Job 9 (New American Standard Bible)

Job 9

Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man

 ¹Then Job answered,
    ²"In truth I know that this is so;
         But how can a ^(A)man be in the right before God?
    ³"If one wished to ^(B)dispute with Him,
         He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
    ⁴"^(C)Wise in heart and ^(D)mighty in strength,
         Who has ^(E)defied Him without harm?
    ⁵"^(F)It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,
         When He overturns them in His anger;
    ⁶Who ^(G)shakes the earth out of its place,
         And its ^(H)pillars tremble;
    ⁷Who commands the ^(I)sun not to shine,
         And sets a seal upon the stars;
    ⁸Who alone ^(J)stretches out the heavens
         And ^(K)tramples down the waves of the sea;
    ⁹Who makes the ^(L)Bear, Orion and the Pleiades,
         And the ^(M)chambers of the south;
    ¹⁰Who ^(N)does great things, unfathomable,
         And wondrous works without number.
    ¹¹"Were He to pass by me, ^(O)I would not see Him;
         Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
    ¹²"Were He to snatch away, who could ^(P)restrain Him?
         Who could say to Him, '^(Q)What are You doing?'
    ¹³"God will not turn back His anger;
         Beneath Him crouch the helpers of ^(R)Rahab.
    ¹⁴"How then can ^(S)I answer Him,
         And choose my words before Him?
    ¹⁵"For ^(T)though I were right, I could not answer;
         I would have to ^(U)implore 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 ^(V)bruises me with a tempest
         And multiplies my wounds without cause.
    ¹⁸"He will ^(W)not allow me to get my breath,
         But saturates me with ^(X)bitterness.
    ¹⁹"If it is a matter of power, ^(Y)behold, He is the strong one!
         And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
    ²⁰"^(Z)Though I am righteous, my mouth will ^(AA)condemn me;
         Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.
    ²¹"I am ^(AB)guiltless;
         I do not take notice of myself;
         I ^(AC)despise my life.
    ²²"It is all one; therefore I say,
         'He ^(AD)destroys the guiltless and the wicked.'
    ²³"If the scourge kills suddenly,
         He ^(AE)mocks the despair of the innocent.
    ²⁴"The earth ^(AF)is given into the hand of the wicked;
         He ^(AG)covers the faces of its judges.
         If it is not He, then who is it?
    ²⁵"Now ^(AH)my days are swifter than a runner;
         They flee away, ^(AI)they see no good.
    ²⁶"They slip by like ^(AJ)reed boats,
         Like an ^(AK)eagle that swoops on its prey.
    ²⁷"Though I say, 'I will forget ^(AL)my complaint,
         I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful,'
    ²⁸I am ^(AM)afraid of all my pains,
         I know that ^(AN)You will not acquit me.
    ²⁹"I am accounted ^(AO)wicked,
         Why then should I toil in vain?
    ³⁰"If I should ^(AP)wash myself with snow
         And cleanse ^(AQ)my hands with lye,
    ³¹Yet You would plunge me into the pit,
         And my own clothes would abhor me.
    ³²"For ^(AR)He is not a man as I am that ^(AS)I may answer Him,
         That we may go to court together.
    ³³"There is no ^(AT)umpire between us,
         Who may lay his hand upon us both.
    ³⁴"Let Him ^(AU)remove His rod from me,
         And let not dread of Him terrify me.
    ³⁵"Then I ^(AV)would speak and not fear Him;
         But I am not like that in myself.