The Meaning of Job 9:24 Explained

Job 9:24

KJV: The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?

YLT: Earth hath been given Into the hand of the wicked one. The face of its judges he covereth, If not -- where, who is he?

Darby: The earth is given over into the hand of the wicked man; he covereth the faces of its judges. If not, who then is it?

ASV: The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covereth the faces of the judges thereof: If it be not he , who then is it?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The earth  is given  into the hand  of the wicked:  he covereth  the faces  of the judges  thereof; if not, where,  [and] who [is] he? 

What does Job 9:24 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 9:1-35 - "the Daysman"
Ponder the sublimity of the conceptions of God given in this magnificent passage. To God are attributed the earthquake that rocks the pillars on which the world rests, Job 9:6; the eclipse which hides the heavenly bodies, Job 9:7; the storm in which he bows the heavens and treads majestically on the waves, Job 9:8; and the creation of the constellations, Job 9:9. Who can dare to argue with or call to account so great a God as this? Job 9:10-19. Even if a man be outwardly and inwardly righteous (that is, so far as the measure of his light), yet in such a Presence the heart of the most perfect must condemn him. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves"¦. God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." We cannot but feel that this old-world thinker had a truer view of that conscious imperfection and sin which must be experienced by every mortal who has a right appreciation of the holiness of God, than have those who refuse to say the Lord's Prayer because it contains a petition for forgiveness!
Truly we need that Daysman! But we have Him in Jesus our Mediator, who can lay His hand on God and us, Job 9:33; 1 Timothy 2:5. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 9

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

What do the individual words in Job 9:24 mean?

The earth is given into the hand of the wicked the faces of its judges He covers if it is not [He] else who [is] it
אֶ֤רֶץ ׀ נִתְּנָ֬ה בְֽיַד־ רָשָׁ֗ע פְּנֵֽי־ שֹׁפְטֶ֥יהָ יְכַסֶּ֑ה אִם־ לֹ֖א אֵפ֣וֹא מִי־ ؟ הֽוּא

אֶ֤רֶץ ׀  The  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
נִתְּנָ֬ה  is  given 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
בְֽיַד־  into  the  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
רָשָׁ֗ע  of  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
פְּנֵֽי־  the  faces 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
שֹׁפְטֶ֥יהָ  of  its  judges 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁפַט  
Sense: to judge, govern, vindicate, punish.
יְכַסֶּ֑ה  He  covers 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּסָה  
Sense: to cover, conceal, hide.
לֹ֖א  it  is  not  [He] 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
אֵפ֣וֹא  else 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אֵפֹוא  
Sense: then, now, so.
؟ הֽוּא  [is]  it 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.