Job 9
English Standard Version
Job Replies: There Is No Arbiter
9 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Truly I know that it is so:
But how can a man be (A)in the right before God?
3 If one wished to (B)contend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4 He is (C)wise in heart and mighty in strength—
who has (D)hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—
5 he who removes mountains, and they know it not,
when he overturns them in his anger,
6 who (E)shakes the earth out of its place,
and (F)its pillars tremble;
7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
who seals up the stars;
8 who alone (G)stretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the sea;
9 who (H)made (I)the Bear and (J)Orion,
the Pleiades (K)and the chambers of the south;
10 who does (L)great things beyond searching out,
and marvelous things beyond number.
11 Behold, he passes by me, and I (M)see him not;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12 Behold, he snatches away; (N)who can turn him back?
(O)Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 “God will not turn back his anger;
beneath him bowed the helpers of (P)Rahab.
14 (Q)How then can I (R)answer him,
choosing my words with him?
15 (S)Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;
I must (T)appeal for mercy to my accuser.[a]
16 If I summoned him and he answered me,
I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.
17 For he crushes me with a tempest
and multiplies my wounds (U)without cause;
18 he will not let me get my breath,
but fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is a contest of (V)strength, behold, he is mighty!
If it is a matter of justice, who can (W)summon him?[b]
20 Though I am in the right, (X)my own mouth would condemn me;
though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
21 I am (Y)blameless; I regard not myself;
I (Z)loathe my life.
22 It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He (AA)destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When (AB)disaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamity[c] of the innocent.
24 (AC)The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
he (AD)covers the faces of its judges—
(AE)if it is not he, who then is it?
25 “My (AF)days are swifter than (AG)a runner;
they flee away; they see no good.
26 They go by like (AH)skiffs of reed,
like (AI)an eagle swooping on the prey.
27 If I say, (AJ)‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face, and (AK)be of good cheer,’
28 I become (AL)afraid of all my suffering,
for I know you will not (AM)hold me innocent.
29 I shall be (AN)condemned;
why then do I labor in vain?
30 If I wash myself with snow
and (AO)cleanse my hands with lye,
31 yet you will plunge me into a pit,
and my own clothes will (AP)abhor me.
32 For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,
that we should (AQ)come to trial together.
33 (AR)There is no[d] arbiter between us,
who might lay his hand on us both.
34 (AS)Let him take his (AT)rod away from me,
and let (AU)not dread of him terrify me.
35 Then I would speak without fear of him,
for I am not so in myself.
Job 9
Contemporary English Version
Job's Reply to Bildad
What You Say Is True
9 Job said:
2 (A) What you say is true.
No human is innocent
in the sight of God.
3 Not once in a thousand times
could we win our case
if we took him to court.
4 God is wise and powerful—
who could possibly
oppose him and win?
5 When God becomes angry,
he can move mountains
before they even know it.
6 God can shake the earth loose
from its foundations
7 (B) or command the sun and stars
to hold back their light.
8 God alone stretched out the sky,
stepped on the sea,[a]
9 (C) and set the stars in place—
the Big Dipper and Orion,
the Pleiades and the stars
in the southern sky.
10 Of all the miracles God works,
we cannot understand a one.
11 God walks right past me,
without making a sound.
12 And if he grabs something,
who can stop him
or raise a question?
13 When God showed his anger,
the servants of the sea monster[b]
fell at his feet.
14 How, then, could I possibly
argue my case with God?
Though I Am Innocent
15 Even though I am innocent,
I can only beg for mercy.
16 And if God came into court
when I called him,
he would not hear my case.
17 He would strike me with a storm[c]
and increase my injuries
for no reason at all.
18 Before I could get my breath,
my miseries would multiply.
19 God is much stronger than I am,
and who would call me into court
to give me justice?
20 Even if I were innocent,
God would prove me wrong.[d]
21 I am not guilty,
but I no longer care
what happens to me.
22 What difference does it make?
God destroys the innocent
along with the guilty.
23 When a good person dies
a sudden death,
God sits back and laughs.
24 And who else but God
blindfolds the judges,
then lets the wicked
take over the earth?
My Life Is Speeding By
25 My life is speeding by,
without a hope of happiness.
26 Each day passes swifter
than a sailing ship
or an eagle swooping down.
27 Sometimes I try to be cheerful
and to stop complaining,
28 but my sufferings frighten me,
because I know that God
still considers me guilty.
29 So what's the use of trying
to prove my innocence?
30 Even if I washed myself
with the strongest soap,
31 God would throw me into a pit
of stinking slime, leaving me
disgusting to my clothes.
32 God isn't a mere human like me.
I can't put him on trial.
33 Who could possibly judge
between the two of us?
34 Can someone snatch away
the stick God carries
to frighten me?
35 Then I could speak up
without fear of him,
but for now, I cannot speak.[e]
Footnotes
- 9.8 sea: Or “sea monster” (see verse 13 and the note there).
- 9.13 the sea monster: The Hebrew text has “Rahab,” which was some kind of sea monster with supernatural powers (see the notes at 3.8 and 26.12).
- 9.17 strike … storm: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 9.20 God … wrong: Or “my own words would prove me wrong.”
- 9.35 but … speak: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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