Job 9

Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Mankind

1 Then Job responded,

2 “In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a ^aperson be in the right with God?
3 “If one wished to ^bdispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4 “ ^cWise in heart and ^dmighty in strength,
Who has ▼

▼Lit stiffened his neck against

, ^fdefied Him ▼

▼Lit and remained safe

without harm?
5 “ ^hIt is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know how,
When He overturns them in His anger.
6 “It is He who ⁱshakes the earth from its place,
And its ^jpillars tremble;
7 Who commands the ^ksun ▼

▼Lit and it does not shine

not to shine,
And puts a seal on the stars;
8 Who alone ^mstretches out the heavens,
And ▼

▼Lit treads upon the heights of

, ^otramples down the waves of the sea;
9 Who makes the ^pBear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the ▼

▼Lit chambers

, ^rconstellations of the south.
10 “It is He who ^sdoes great things, ▼

▼Lit until there is no searching out

the unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.
11 “If He were to pass by me, ^uI would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
12 “If He were to snatch away, who could ^vrestrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘ ^wWhat are You doing?’

13 “God will not turn back His anger;
Beneath Him the helpers of ▼

▼I.e., a sea monster, not to be confused with Rahab in Joshua 2

, ^yRahab cower.
14 “How then can ^zI ▼

▼Or plead my case

answer Him,
And choose my words ▼

▼Lit with

before Him?
15 “For ^acthough I were right, I could not ▼

▼Or plead my case

answer;
I would have to ^aeimplore the mercy of my Judge.
16 “If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17 “For He ^afbruises me with a storm
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 “He will ^agnot allow me to get my breath,
But He saturates me with ^ahbitterness.
19 “If it is a matter of power, ^aibehold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon ▼

▼As in LXX; Heb me

Him?
20 “ ^akThough I am righteous, my mouth will ^alcondemn me;
Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.
21 “I am ^amguiltless;
I do not take notice of myself;
I ^anreject my life.
22 “It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He ^aodestroys the guiltless and the wicked.’
23 “If the whip kills suddenly,
He ^apmocks the despair of the innocent.
24 “The earth ^aqis handed over to the wicked;
He ^arcovers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, then who is it?

25 “Now ^asmy days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, ^atthey see no good.
26 “They slip by like ^aureed boats,
Like an ^aveagle that swoops on ▼

▼Lit food

its prey.
27 “Though I say, ‘I will forget ^axmy complaint,
I will ▼

▼I.e., improve the look

put my face in order and be cheerful,’
28 I am ^azafraid of all my pains,
I know that ^baYou will not acquit me.
29 “I am ^bbguilty,
Why then should I struggle in vain?
30 “If I ^bcwashed myself with snow,
And cleansed ^bdmy hands with lye,
31 Then You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would loathe me.
32 “For ^beHe is not a man, as I am, that ^bfI may answer Him--
That we may go to ▼

▼Lit judgment

court together!
33 “There is no ^bharbitrator between us,
Who can place his hand upon us both.
34 “Let Him ^biremove His rod from me,
And let not the dread of Him terrify me.
35 “Then I ^bjwould speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.