Job 9:34

34 Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me.

Job 9:34 Meaning and Commentary

Job 9:34

Let him take his rod away from me
Not his government over him, of which the rod or sceptre is an ensign, Job did not want to be freed from that; but, his rod of affliction, or stroke, as the Targum, the stroke of his hand, which, though a fatherly chastisement, lay heavy upon him, and depressed his spirits; so that he could not, while it was on him, reason so freely about things as he thought he could if it was removed, and for which he here prays:

and let not his fear terrify me;
not the fear of him as a father, which is not terrifying, but the fear of him as a judge; the terror of his majesty, the dread of his wrath and vengeance, the fearful apprehensions he had of him as a God of strict justice; that would by no means clear the guilty, yea, would not hold him innocent, though he was with respect to the charge of his friends; being now without those views of him as a God gracious and merciful; to these words Elihu seeks to have respect, ( Job 33:6 Job 33:7 ) .

Job 9:34 In-Context

32 For I shall not answer a man that is like myself: nor one that may be heard with me equally in judgment.

33 There is none that may be able to reprove both, and to put his hand between both.

34 Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me.

35 I will speak, and will not fear him: for I cannot answer while I am in fear.