Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Job 17:9 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 9. 9The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Job 17:9 closes the thought unit with the words “The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and….” Job states “The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and…” as one poetic claim in Job Sees the Grave Near but Still Seeks a Pledge.
Breath is broken, mockers remain, and burial is already in view
This verse is one part of that explanation in Job 17:1–17:9. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Job 17:1–17:9
Read Job 17:9 with 17:1–17:9. Read alone, “The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and…” could lose its speaker, the question or claim it develops, and the unit's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Job describes broken breath, mockers, burial readiness, and social disgrace, yet asks God to provide the pledge no human will give.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Job continues from Job 16:17–16:22: Job maintains that violence is not in his hands, calls the earth not to cover his blood, and imagines a witness or advocate in heaven before his few remaining years end. Job 17:1–17:9 now develops the next distinct movement: Job describes broken breath, mockers, burial readiness, and social disgrace, yet asks God to provide the pledge no human will give. Within that relationship, Job 17:9 closes the thought unit through “The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and….”
Read Job 17:1–9 together
Why these verses belong together: Job 17:1–17:9 follows the pinned KJV paragraphing and holds together one sustained speech movement: “Job Sees the Grave Near but Still Seeks a Pledge.” The next unit begins with a new stanza, question sequence, scene, speaker response, or rhetorical turn.
Verse 1. 1 My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me.
Verse 2. 2 Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation?
Verse 3. 3 Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me?
Verse 4. 4 For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.
Verse 5. 5 He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.
Verse 6. 6 He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret.
Verse 7. 7 Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow.
Verse 8. 8 Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite.
Verse 9. 9 The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
What Remains True
Job describes broken breath, mockers, burial readiness, and social disgrace, yet asks God to provide the pledge no human will give. Hope and mortality questions should be preserved at the strength the wording supports, distinguishing Job's immediate horizon from later canonical reception. Job 17:9 carries that bounded truth through “The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and….”
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Job 17:1–17:9 — Job Sees the Grave Near but Still Seeks a PledgeSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Job 17:1–17:9, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Job
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Job.xml, OSIS 17:1–17:9
Open the fixed Hebrew Job file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Job
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Job's difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, textual issues, speech boundaries, and alternatives in Job 17:1–17:9.
Exact location: Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 17:1–17:9
Open the official NET Job PDF ↗