Job 40:8

Translation
King James Version
Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
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KJV (with Strong's)
Wilt thou also disannul H6565 my judgment H4941? wilt thou condemn H7561 me, that thou mayest be righteous H6663?
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Complete Jewish Bible
"Are you impugning my justice? Putting me in the wrong to prove yourself right?
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Berean Standard Bible
Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
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American Standard Version
Wilt thou even annul my judgment? Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?
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World English Bible Messianic
Will you even annul my judgment? Will you condemn me, that you may be justified?
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Geneva Bible (1599)
Hide them in the dust together, and binde their faces in a secret place.
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Young's Literal Translation
Dost thou also make void My judgment? Dost thou condemn Me, That thou mayest be righteous?
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See also
Romans 3:4Job 32:2Isaiah 28:18Job 10:3Job 34:5Job 34:6Galatians 3:17
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SUMMARY

Job 40:8 represents a pivotal moment in God's second discourse to Job, where the Almighty directly confronts Job's attempts to justify himself. This rhetorical challenge from the whirlwind forces Job to recognize the inherent blasphemy in a finite creature presuming to invalidate the Creator's perfect judgment or declare Him unrighteous for the sake of human vindication. The verse profoundly underscores God's absolute sovereignty and unassailable rectitude, demanding from humanity a posture of profound humility and trust in divine wisdom, even when His ways are inscrutable.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: This verse is situated within God's second, more extended and intensely personal discourse to Job, delivered "out of the whirlwind" (Job 40:6). Following Job's initial, brief, and humbled response in Job 40:3-5, where he acknowledges his unworthiness and covers his mouth, God presses His argument with even greater directness. God is no longer merely asserting His omnipotence through the wonders of creation, as in His first speech (Job 38-39), but is now directly challenging Job's presumption to judge or invalidate God's perfect and inscrutable ways. The preceding verses in Job 40 set the stage for this direct confrontation, as God demands Job to "gird up thy loins like a man" and answer Him, implying that Job has presumed to understand and critique divine governance to an extent that is utterly inappropriate for a creature.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: The Book of Job is set in the land of Uz, likely a region east of Palestine, and depicts a patriarchal society where wisdom literature flourished. The prevailing cultural understanding of divine retribution, often referred to as the "Deuteronomic theology," held that suffering was a direct consequence of sin, and prosperity was a sign of righteousness. Job's friends operate rigidly within this framework, attempting to force Job into confession by assuming his suffering must be due to some hidden sin. God's speeches, however, transcend this simplistic view, revealing a divine order and wisdom that far surpasses human comprehension or the limitations of a strict cause-and-effect understanding of suffering. The challenge posed in Job 40:8 directly addresses the human tendency, prevalent in all cultures and throughout history, to rationalize suffering and to seek self-vindication, often at the expense of God's character or His perceived justice.
  • Key Themes: Job 40:8 powerfully contributes to several overarching themes in the book of Job. It underscores the absolute sovereignty and incomprehensibility of God, asserting that divine justice is not subject to human scrutiny or validation. The question "Wilt thou also disannul my judgment?" implies that for Job to be righteous, God must be wrong, an impossible scenario for the Almighty, reinforcing God's ultimate authority over creation and justice, as seen throughout Job 38-41. Furthermore, the verse highlights the theme of human presumption and the necessity of humility. It exposes the danger of finite beings attempting to elevate their understanding or moral standing above the infinite, all-knowing God, echoing Job's earlier desire to "order his cause before God" in Job 23:4. Finally, it starkly contrasts self-righteousness with God's righteousness, challenging Job's pursuit of self-vindication and pointing to the biblical truth that true righteousness originates from God, not from condemning Him to justify oneself. This theme anticipates the New Testament's emphasis on imputed righteousness through faith, as articulated in passages like Romans 3:23-24.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • Disannul (Hebrew, pârar', H6565): This verb means "to break up (usually figuratively), i.e. to violate, frustrate; [idiom] any ways, break (asunder), cast off, cause to cease, [idiom] clean, defeat, disannul, disappoint, dissolve, divide, make of none effect, fail, frustrate, bring (come) to nought, [idiom] utterly, make void." In this context, it implies a complete overturning, invalidation, or rendering ineffective of God's decree, plan, or judgment. God is asking Job if he intends to utterly nullify the divine order and wisdom that governs the universe, suggesting that Job's complaints effectively seek to dismantle God's very governance and authority.
  • Condemn (Hebrew, râshaʻ', H7561): This primitive root means "to be (causatively, do or declare) wrong; by implication, to disturb, violate; condemn, make trouble, vex, be (commit, deal, depart, do) wicked(-ly, -ness)." By seeking to justify himself fully and absolutely in the face of his suffering, Job would, by logical extension, be declaring God to be in the wrong, guilty of injustice, or morally flawed in His administration of the world. This is the ultimate presumption: to accuse the perfectly righteous God of unrighteousness.
  • Righteous (Hebrew, tsâdaq', H6663): This primitive root means "to be (causatively, make) right (in a moral or forensic sense); cleanse, clear self, (be, do) just(-ice, -ify, -ify self), (be turn to) righteous(-ness)." This verb is used here in a starkly antithetical sense. God presents Job with an inescapable dilemma: for Job to be declared righteous in his own eyes and by his own efforts, he must necessarily declare God unrighteous. This highlights the core issue of the book: the nature of true righteousness and whether it can be attained independently of or in opposition to God.

Verse Breakdown

  • "Wilt thou also disannul my judgment?": God opens with a piercing rhetorical question, directly challenging Job's perceived right to sit in judgment over Him. The implication is that Job's complaints and self-vindication efforts amount to an attempt to nullify or overturn God's sovereign decisions and the righteousness of His governance. It questions whether Job believes his understanding of justice is superior to God's, suggesting that Job's pursuit of his own vindication inherently undermines the very foundation of divine order.
  • "wilt thou condemn me,": This clause escalates the challenge, moving from merely disannulling God's judgment to actively declaring God guilty or wrong. God confronts Job with the logical conclusion of his self-defense: if Job is innocent and suffering unjustly, then God, who allowed or orchestrated the suffering, must be the one who is unjust or wicked. This is the ultimate blasphemy, though Job never explicitly states it, his posture of demanding a trial with God implies it.
  • "that thou mayest be righteous?": The final clause reveals the underlying motivation and the stark choice presented. God exposes Job's pursuit of self-righteousness as being in direct opposition to God's own righteousness. It implies that Job's desire to be vindicated and declared righteous necessitates the condemnation of God, creating an impossible scenario where human righteousness can only be established by undermining divine righteousness. This forces Job to confront the true nature of his complaint: is he seeking to be righteous instead of God?

Literary Devices

Job 40:8 is a masterclass in divine rhetoric, employing several powerful literary devices to convey its profound theological message. The most prominent is the Rhetorical Question, which God uses not to elicit an answer, but to force Job into profound self-reflection and a stark realization of his own intellectual and moral limitations. These questions are designed to expose the absurdity and arrogance of a creature challenging its Creator. There is also a strong element of Antithesis, as God sets up a direct opposition between Job's desire to be righteous and God's own unassailable righteousness, presenting a zero-sum game where one's vindication necessitates the other's condemnation. The verse implies a deep Irony in Job's position: in seeking to prove his own innocence and integrity, he inadvertently places himself in a position of implicitly condemning the very source of all righteousness. The structure of the verse, with its parallel questions ("Wilt thou also disannul... wilt thou condemn..."), creates a powerful sense of Climax, building from the idea of negating divine judgment to the ultimate act of declaring God Himself guilty for the sake of one's own perceived righteousness.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Job 40:8 encapsulates the profound theological tension between human understanding and divine wisdom, asserting God's absolute sovereignty and the unassailability of His justice. It challenges the human tendency to impose our limited frameworks of fairness upon the infinite and incomprehensible ways of God, especially in the face of suffering that defies our logic. The verse highlights that true righteousness is not something we can attain by our own efforts or by challenging God, but rather it is a divine attribute that we must humbly acknowledge and receive. To presume to "disannul" God's judgment or "condemn" Him for the sake of our own vindication is to misunderstand the very nature of God and our place in His creation. This confrontation serves to reorient Job's perspective from self-justification to a deeper trust in God's character, even when His ways are beyond human comprehension and His justice seems hidden.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Job 40:8 serves as a timeless and humbling reminder for all believers, particularly when we face trials, injustices, or circumstances that defy our understanding of divine providence. It calls us to a posture of profound humility, recognizing that our finite minds cannot fully grasp the infinite wisdom and perfect righteousness of God. When we are tempted to question God's methods, His timing, or His apparent silence in our suffering, this verse challenges us to examine our own hearts: are we seeking to justify ourselves at God's expense? Are we attempting to impose our limited sense of fairness on the Almighty, thereby implicitly "condemning" Him to make ourselves "righteous"? True faith involves trusting God's character even when His ways are inscrutable, acknowledging that His judgments are always just, even if we don't comprehend them. Our focus should shift from self-vindication to surrender, from accusation to adoration, and from demanding answers to resting in His sovereign love and wisdom, knowing that His perspective is eternal and His justice perfect.

Questions for Reflection

  • In what areas of my life am I tempted to question God's judgment or feel that He has been unjust in my circumstances?
  • How might my desire for personal vindication or a complete understanding of my suffering inadvertently lead me to "condemn" God's ways or question His goodness?
  • What does it truly mean to trust in God's righteousness when circumstances seem to contradict my expectations of fairness?
  • How can embracing humility, as taught by this verse, deepen my faith and reliance on God's perfect wisdom rather than my own limited understanding?

FAQ

Does Job 40:8 imply that Job actually thought he was more righteous than God?

Answer: Job 40:8 does not necessarily imply that Job consciously believed he was more righteous than God in an absolute or blasphemous sense. Rather, it highlights the logical and theological conclusion of Job's persistent self-vindication and his demands for a divine explanation. Job had consistently maintained his innocence of any specific, grave sin that would warrant his immense suffering, and he longed to present his case before God to prove his righteousness (Job 23:3-4). God's rhetorical question exposes the inherent flaw in this human pursuit of self-justification: if Job is truly righteous and his suffering is utterly unjust, then God, who allowed or orchestrated the suffering, must logically be unrighteous or unjust. God is forcing Job to confront the theological implications of his complaints, showing that his desire to be declared righteous by his own merit ultimately leads to an implicit condemnation of God's perfect justice and sovereignty. It's a profound challenge to Job's perspective and understanding of divine governance, not necessarily a direct accusation of his conscious thought or intention to elevate himself above God.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Job 40:8, with its stark confrontation of human self-righteousness against divine justice, finds its ultimate fulfillment and resolution in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Humanity, like Job, is prone to seeking justification by its own merits, often implicitly or explicitly questioning God's ways when faced with suffering or perceived injustice. Yet, the New Testament reveals that true righteousness is not found in our ability to defend ourselves or condemn God, but in the perfect righteousness of Christ. Jesus, the only truly righteous man who "committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:22), never sought to "disannul" God's judgment or "condemn" the Father to establish His own righteousness. Instead, He perfectly submitted to the Father's will, even to the point of death on the cross (Philippians 2:8). Our righteousness is not achieved by our own efforts, but is imputed to us through faith in Him, who "became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). The cross demonstrates that God is both just and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus (Romans 3:26). Thus, Job 40:8 points us to the profound truth that our hope for righteousness lies not in our ability to argue our case before God, but in the perfect sacrifice and imputed righteousness of the Lamb of God, who alone could satisfy divine justice and make us righteous before Him, not by condemning God, but by being condemned in our place.

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Commentary on Job 40 verses 6–14

I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details

Job was greatly humbled for what God had already said, but not sufficiently; he was brought low, but not low enough; and therefore God here proceeds to reason with him in the same manner and to the same purport as before, Job 40:6. Observe, 1. Those who duly receive what they have heard from God, and profit by it, shall hear more from him. 2. Those who are truly convinced of sin, and penitent for it, yet have need to be more thoroughly convinced and to be made more deeply penitent. Those who are under convictions, who have their sins set in order before their eyes and their hearts broken for them, must learn from this instance not to catch at comfort too soon; it will be everlasting when it comes, and therefore it is necessary that we be prepared for it by deep humiliation, that the wound be searched to the bottom and not skinned over, and that we do not make more haste out of our convictions than good speed. When our hearts begin to melt and relent within us, let those considerations be dwelt upon and pursued which will help to make a thorough effectual thaw of it.

God begins with a challenge (Job 40:7), as before (Job 38:3): "Gird up thy loins now like a man; if thou hast the courage and confidence thou hast pretended to, show them now; but thou wilt soon be made to see and own thyself no match for me." This is that which every proud heart must be brought to at last, either by its repentance or by its ruin; and thus low must every mountain and hill be, sooner or later, brought. We must acknowledge,

I. That we cannot vie with God for justice, that the Lord is righteous and holy in his dealings with us, but that we are unrighteous and unholy in our conduct towards him; we have a great deal to blame ourselves for, but nothing to blame him for (Job 40:8): "Wilt thou disannul my judgment? Wilt thou take exceptions to what I say and do, and bring a writ of error, to reverse the judgment I have given as erroneous and unjust?" Many of Job's complaints had too much of a tendency this way: I cry out of wrong, says he, but I am not heard; but such language as this is by no means to be suffered. God's judgment cannot, must not, be disannulled, for we are sure it is according to truth, and therefore it is a great piece of impudence and iniquity in us to call in question. "Wilt thou," says God, "condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? Must my honour suffer for the support of thy reputation? Must I be charged as dealing unjustly with thee because thou canst not otherwise clear thyself from the censures thou liest under?" Our duty is to condemn ourselves, that God may be righteous. David is therefore ready to own the evil he has done in God's sight, that God may be justified when he speaks and clear when he judges, Psa 51:4. See Neh 9:33; Dan 9:7. But those are very proud, and very ignorant both of God and themselves, who, to clear themselves, will condemn God; and the day is coming when, if the mistake be not rectified in time by repentance, the eternal judgment will be both the confutation of the plea and the confusion of the prisoner, for the heavens shall declare God's righteousness and all the world shall become guilty before him.

II. That we cannot vie with God for power; and therefore, as it is great impiety, so it is great impudence to contest with him, and is as much against our interest as it is against reason and justice (Job 40:9): "Hast thou an arm like God, equal to his in length and strength? Or canst thou thunder with a voice like him, as he did (Job 37:1, Job 37:2), or does now out of the whirlwind?" To convince Job that he was not so able as he thought himself to contest with God, he shows him, 1. That he could never fight it out with him, nor carry his cause by force of arms. Sometimes, among men, controversies have been decided by battle, and the victorious champion is adjudged to have justice on his side; but, if the controversy were put upon that issue between God and man, man would certainly go by the worse, for all the forces he could raise against the Almighty would be but like briers and thorns before a consuming fire, Isa 27:4. "Hast thou, a poor weak worm of the earth, an arm comparable to his who upholds all things?" The power of creatures, even of angels themselves, is derived from God, limited by him, and dependent on him; but the power of God is original, independent, and unlimited. He can do every thing without us; we can do nothing without him; and therefore we have not an arm like God. 2. That he could never talk it out with him, nor carry his cause by noise and big words, which sometimes among men go a great way towards the gaining of a point: "Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? No; his voice will soon drown thine and one of his thunders will overpower and overrule all thy whispers." Man cannot speak so convincingly, so powerfully, nor with such a commanding conquering force as God can, who speaks, and it is done. his creating voice is called his thunder (Psa 104:7), so is that voice of his with which he terrifies and discomfits his enemies, Sa1 2:10. The wrath of a king may sometimes be like the roaring of a lion, but can never pretend to imitate God's thunder.

III. That we cannot vie with God for beauty and majesty, Job 40:10. "If thou wilt enter into a comparison with him, and appear more amiable, put on thy best attire: Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency. Appear in all the martial pomp, in all the royal pageantry that thou hast; make the best of every thing that will set thee off: Array thyself with glory and beauty, such as may awe thy enemies and charm thy friends; but what is it all to the divine majesty and beauty? No more than the light of a glow-worm to that of the sun when he goes forth in his strength." God decks himself with such majesty and glory as are the terror of devils and all the powers of darkness and make them tremble; he arrays himself with such glory and beauty as are the wonder of angels and all the saints in light and make them rejoice. David could dwell all his days in God's house, to behold the beauty of the Lord. But, in comparison with this, what is all the majesty and excellency by which princes think to make themselves feared, and all the glory and beauty by which lovers think to make themselves beloved? If Job think, in contending with God, to carry the day by looking great and making a figure, he is quite mistaken. The sun shall be ashamed, and the moon confounded, when God shines forth.

IV. That we cannot vie with God for dominion over the proud, Job 40:11-14. here the cause is put upon this short issue: if Job can humble and abase proud tyrants and oppressors as easily and effectually as God can, it shall be acknowledged that he has some colour to compete with God. Observe here,

1.The justice Job is here challenged to do, and that is to bring the proud low with a look. If Job will pretend to be a rival with God, especially if he pretend to be a judge of his actions, he must be able to do this.

(1.)It is here supposed that God can do it and will do it himself, else he would not have put it thus upon Job. By this God proves himself to be God, that he resists the proud, sits Judge upon them, and is able to bring them to ruin. Observe here, [1.] That proud people are wicked people, and pride is at the bottom of a great deal of the wickedness that is in this world both towards God and man. [2.] Proud people will certainly be abased and brought low; for pride goes before destruction. If they bend not, they will break; if they humble not themselves by true repentance, God will humble them, to their everlasting confusion. The wicked will be trodden down in their place, that is, Wherever they are found, though they pretend to have a place of their own, and to have taken root in it, yet even there they shall be trodden down, and all the wealth, and power, and interest, to which their place entitles them, will not be their security. [3.] The wrath of God, scattered among the proud, will humble them, and break them, and bring them down. If he casts abroad the rage of his wrath, as he will do at the great day and sometimes does in this life, the stoutest heart cannot hold out against him. Who knows the power of his anger? [4.] God can and does easily abase proud tyrants; he can look upon them, and bring them low, can overwhelm them with shame, and fear, and utter ruin, by one angry look, as he can, by a gracious look, revive the hearts of the contrite ones. [5.] He can and will at last do it effectually (Job 40:13), not only bring them to the dust, from which they might hope to arise, but hide them in the dust, like the proud Egyptian whom Moses slew and hid in the sand (Exo 2:12), that is, they shall be brought not only to death, but to the grave, that pit out of which there is no return. They were proud of the figure they made, but they shall be buried in oblivion and be no more remembered than those that are hidden in the dust, out of sight and out of mind. They were linked in leagues and confederacies to do mischief, and are now bound in bundles. They are hidden together; not their rest, but their shame together is in the dust, Job 17:16. Nay, they are treated as malefactors (who, when condemned, had their faces covered, as Haman's was: He binds their faces in secret) or as dead men: Lazarus, in the grave, had his face bound about. Thus complete will be the victory that God will gain, at last, over proud sinners that set themselves in opposition to him. Now by this he proves himself to be God. Does he thus hate proud men? Then he is holy. Will he thus punish them? Then he is the just Judge of the world. Can he thus humble them? Then he is the Lord Almighty. When he had abased proud Pharaoh, and hidden him in the sand of the Red Sea, Jethro thence inferred that doubtless the Lord is greater than all gods, for wherein the proud enemies of his Israel dealt proudly he was above them, he was too hard for them, Exo 18:11. See Rev 19:1, Rev 19:2.

(2.)It is here proposed to Job to do it. He had been passionately quarrelling with God and his providence, casting abroad the rage of his wrath towards heaven, as if he thought thereby to bring God himself to his mind. "Come," says God, "try thy hand first upon proud men, and thou wilt soon see how little they value the rage of thy wrath; and shall I then regard it, or be moved by it?" Job had complained of the prosperity and power of tyrants and oppressors, and was ready to charge God with mal-administration for suffering it; but he ought not to find fault, except he could mend. If God, and he only, has power enough to humble and bring down proud men, no doubt he has wisdom enough to know when and how to do it, and it is not for us to prescribe to him or to teach him how to prescribe to him or to teach him how to govern the world. Unless we had an arm like God we must not think to take his work out of his hands.

2.The justice which is here promised to be done him if he can perform such mighty works as these (Job 40:14): "They will I also confess unto thee that thy right hand is sufficient to save thee, though, after all, it would be too weak to contend with me." It is the innate pride and ambition of man that he would be his own saviour (would have his own hands sufficient for him and be independent), but it is presumption to pretend that he is. Our own hands cannot save us by recommending us to God's grace, much less by rescuing us from his justice. Unless we could by our own power humble our enemies, we cannot pretend by our own power to save ourselves; but, if we could, God himself would confess it. He never did nor ever will defraud any man of his just praise, nor deny him the honour he has merited. But, since we cannot do this, we must confess unto him that our own hands cannot save us, and therefore into his hand we must commit ourselves.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 6–14. Public domain.
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Origen of AlexandriaAD 253
FRAGMENTS ON JOB 28.7
“I will question you, and you answer me.” The perfect rewards of the struggles are reserved after this life to those who fought bravely. The grace of God nevertheless offers a sort of pledge to the athletes. For this reason, Job faced the hardest fights; while losing his riches, he praised him who gave him these afflictions. After losing his children, he glorified him who had taken them away. While realizing that worms grew out of his body, he was not defeated by his diseases. God gave him the firstlings and the pledge of his fights by speaking to him out of the clouds and the whirlwind. After he had listened to the former speeches, when it was necessary to speak to God, he was silent, as if he had no faculty to speak to him. In fact, he did not know yet what would have been written by Moses, “Moses spoke, and God answered him with a voice.” Therefore, he was like someone who did not know that he did not want to answer God. But God conceded him forgiveness to speak. The benevolence of God is such that he does not play the role of the judge but that of the lawyer, who discusses the case with a man.
John ChrysostomAD 407
COMMENTARY ON JOB 40:8
Either he speaks here about his present intervention, as if to say, “I do not speak so in order to condemn you but to show that you are righteous”; or he wants to speak about his trial by calling intervention his approval. This means, “Do not think that I managed things in this manner for any other reason.” He did not say, “In order that you might be righteous” but “that you might appear to be righteous,” as you actually were, so that you might teach others. Finally, he may want to speak about his present intervention, as if to say, “If I said it, it is in order that you might appear to be righteous after the words that I had expressed, not in order to condemn you.” Then he places again before him his power and his hatred for the wicked, because I am not only powerful, he says, but I act and use my power against the wicked.
Gregory the DialogistAD 604
5. Whoever strives to defend himself against the scourges of God, endeavours to set aside the judgment of Him Who inflicts them. For when he says that he is not smitten for his own fault, what else does he but accuse the injustice of the Smiter? The scourges of heaven therefore smote not blessed Job to extinguish in him his faults, but rather to increase his merits, in order that he who in the season of tranquillity had shone forth in so great sanctity, might also manifest from the blow what virtue of patience lay concealed within him. But he, not detecting his fault during the scourges, and yet not discovering that those very scourges were the cause of increasing his merit, believed that he was unjustly smitten, when he found nothing in himself which required to be corrected. But, lest his very innocence should be puffed up into the swelling of pride, he is reproved by the Divine voice; and his mind, free from iniquity, but weighed down by scourges, is recalled to the secret judgments; in order that the sentence of heaven, though not understood, may not be considered unjust: but that he may at least believe that every thing which he suffers is just, as it is doubtless plain that he is suffering at the hands of God. For the righteous will of our Maker, is a great satisfaction for the blow. For since it is wont to do nothing unjust, it is acknowledged to be just even though hid. For when we are smitten for the sin of injustice, if we are conjoined to the Divine will in our smiting, we are soon released from our injustice by this very conjunction. For whoever now endures the blow, but still knows not the causes of the blow, if he welcomes this very sentence against him, believing it to be just, he is at once released from his unrighteousness, just as he rejoices that he has been justly smitten. For by associating himself with God in his own punishment, he sets up himself against himself; and great already is his righteousness, because he accords with the will of God in his punishment, from which he differed in sin. The holy man, therefore, because he had not disagreed with God through any sin, with difficulty, as it were, agreed with Him when in the midst of his punishments. For he believed not that the scourges, which commonly extinguish vices, were in him only increasing his merits. Whence he is now justly reproved, in order that even unwittingly he might be brought under the Divine judgments: and it is said to him; Wilt thou disannul My judgment, and wilt thou condemn Me, that thou mayest be justified? As if it were plainly said; Thou considerest indeed thine own good deeds, but thou knowest not My secret judgments. If therefore thou disputest against My scourges, on account of thy merits, what else dost thou, but hasten to convict Me of injustice, by justifying thyself?
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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