9 Then Iyov responded:

² “Indeed, I know that this is so;
but how can a human win a case against God?
³ Whoever might want to argue with him
could not answer him one [question] in a thousand.
⁴ His heart is so wise, his strength so great —
who can resist him and succeed?

⁵ “He moves the mountains, although they don’t know it,
when he overturns them in his anger.
⁶ He shakes the earth from its place;
its supporting pillars tremble.
⁷ He commands the sun, and it fails to rise;
he shuts up the stars under his seal.
⁸ He alone spreads out the sky
and walks on the waves in the sea.
⁹ He made the Great Bear, Orion, the Pleiades
and the hidden constellations of the south.
¹⁰ He does great, unsearchable things,
wonders beyond counting.
¹¹ He can go right by me, and I don’t see him;
he moves past without my being aware of him.
¹² If he kills [people], who will ask why?
Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
¹³ God will not withdraw his anger —
even Rahav’s supporters submit to him.

¹⁴ “How much less can I answer him
and select my arguments against him!
¹⁵ Even if I were right, I wouldn’t answer;
I could only ask for mercy from my judge.
¹⁶ If I summoned him, and he answered me,
I still can’t believe he would listen to my plea.
¹⁷ He could break me with a storm;
he could multiply my wounds for no reason,
¹⁸ to the point where I couldn’t even breathe —
with such bitterness he could fill me!
¹⁹ If it’s a matter of force, look how mighty he is;
if justice, who can summon him to court?
²⁰ Even if I’m right, my own mouth will condemn me;
if I’m innocent, it would pronounce me guilty.
²¹ “I am innocent. Don’t I know myself?
But I’ve had enough of this life of mine!
²² So I say it’s all the same —
he destroys innocent and wicked alike.
²³ When disaster brings sudden death,
he laughs at the plight of the innocent.
²⁴ The earth has been given to the power of the wicked;
he covers the faces of its judges —
if it isn’t he, then who is it?
²⁵ My days pass on more swiftly than a runner;
they flee without seeing anything good.
²⁶ They skim by like skiffs built of reeds,
like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

²⁷ “If I say, ‘I’ll forget my complaining,
I’ll put off my sad face and be cheerful,’
²⁸ then I’m still afraid of all my pain,
and I know you will not hold me innocent.
²⁹ I will be condemned,
so why waste my efforts?
³⁰ Even if I washed myself in melted snow
and cleansed my hands with lye,
³¹ you would plunge me into the muddy pit,
till my own clothes would detest me.

³² “For he is not merely human like me;
there is no answer that I could give him
if we were to come together in court.
³³ There is no arbitrator between us
who could lay his hand on us both.
³⁴ If he would remove his rod from me
and not let his terrors frighten me,
³⁵ then I would speak without fear of him;
for when I’m alone, I’m not afraid.