Job 9

Job’s Reply

9Job replied,

²“I’m sure that what you have said is true.

But how can human beings be right with God?

³They might wish to argue with him.

But they couldn’t answer him

even once in a thousand times.

⁴His wisdom is deep. His power is great.

No one opposes him and comes away unharmed.

⁵He moves mountains, and they don’t even know it.

When he is angry, he turns them upside down.

⁶He shakes the earth loose from its place.

He makes its pillars tremble.

⁷When he tells the sun not to shine, it doesn’t.

He turns off the light of the stars.

⁸He’s the only one who can spread the heavens out.

He alone can walk on the waves of the ocean.

⁹He made the Big Dipper and Orion.

He created the Pleiades and the southern stars.

¹⁰He does wonderful things that can’t be understood.

He does miracles that can’t even be counted.

¹¹When he passes by me, I can’t see him.

When he goes past me, I can’t recognize him.

¹²If he takes something, who can stop him?

Who would dare to ask him, ‘What are you doing?’

¹³God doesn’t hold back his anger.

Even the helpers of the sea monster Rahab

bowed in fear at his feet.

¹⁴“So how can I disagree with God?

How can I possibly argue with him?

¹⁵Even if I hadn’t done anything wrong,

I couldn’t answer him.

I could only beg my Judge to have mercy on me.

¹⁶Suppose I called out to him and he answered.

I don’t believe he’d listen to me.

¹⁷He would send a storm to crush me.

He’d increase my wounds without any reason.

¹⁸He wouldn’t let me catch my breath.

He’d make my life very bitter.

¹⁹If it’s a matter of strength, he is mighty!

And if it’s a matter of being fair,

who would dare to bring charges against him?

²⁰Even if I hadn’t sinned, what I said would prove me guilty.

Even if I were honest, my words would show that I’m wrong.

²¹“Even though I’m honest,

I’m not concerned about myself.

I hate my own life.

²²It all amounts to the same thing. That’s why I say,

‘God destroys honest people and sinful people alike.’

²³Suppose a plague brings sudden death.

Then he laughs when those who haven’t sinned lose hope.

²⁴Suppose a nation falls into the power of sinful people.

Then God makes its judges blind to the truth.

If he isn’t the one doing it, who is?

²⁵“God, my days race by like a runner.

They fly away without seeing any joy.

²⁶They speed along like papyrus boats.

They are like eagles swooping down on their food.

²⁷Suppose I say, ‘I’ll forget about all of my problems.

I’ll change my frown into a smile.’

²⁸Then I’d still be afraid I’d go on suffering.

That’s because I know you would say

I had done something wrong.

²⁹In fact, you have already said I’m guilty.

So why should I struggle without any reason?

³⁰Suppose I clean myself with soap.

Suppose I wash my hands with cleanser.

³¹Even then you would throw me into a muddy pit.

And even my clothes would hate me.

³²“God isn’t a man like me. I can’t answer him.

We can’t take each other to court.

³³I wish someone would settle matters between us.

I wish someone would force us to work things out.

³⁴I wish someone would keep God from punishing me.

Then his terror wouldn’t frighten me anymore.

³⁵I would speak up without being afraid of him.

But as things stand now, I can’t do that.