Job 9
Job’s Reply to Bildad1
9:2 “Truly,2 I know that this is so.
But how3 can a human4 be just before5 God?6
9:3 If someone wishes7 to contend8 with him,
he cannot answer9 him one time in a thousand.
9:4 He is wise in heart10 and mighty11 in strength12 –
who has resisted13 him and remained safe?14
9:5 He who removes mountains suddenly,15
who overturns them in his anger;16
9:6 he who shakes the earth out of its place17
so that its pillars tremble;18
9:7 he who commands the sun and19 it does not shine20
and seals up21 the stars;
9:8 he alone spreads out the heavens,
and treads22 on the waves of the sea;23
9:9 he makes the Bear,24 Orion,25 and the Pleiades,26
and the constellations of the southern sky;27
9:10 he does great and unsearchable things,28
and wonderful things without number.
9:11 If29 he passes by me, I cannot see30 him,31
if he goes by, I cannot perceive him.32
9:12 If he snatches away,33 who can turn him back?34
Who dares to say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
9:13 God does not restrain his anger;35
under him the helpers of Rahab36 lie crushed.37
The Impossibility of Facing God in Court
9:14 “How much less,38 then, can I answer him39
and choose my words40 to argue41 with42 him!43
9:15 Although44 I am innocent,45
I could not answer him;46
I could only plead47 with my judge48 for mercy.
9:16 If I summoned him, and he answered me,49
I would not believe50
that he would be listening to my voice –
9:17 he who51 crushes52 me with a tempest,
and multiplies my wounds for no reason.53
9:18 He does not allow54 me to recover55 my breath,
for he fills56 me with bitterness.
9:19 If it is a matter of strength,57
most certainly58 he is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice,
he will say, ‘Who will summon me?’59
9:20 Although I am innocent,60
my mouth61 would condemn me;62
although I am blameless,
it would declare me perverse.63
9:21 I am blameless.64 I do not know myself.65
I despise my life.
Accusation of God’s Justice
9:22 “It is all one!66 That is why I say,67
‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’
9:23 If a scourge brings sudden death,68
he mocks69 at the despair70 of the innocent.71
9:24 If a land72 has been given
into the hand of a wicked man,73
he covers74 the faces of its judges;75
if it is not he, then who is it?76
Renewed Complaint
9:25 “My days77 are swifter than a runner,78
they speed by without seeing happiness.
9:26 They glide by79 like reed80 boats,
like an eagle that swoops81 down on its prey.82
9:27 If I say,83 ‘I will84 forget my complaint,
I will change my expression85 and be cheerful,’86
9:28 I dread87 all my sufferings,88
for89 I know that you do not hold me blameless.90
9:29 If I am guilty,91
why then92 weary myself93 in vain?94
9:30 If I wash myself with snow water,95
and make my hands clean with lye,96
9:31 then you plunge me into a slimy pit97
and my own clothes abhor me.
9:32 For he98 is not a human being like I am,
that99 I might answer him,
that we might come100 together in judgment.
9:33 Nor is there an arbiter101 between us,
who102 might lay103 his hand on us both,104
9:34 who105 would take his106 rod107 away from me
so that his terror108 would not make me afraid.
9:35 Then109 would I speak and not fear him,
but it is not so with me.110