Job 9:1–12:12

Then Job answered and said,

2  I know ait is so bof a truth:

But chow should man be just ||with God?

3  If he will contend with him,

He cannot answer him one of a thousand.

4  He is dwise in heart, and mighty in strength:

Who hath hardened ehimself against him, and hath prospered?

5  Which removeth the mountains, and they know not:

Which overturneth them in his anger.

6  Which fshaketh the earth out of her place,

And gthe pillars thereof tremble.

7  Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not;

And sealeth up the stars.

8  Which alone hspreadeth out the heavens,

And treadeth upon the †waves of the sea.

9  iWhich maketh †jArcturus, kOrion,

And kPleiades, and the chambers of the south.

10  lWhich doeth great things past finding out;

Yea, and wonders without number.

11  Lo, he goeth by me, and mI see him not:

He passeth on also, mbut I perceive him not.

12  Behold, he taketh away, †who can hinder him?

nWho will say unto him, What doest thou?

13  If God will not withdraw his anger,

The †proud helpers do stoop under him.

14  oHow much less shall I answer him,

And pchoose out my words to reason with him?

15  qWhom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer,

But I would make supplication to my judge.

16  If I had called, and he had answered me;

Yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.

17  For he rbreaketh me with a tempest,

And multiplieth my wounds swithout cause.

18  He will not suffer me tto take my breath,

But filleth me with bitterness.

19  If I speak uof strength, lo, he is strong:

And if of judgment, wwho shall set me a time to plead?

20  If I justify myself, xmine own mouth shall condemn me:

If I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.

21  Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul:

I would ydespise my life.

22  This is one thing, therefore I said it,

zHe destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

23  If the ascourge slay suddenly,

He will laugh at the trial of the innocent.

24  The earth is given into the hand of the wicked:

bHe covereth the faces of the judges thereof;

cIf not, where, and who is he?

25  Now dmy days are swifter than ea post:

They flee away, dthey see no good.

26  They are passed away as the †||swift ships:

As fthe eagle that hasteth to the prey.

27  gIf I say, I will forget my complaint,

I will leave off my heaviness, and hcomfort myself:

28  I am afraid of all my sorrows,

I know that thou iwilt not hold me innocent.

29  If I be wicked,

Why then labour I in vain?

30  If I wash myself with jsnow water,

And kmake my hands never so clean;

31  Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch,

And mine own clothes shall ||abhor me.

32  For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him,

And lwe should come together in judgment.

33  mNeither is there †any ||daysman betwixt us,

That might nlay ohis hand upon us both.

34  oLet him take his prod away from me,

And qlet not his fear terrify me:

35  Then would I speak, and not fear him;

†But it is not so with me.

10 My soul ais ||weary of my life;

I will leave my complaint bupon myself;

I will speak cin the bitterness of my soul.

2  I will say unto God, Do not dcondemn me;

Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.

3  eIs it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress,

That thou shouldest fdespise †the work of thine hands,

And shine upon the counsel of the wicked?

4  gHast thou eyes of flesh?

Or hseest thou as iman seeth?

5  Are thy days as the days of iman?

Are thy years as man’s days,

6  That thou inquirest after mine iniquity,

And searchest after my sin?

7  †Thou knowest that I am not wicked;

And there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.

8  kThine hands †have made me and fashioned me

lTogether round about; yet thou dost destroy me.

9  Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as mthe clay;

And nwilt thou bring me into dust again?

10  Hast thou not opoured me out as milk,

And curdled me like cheese?

11  Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh,

And hast †fenced me with bones and sinews.

12  Thou hast granted me life and favour,

And thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.

13  And these things hast thou hid in thine heart:

I know that pthis is with thee.

14  If I sin, then thou qmarkest me,

And rthou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.

15  sIf I be wicked, woe unto me;

And tif I be righteous, yet will I not ulift up my head.

I am full of confusion; therefore xsee thou mine affliction;

16  For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as ya fierce lion:

And again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.

17  Thou renewest ||thy witnesses against me,

And increasest thine indignation upon me;

zChanges and war are against me.

18  aWherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb?

Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!

19  bI should have been as though I had not been;

I cshould have been carried from the womb to the grave.

20  dAre not my days few? ecease then,

And let me alone, that I may ftake comfort a little,

21  gBefore I go whence I shall not return,

Even to the land of hdarkness and ithe shadow of death;

22  A land of kdarkness, as ldarkness itself;

And of ithe shadow of death, without any order,

And where the light is as ldarkness.

11 Then answered aZophar the Naamathite, and said,

2  Should not bthe multitude of words be answered?

And should †a man full of talk be justified?

3  Should thy ||lies make men hold their peace?

And when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?

4  For cthou hast said, My ddoctrine is pure,

And I am clean in thine eyes.

5  But oh that God would speak,

And open his lips against thee;

6  And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom,

That they are edouble to fthat which is!

Know therefore that God gexacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.

7  hCanst thou by searching find out God?

Canst thou find out the Almighty iunto perfection?

8  It is †as khigh as heaven; what canst thou do?

Deeper than hell; what canst thou know?

9  The measure thereof is longer than the earth,

And broader than the sea.

10  If he ||cut off, and lshut up, or mgather together,

Then †who can hinder him?

11  For he knoweth nvain men:

He seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?

12  For †vain man would be wise,

Though oman be born like pa wild ass’s colt.

13  If thou qprepare thine heart,

And rstretch out thine hands toward him;

14  If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away,

And let not wickedness dwell in thy stabernacles.

15  For then shalt thou tlift up thy face without spot;

Yea, thou shalt be ustedfast, and shalt not fear:

16  Because thou shalt xforget thy misery,

And remember it as waters that pass away:

17  And thine yage †zshall be clearer than the noonday;

Thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.

18  And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope;

Yea, thou shalt adig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.

19  Also bthou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid;

Yea, many shall †make suit unto thee.

20  But cthe eyes of the wicked shall fail,

And †they shall not escape,

And dtheir hope shall be as ||ethe giving up of the ghost.

12 And Job answered and said,

2  aNo doubt but ye are bthe people,

And wisdom shall die with you.

3  But I have †understanding as well as you;

†I am not inferior to you:

Yea, †who knoweth not such things as these?

4  I am as one cmocked of his neighbour,

Who dcalleth upon God, and he answereth him:

The just upright man is laughed to scorn.

5  He that is eready to slip with his feet

Is as a lamp despised in the thought of eehim that is at ease.

6  fThe tabernacles of robbers prosper,

And they that provoke God are secure;

Into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.

7  But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;

And the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

8  Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee:

And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

9  Who knoweth not in all these

That the hand of the gLord hath wrought hthis?

10  iIn whose hand is the ||soul jof every living thing,

And kthe breath of †all mankind.

11  Doth not lthe ear try words?

And the †mouth taste his meat?

12  With the mancient is wisdom;

And in length of days understanding.