Job 9

Job

9Then Job replied:

²“Indeed, I know that this is true.

But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?^v

³Though they wished to dispute with him,^w

they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.^x

⁴His wisdom^y is profound, his power is vast.^z

Who has resisted^a him and come out unscathed?^b

⁵He moves mountains^c without their knowing it

and overturns them in his anger.^d

⁶He shakes the earth^e from its place

and makes its pillars tremble.^f

⁷He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;^g

he seals off the light of the stars.^h

⁸He alone stretches out the heavensⁱ

and treads on the waves of the sea.^j

⁹He is the Maker^k of the Bear^a and Orion,

the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.^l

¹⁰He performs wonders^m that cannot be fathomed,

miracles that cannot be counted.ⁿ

¹¹When he passes me, I cannot see him;

when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.^o

¹²If he snatches away, who can stop him?^p

Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’^q

¹³God does not restrain his anger;^r

even the cohorts of Rahab^s cowered at his feet.

¹⁴“How then can I dispute with him?

How can I find words to argue with him?^t

¹⁵Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;^u

I could only plead^v with my Judge^w for mercy.^x

¹⁶Even if I summoned him and he responded,

I do not believe he would give me a hearing.^y

¹⁷He would crush me^z with a storm^a

and multiply^b my wounds for no reason.^c

¹⁸He would not let me catch my breath

but would overwhelm me with misery.^d

¹⁹If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!^e

And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him^b?^f

²⁰Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;

if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.^g

²¹“Although I am blameless,^h

I have no concern for myself;ⁱ

I despise my own life.^j

²²It is all the same; that is why I say,

‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’^k

²³When a scourge^l brings sudden death,

he mocks the despair of the innocent.^m

²⁴When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,ⁿ

he blindfolds its judges.^o

If it is not he, then who is it?^p

²⁵“My days are swifter than a runner;^q

they fly away without a glimpse of joy.^r

²⁶They skim past^s like boats of papyrus,^t

like eagles swooping down on their prey.^u

²⁷If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,^v

I will change my expression, and smile,’

²⁸I still dread^w all my sufferings,

for I know you will not hold me innocent.^x

²⁹Since I am already found guilty,

why should I struggle in vain?^y

³⁰Even if I washed myself with soap^z

and my hands^a with cleansing powder,^b

³¹you would plunge me into a slime pit^c

so that even my clothes would detest me.^d

³²“He is not a mere mortal^e like me that I might answer him,^f

that we might confront each other in court.^g

³³If only there were someone to mediate between us,^h

someone to bring us together,ⁱ

³⁴someone to remove God’s rod from me,^j

so that his terror would frighten me no more.^k

³⁵Then I would speak up without fear of him,^l

but as it now stands with me, I cannot.^m