Job 9

Job

Then Job replied:

“Indeed, I know that this is true.

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

Though they wished to dispute with him,^b

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

His wisdom^d is profound, his power is vast.^e

Who has resisted^f him and come out unscathed?^g

He moves mountains^h without their knowing it

and overturns them in his anger.ⁱ

He shakes the earth^j from its place

and makes its pillars tremble.^k

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

he seals off the light of the stars.^m

He alone stretches out the heavensⁿ

and treads on the waves of the sea.^o

He is the Maker^p of the Bear and Orion,

the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.^q

He performs wonders^r that cannot be fathomed,

miracles that cannot be counted.^s

When he passes me, I cannot see him;

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

If he snatches away, who can stop him?^u

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

God does not restrain his anger;^w

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

“How then can I dispute with him?

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

Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;^z

I could only plead^a with my Judge^b for mercy.^c

Even if I summoned him and he responded,

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

He would crush me^e with a storm^f

and multiply^g my wounds for no reason.^h

He would not let me catch my breath

but would overwhelm me with misery.ⁱ

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

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

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

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

“Although I am blameless,^m

I have no concern for myself;ⁿ

I despise my own life.^o

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

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

When a scourge^q brings sudden death,

he mocks the despair of the innocent.^r

When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,^s

he blindfolds its judges.^t

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

“My days are swifter than a runner;^v

they fly away without a glimpse of joy.^w

They skim past^x like boats of papyrus,^y

like eagles swooping down on their prey.^z

If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,^a

I will change my expression, and smile,’

I still dread^b all my sufferings,

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

Since I am already found guilty,

why should I struggle in vain?^d

Even if I washed myself with soap^e

and my hands^f with cleansing powder,^g

you would plunge me into a slime pit^h

so that even my clothes would detest me.ⁱ

“He is not a mere mortal^j like me that I might answer him,^k

that we might confront each other in court.^l

If only there were someone to arbitrate between us,^m

to lay a hand on us both,ⁿ

someone to remove God’s rod from me,^o

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

Then I would speak up without fear of him,^q

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