and suffering. It allows us to express our deepest emotions to God, paving the way for healing and restoration.

The Assurance of God's Presence
Unlike Job, we have the assurance of God's presence through the Holy Spirit. This should encourage us to approach God with confidence, knowing He hears us.Verse 16. - If I had called, and he had answered me. "If," that is, "I had challenged God to a controversy, and he had granted it, and bidden me to plead my cause at his bar, yet could I not suppose that he had really hearkened to me, and would allow me boldly to stand up before him and freely to challenge his doings. Such condescension on his part, such an abnegation of his supremacy, is inconceivable, and could not have acted on it." Yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice; rather, yet could I not believe. It was not that he would not have wished, but that he would not have been able, to believe.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
If
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

I summoned Him
קָרָ֥אתִי (qā·rā·ṯî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7121: To call, proclaim, read

and He answered me,
וַֽיַּעֲנֵ֑נִי (way·ya·‘ă·nê·nî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singular
Strong's 6030: To answer, respond

I do not
לֹֽא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

believe
אַ֝אֲמִ֗ין (’a·’ă·mîn)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 539: To confirm, support

He would listen
יַאֲזִ֥ין (ya·’ă·zîn)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 238: To broaden out the ear, to listen

to my voice.
קוֹלִֽי׃ (qō·w·lî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6963: A voice, sound


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OT Poetry: Job 9:16 If I had called and he had (Jb)
Job 9:15
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