Job 9:17 · Bible study
Job 9:17 Commentary: Storm, Wounds, Cry of 'Without Cause'
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Examine Job's raw lament: crushed by a storm, wounded without cause. Explores the rare Hebrew verb 'shuph', the term 'chinam', and links to Genesis 3:15.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Job feels crushed by God's overwhelming power (storm) and multiplied afflictions, all for no discernible reason, a protest against the assumption that suffering always corresponds to sin.
- Key words: Shuph (crush), rare verb linking to Genesis 3:15 and Psalm 139; se'arah (tempest), echoes Job 1:19; chinam (without cause), same word God uses in Job 2:3.
- Main debate: Does 'without cause' mean no cause at all (Job's feeling) or no cause known to him (theological possibility)? Commentators diverge on whether Job is accusing God of arbitrary force or simply expressing incomprehension.
- Theological theme: The mystery of innocent suffering; the right to lament; God's sovereignty and the human longing for a mediator (v. 33).
- Best use: Counsel for those in deep trial who feel unheard; preaching on the honesty of lament; small-group study on theodicy and the Book of Job.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.
WEB World English Bible 2000
For he breaks me with a storm, and multiplies my wounds without cause.
KJV King James Version 1769
For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
For he breaketh me with a tempest, And multiplieth my wounds without cause.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Because with a tempest He bruiseth me, And hath multiplied my wounds for nought.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
He, who crusheth me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
For he shall crush me in a whirlwind, and multiply my wounds even without cause.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Porque me ha quebrado con tempestad, y ha aumentado mis heridas sin causa.
Pois ele tem me quebrantado com tempestade, e multiplicado minhas feridas sem causa.
Lui qui m’ assaille comme par une tempête,
Denn er fährt über mich mit Ungestüm und macht mir Wunden viel ohne Ursache.
Want Hij vermorzelt mij door een onweder, en vermenigvuldigt mijn wonden zonder oorzaak.
egli che mi piomba addosso dal seno della tempesta, che moltiplica senza motivo le mie piaghe,
Bo mię starł w wichrze, i rozmnożył rany moje bez przyczyny;
Кто в вихре разит меня и умножает безвинно мои раны,
他 用暴風 折斷我，無故地 加增 我的損傷。
For I would be crushed by his storm, my wounds would be increased without cause.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Job 9:17
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The commentators broadly agree that Job 9:17 gives voice to Job's experience of God as an overwhelming, untamed force. Barnes notes that Job pictures God acting not as a judge bound by law but as a sovereign whose will is final, and this terrifies him. Gill clarifies that 'without cause' does not mean God has no reason at all; it means Job knows no sin that warrants this degree of affliction. The Cambridge Bible stresses that Job is describing what would happen if God actually answered his summons, the storm and wounds are a hypothetical drawn from his real pain. Keil and Delitzsch focus on the rare verb shuph, 'to crush,' which appears only here, in Genesis 3:15, and Psalm 139:11. They argue it carries the sense of violent shattering, not merely bruising. The storm (se'arah) likely echoes the wind that killed Job's children (Job 1:19), as Gill suggests. Matthew Henry sees the verse as Job's despair over any chance of a fair hearing before so powerful a God. All agree that the line is not a doctrinal statement about God's character but a raw, honest cry from within suffering that feels senseless.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Hyperbole of despair: Job is not making a theological statement but expressing how it feels: the suffering seems pointless. This view emphasizes the genre of lament and the emotional register of the book.
- Assertion of innocence and divine hiddenness: Job insists his suffering has no cause in sin — this aligns with God's own declaration in Job 2:3. The mystery of God's hidden will is the theme, not irrational despair.
- Sovereignty without law (problematic view): Barnes suggests Job errs by concluding God acts arbitrarily as a sovereign without regard for justice; this view critiques Job but admits he speaks from limited perspective.
What is clear: The verse reveals Job's raw conviction that his affliction feels both overwhelming and undeserved, and it uses the same vocabulary ('without cause') that God Himself used in the heavenly prologue, anchoring the lament in a divinely affirmed innocence.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'without cause' (chinam) | All traditions recognize that Job is insisting his suffering is not a direct punishment for specific sins, and that the word reflects Job's sense of injustice. | Catholic and mainline Protestant commentators tend to emphasize that God always has a hidden purpose, so 'without cause' reflects Job's limited perspective. Evangelical and Reformed writers often stress that Job's claim is objectively correct (as God affirms in Job 1, 2), but they differ on whether this implies God acts arbitrarily or according to a larger wisdom unknown to humans. |
| The verb 'shuph' (crush) and connection to Genesis 3:15 | Most agree the verb is rare (only three occurrences) and that it carries the sense of violent bruising or crushing. | Some (Keil and Delitzsch) see a deliberate link to the messianic promise of Genesis 3:15, interpreting Job's cry as unwittingly echoing the language of the protoevangelium. Others see only a lexical coincidence, arguing the context in Job is about personal anguish, not cosmic conflict. |
| Whether this verse describes present or hypothetical suffering | The Cambridge Bible and several others note that grammatically the verbs are future or hypothetical (what God <em>would</em> do if He answered). | Many expositors (e.g., Matthew Henry, Wesley) read the verse as describing Job's actual current experience. The difference affects whether Job is describing past calamity or warning about the impossibility of a fair hearing in court with God. |
| Job's view of God's justice vs. sovereignty | Job clearly feels that God's power overwhelms any possibility of a fair dispute. The attribute of sovereignty is acknowledged by all. | Some (Barnes) argue Job wrongly concludes that sovereignty means caprice; others (Gill, Calvin) defend Job as expressing a proper sense of human limitation, not accusing God of injustice. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Job 9:17 sits in Job's first cycle of speeches, his response to Bildad's accusation that God does not pervert justice (Job 8:3). The wider context shows Job wrestling with a core Ancient Near Eastern assumption: suffering results from personal sin. Job's friends hold this axiom tightly. Job cannot. He knows his own integrity, yet his losses and physical agony are extreme, he has lost children, wealth, health, and social standing.
The image of a 'tempest' (se'arah) would resonate powerfully in Job's world. Spring and autumn storms in the Mesopotamian steppe come suddenly, stripped of warning, and can destroy tents, herds, and lives. The particular storm that killed Job's ten children (Job 1:19) is described with the same word. By using 'tempest' again, Job may be intentionally recalling that event, God's first blow, and now adding 'multiplied wounds,' a reference to the painful sores that cover his body (Job 2:7).
The phrase 'without cause' (chinam) is loaded. In law, it means 'gratis' or 'for nothing', as when a person suffers loss that is not recompensed. But God Himself used exactly this word in Job 2:3, telling Satan that Job was ruined 'without cause' (chinam), meaning not that Job deserved nothing, but that the affliction was not triggered by any sin. Job now picks up that same word, almost as if he is quoting God back to God. He is not saying God is unjust; he is saying the suffering makes no sense to him, and that is precisely the mystery the book of Job refuses to resolve cheaply.
Textual Notes
The Hebrew text of Job 9:17 is stable across the Masoretic tradition. The ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Vulgate) all support the reading 'crush' for shuph and 'tempest' for se'arah. No significant textual variants are noted in the consulted sources. The LXX uses ἐκτρίψῃ ('grind down'), which Keil and Delitzsch cite as supporting the meaning 'crush' over alternative proposals like 'pant after.'
Reception History
In the early church, Job 9:17 was read as a testimony to the overwhelming majesty of God that leaves human beings silent and dependent on grace. Gregory the Great, in his Moralia in Job (late sixth century), used this verse to explore how even the righteous experience God's discipline as a storm. Medieval commentators saw the storm as a figure of divine judgment that purified the soul. During the Reformation, Luther and Calvin both drew on this verse to argue that suffering does not always indicate divine wrath; sometimes God hides His purposes. In modern times, the verse has been cited in theodicy discussions (e.g., by C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain) as an example of honest complaint that does not cross into blasphemy. The phrase 'without cause' has been a key term in debates over whether suffering can ever be truly undeserved from a human perspective, even while God's justice remains perfect.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Storm of Suffering, Job describes God's action as a tempest: sudden, powerful, and destructive. When pain hits without warning, we feel overwhelmed and powerless. This point acknowledges that honest faith includes moments of feeling crushed.
- Multiplied Wounds, The afflictions are not single but cumulative: loss, grief, physical pain, isolation, accusation from friends. Job's wounds multiply. So do ours when suffering compounds. The point names the reality that trials often come in waves.
- The Cry of ‘Without Cause’, Job insists his suffering is undeserved, echoing God's own description in Job 2:3. This is not a claim to perfect sinlessness but a protest against a simplistic equation of suffering with sin. It opens space for lament that does not accuse God of injustice but refuses easy answers.
Five-point outline
- God’s Overwhelming Power (Job 9:17a)
- The Accumulation of Affliction (Job 9:17b)
- No Room to Breathe (v. 18)
- Silence from Heaven (v. 16, Job doubts he would be heard)
- The Longing for a Mediator (v. 33, the daysman who could arbitrate)
Illustration hooks
- A car accident that comes without warning, followed by months of medical bills and lost work, the initial crash is the storm, and the complications are the multiplied wounds.
- A public accusation at work that damages a reputation built over years, and the person knows they are innocent. The 'tempest' is the false charge; the 'wounds' are the ongoing fallout.
- Chronic illness that flairs up repeatedly, each new symptom is another wound, and the person wonders what caused it, searching for a reason that never comes.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it okay to tell God that my suffering feels pointless or unfair?
- If I am a Christian, why does God allow things that seem to have no good purpose?
- How do I respond when other believers imply that my suffering is because of hidden sin?
Leading a Discussion
Job 9:17 is a raw, honest outcry from a man who has lost everything and feels crushed by God. He uses language that sounds accusing, 'breaks me with a tempest,' 'multiplies my wounds without cause', yet the book of Job affirms that Job is 'blameless' (Job 1:8). This tension is the heart of the discussion. The group will explore what it means to be honest with God in pain, without pretending to have answers.
Discussion questions
- Read Job 9:17 aloud. What images come to mind when you hear 'storm' and 'wounds'? Why do you think Job chose these particular words?
- Look at Job 2:3, where God says Satan incited him to ruin Job 'without cause.' How does it change your reading of Job 9:17 to know that God Himself used that exact phrase about Job's suffering?
- The Hebrew verb shuph (to crush) appears only three times in the Old Testament: here, Genesis 3:15, and Psalm 139:11. How does knowing that this word is used in the promise about the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15) affect how you hear Job's complaint?
- Job's friends argue that suffering always results from sin. Job disagrees. Where do you see this tension in your own life or community? How do you hold onto both God's justice and the reality of innocent suffering?
- Job says his wounds come 'without cause', does this mean he believes God is unjust? Or is he simply refusing to accept a simple explanation? What do the commentators you've read suggest?
- This verse is part of a larger speech where Job expresses hopelessness about being heard by God (v. 16). Have you ever prayed and felt like God wasn't listening? How does Job's honesty give you permission to express similar feelings?
- How can this passage help someone who is currently in a 'storm', without offering clichés or false comfort? What would it look like to sit with them as Job's friends initially did (Job 2:13) rather than lecturing them?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Job 1:14 | that a messenger came to Job, and said, “The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them, |
| Job 1:19 | and behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young men, and they are dead. I alone have escaped to tell you.” |
| Job 2:3 | Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited me against him, to ruin him without cause.” |
| Job 2:7 | So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head. |
| Job 2:13 | So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great. |
| Job 16:12 | I was at ease, and he broke me apart. Yes, he has taken me by the neck, and dashed me to pieces. He has also set me up for his target. |
| Job 16:14 | He breaks me with breach on breach. He runs at me like a giant. |
| Job 16:17 | although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes the Targum Syriac and Arabic explain that God strikes every hair on the head causing many wounds without reason known to the person or anyone else. This shows there is no apparent cause for the suffering.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights Job's mistaken belief that a sovereign God acts without regard for law, making any plea useless. He corrects this by arguing that in God, sovereignty and law perfectly coincide, so approaching Him as sovereign means expecting supreme rectitude, not arbitrary treatment.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This passage imagines a situation where God does answer Job’s prayer. In that case God would ignore his plea and destroy him with his endless power. It shows what such an outcome would involve.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note emphasizes Job’s complaint that God attacks him with overwhelming, storm-like force and that this suffering feels undeserved. Job sees himself as innocent, so the affliction appears without just cause, highlighting the mystery of unmerited suffering under God's sovereignty.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill explains that Job's description of God breaking him with a tempest points to sudden, overpowering affliction, possibly the storm that killed his children. When Job says these wounds come without cause, he does not claim God acts without reason, but that his friends' accusations of secret sin are false.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch say God’s infinite greatness prevents Him from lowering Himself to answer a human prayer. They explain the Hebrew word for crushing as meaning to strike violently. This view holds that God always has the right even when humans appear innocent.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange observes that Job does not deny the friends’ claims about God’s justice; instead he twists their very logic into a weapon against them. Job transforms their abstract truths into a vision of God as sheer, terrifying power that crushes the innocent arbitrarily. This leaves Job trapped, protesting his innocence before a God he can no longer trust.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry believes Job’s refusal to argue with God comes from seeing his own righteousness as imperfect and fearing God’s displeasure rather than from pride. He sees silence and humility as the only right response.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that the breaking described is sudden, violent, and permanent. He clarifies that the cause of such severe affliction is not that the person is without any fault at all, but that there is no special, extraordinary guilt deserving such extreme punishment—contrary to what Job’s friends accused.