21 “Although I am blameless,(A)
    I have no concern for myself;(B)
    I despise my own life.(C)
22 It is all the same; that is why I say,
    ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’(D)
23 When a scourge(E) brings sudden death,
    he mocks the despair of the innocent.(F)
24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,(G)
    he blindfolds its judges.(H)
    If it is not he, then who is it?(I)

25 “My days are swifter than a runner;(J)
    they fly away without a glimpse of joy.(K)
26 They skim past(L) like boats of papyrus,(M)
    like eagles swooping down on their prey.(N)
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,(O)
    I will change my expression, and smile,’
28 I still dread(P) all my sufferings,
    for I know you will not hold me innocent.(Q)
29 Since I am already found guilty,
    why should I struggle in vain?(R)
30 Even if I washed myself with soap(S)
    and my hands(T) with cleansing powder,(U)
31 you would plunge me into a slime pit(V)
    so that even my clothes would detest me.(W)

32 “He is not a mere mortal(X) like me that I might answer him,(Y)
    that we might confront each other in court.(Z)
33 If only there were someone to mediate between us,(AA)
    someone to bring us together,(AB)
34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,(AC)
    so that his terror would frighten me no more.(AD)
35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,(AE)
    but as it now stands with me, I cannot.(AF)

Read full chapter

Bible Gateway Recommends