Job 9:29
New International Version
Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?

New Living Translation
Whatever happens, I will be found guilty. So what’s the use of trying?

English Standard Version
I shall be condemned; why then do I labor in vain?

Berean Standard Bible
Since I am already found guilty, why should I labor in vain?

King James Bible
If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?

New King James Version
If I am condemned, Why then do I labor in vain?

New American Standard Bible
“I am guilty, Why then should I struggle in vain?

NASB 1995
“I am accounted wicked, Why then should I toil in vain?

NASB 1977
“I am accounted wicked, Why then should I toil in vain?

Legacy Standard Bible
I am accounted wicked; Why then should I toil in vain?

Amplified Bible
“I am accounted wicked and held guilty; Why then should I labor in vain [to appear innocent]?

Christian Standard Bible
Since I will be found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Since I will be found guilty, why should I labor in vain?

American Standard Version
I shall be condemned; Why then do I labor in vain?

Contemporary English Version
So what's the use of trying to prove my innocence?

English Revised Version
I shall be condemned; why then do I labour in vain?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I've already been found guilty. Why should I work so hard for nothing?

Good News Translation
Since I am held guilty, why should I bother?

International Standard Version
I will be condemned, so why should I wear myself out with this futility?

Majority Standard Bible
Since I am already found guilty, why should I labor in vain?

NET Bible
If I am guilty, why then weary myself in vain?

New Heart English Bible
I shall be condemned. Why then do I labor in vain?

Webster's Bible Translation
If I am wicked, why then do I labor in vain?

World English Bible
I will be condemned. Why then do I labor in vain?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
I become wicked; why [is] this? I labor [in] vain.

Young's Literal Translation
I -- I am become wicked; why is this? In vain I labour.

Smith's Literal Translation
Shall I do evil, wherefore this shall I labor in vain?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
But if so also I am wicked, why have I laboured in vain?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Yet, if I am also just as impious, why have I labored in vain?

New American Bible
It is I who will be accounted guilty; why then should I strive in vain?

New Revised Standard Version
I shall be condemned; why then do I labor in vain?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Behold, if I am declared guilty, why then dost thou consume me in vain?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Behold, if I will be condemned, why do you destroy me as if it were nothing?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
I shall be condemned; Why then do I labour in vain?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But since I am ungodly, why have I not died?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job: How Can I Argue with God?
28I would still dread all my sufferings; I know that You will not acquit me. 29Since I am already found guilty, why should I labor in vain? 30If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,…

Cross References
Romans 3:19-20
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. / Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.

Psalm 143:2
Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous before You.

Galatians 2:16
know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Ecclesiastes 7:20
Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

Isaiah 64:6
Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

Romans 7:18-19
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. / For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do.

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

1 John 1:8-10
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. / If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. / If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.

Romans 8:3
For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,

Isaiah 53:6
We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.

Galatians 3:10-11
All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” / Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”

James 2:10
Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

Romans 4:15
because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.

Psalm 130:3
If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand?


Treasury of Scripture

If I be wicked, why then labor I in vain?

Job 9:22
This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

Job 10:7,14-17
Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand…

Job 21:16,17,27
Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me…

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














Since I am already found guilty
The phrase "Since I am already found guilty" reflects Job's perception of his standing before God. The Hebrew root for "guilty" is "רָשַׁע" (rasha), which conveys a sense of being condemned or declared wicked. In the context of Job's suffering, this phrase underscores his feeling of being unjustly judged by God. Historically, the ancient Near Eastern belief systems often equated suffering with divine disfavor or guilt. Job's lament here is profound, as he feels condemned despite his righteousness. This reflects the broader theological theme of the book: the mystery of suffering and the challenge of maintaining faith amidst perceived divine injustice.

why should I labor in vain?
The phrase "why should I labor in vain?" captures Job's sense of futility. The Hebrew word for "labor" is "עָמַל" (amal), which implies toil or effort. "In vain" translates from "שָׁוְא" (shav), meaning emptiness or worthlessness. Job questions the purpose of striving for righteousness when the outcome seems predetermined and unjust. This sentiment echoes Ecclesiastes' reflections on the vanity of human endeavors. In the conservative Christian perspective, this verse challenges believers to trust in God's ultimate justice and sovereignty, even when immediate circumstances seem to contradict divine fairness. It invites reflection on the nature of faith that persists despite apparent futility, encouraging believers to find hope in God's eternal purposes beyond present trials.

Verse 29. - If I be wicked; rather, I am wicked; i.e. I am accounted so - I am already condemned. The extreme afflictions raider which I suffer indicate that God has passed sentence upon me, and awarded me my punishment. Why then labour I in vain? i.e. Why argue? Why seek to justify myself, since no result is likely to follow? Nothing that I can say will alter God's foregone conclusion.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Since I am
אָנֹכִ֥י (’ā·nō·ḵî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 595: I

already found guilty,
אֶרְשָׁ֑ע (’er·šā‘)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7561: To be, wrong, to disturb, violate

why
לָמָּה־ (lām·māh-)
Preposition-l | Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

should I labor
אִיגָֽע׃ (’î·ḡā‘)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 3021: To gasp, to be exhausted, to tire, to toil

in vain?
הֶ֣בֶל (he·ḇel)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1892: Emptiness, vanity, transitory, unsatisfactory


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OT Poetry: Job 9:29 I shall be condemned (Jb)
Job 9:28
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