Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Job 40:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Job 40:8 advances the thought unit with the words “Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?.” The LORD frames the second challenge around judgment, self-justification, and condemning God.
Read It With
- Job 40:6–40:14
Read Job 40:8 with 40:6–40:14. Read alone, “Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?” could lose its speaker, the question or claim it develops, and the unit's outcome. The complete movement establishes: The LORD resumes from the whirlwind, asks whether Job will condemn God to justify himself, and challenges Job to abase every proud and wicked person by his own power.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The second divine challenge moves from Job's silence to justice and human governing capacity, then tests mastery through Behemoth and Leviathan. Within that relationship, Job 40:8 advances the thought unit through “Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?.”
Read Job 40:6–14 together
Why these verses belong together: Job 40:6–40:14 follows the pinned KJV paragraphing and holds together one sustained divine-speech movement: “The LORD Tests Job's Capacity to Govern Justice.” The next unit begins with a new stanza, question sequence, scene, speaker response, or rhetorical turn.
Verse 6. 6 Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Verse 7. 7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Verse 8. 8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
Verse 9. 9 Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
Verse 10. 10 Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.
Verse 11. 11 Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.
Verse 12. 12 Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.
Verse 13. 13 Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret.
Verse 14. 14 Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.
Follow the Context
- Identify the LORD's stated claim in Job 40:6–40:14.
- The LORD resumes from the whirlwind, asks whether Job will condemn God to justify himself, and challenges Job to abase every proud and wicked person by his own power.
- Keep this interpretive control visible: The challenge makes governance and justice central, yet interpretations differ on whether it rebukes Job's charge, exposes human limits, or raises further moral difficulty.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Job 40:8 does not permit “Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?” to be detached from its named speaker and complete thought unit. Job 40:8 does not prove that every question Job asked was sinful or that the friends were correct.
What Remains True
The second divine speech names justice directly by asking whether Job will condemn God to justify himself. Job 40:8 keeps that conclusion accountable to the line “Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Hold together the demand for justice, the limits of human governance, and the unresolved moral force of Job's case. Keep the selected wording “Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?” and Job 40:6–40:14's complete movement visible while acting.
Teach It Back
Explain why Job 40:8 advances the thought unit. Paraphrase “Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?,” identify the LORD, use 40:6–40:14, state one material uncertainty when present, and reject one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Job 40:6–40:14 — The LORD Tests Job's Capacity to Govern JusticeSources 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 40:6–40:14, 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 40:6–40:14
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 40:6–40:14.
Exact location: Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 40:6–40:14
Open the official NET Job PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Job course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Daniel J. Simundson and Kathryn Schifferdecker
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Book-level and passage-level literary, historical, theological, and pastoral synthesis with speaker distinctions and visible uncertainty.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Job course, Introductory Issues and Theological Themes: divine speeches, creation, Behemoth, and Leviathan; applied to Job 40:6–40:14
Open the Enter the Bible Job course ↗open access philosophical and literary article
Questions on the Book of Job
Warren Zev Harvey
Religious Studies 59, Special Issue S1, 2023
Supports: A fully inspected critical alternative on the framework, litigation, human condition, divine speeches, and moral evaluation.
Exact location: Harvey, 'Questions on the Book of Job,' Religious Studies 59.S1 (2023), pp. S7-S16, God's Answer and Job's First Reply; applied to Job 40:6–40:14
Open the Cambridge Job article ↗peer reviewed open access literary and theological article
A Matter of Justice: The Openness of the Book of Job
Hans Ausloos
Old Testament Essays 36.1, 2023
Supports: Polyphony, retribution critique, justice, Job's response, divine verdict, and the book's interpretive openness.
Exact location: Ausloos, 'A Matter of Justice,' OTE 36.1 (2023), pp. 151-165, divine speeches and unresolved justice question; applied to Job 40:6–40:14
Open Ausloos on Job and justice ↗