Big Idea: Job wants God to declare him righteous, but he cannot envision how to bring this about.

Understanding the Text

In chapters 9 and 10, Job takes up the challenge made by Bildad in 8:5 to plead with the Almighty. As he contemplates this possibility, Job focuses on his legal status before God. In this speech he begins to work out in his mind how he might approach God with his situation, and how God might respond to him. In his soliloquy in chapter 9, Job turns over in his mind whether he should enter a legal complaint as a plaintiff against God (cf. Jer. 12:1–4), because God appears to be almost arbitrary in his treatment of humans. As he thinks this through, Job finds himself left with three unsatisfying alternatives. Job could drop his complaint against God (9:27–28), but then he…