Job 9
New King James Version
Job: There Is No Mediator
9 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Truly I know it is so,
But how can a (A)man be (B)righteous before God?
3 If one wished to [a]contend with Him,
He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
4 (C)God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
5 He removes the mountains, and they do not know
When He overturns them in His anger;
6 He (D)shakes the earth out of its place,
And its (E)pillars tremble;
7 He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
He seals off the stars;
8 (F)He alone spreads out the heavens,
And [b]treads on the [c]waves of the sea;
9 (G)He made [d]the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;
10 (H)He does great things past finding out,
Yes, wonders without number.
11 (I)If He goes by me, I do not see Him;
If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;
12 (J)If He takes away, [e]who can hinder Him?
Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13 God will not withdraw His anger,
(K)The allies of [f]the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.
14 “How then can I answer Him,
And choose my words to reason with Him?
15 (L)For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him;
I would beg mercy of my Judge.
16 If I called 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 (M)without cause.
18 He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong;
And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?
20 Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me;
Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.
21 “I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;
I despise my life.
22 It is all one thing;
Therefore I say, (N)‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’
23 If the scourge slays suddenly,
He laughs at the plight of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, who else could it be?
25 “Now (O)my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, they see no good.
26 They pass by like [g]swift ships,
(P)Like an eagle swooping on its prey.
27 (Q)If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’
28 (R)I am afraid of all my sufferings;
I know that You (S)will not hold me innocent.
29 If I am condemned,
Why then do I labor in vain?
30 (T)If I wash myself with snow water,
And cleanse my hands with [h]soap,
31 Yet You will plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes will [i]abhor me.
32 “For (U)He is not a man, as I am,
That I may answer Him,
And that we should go to court together.
33 (V)Nor is there any mediator between us,
Who may lay his hand on us both.
34 (W)Let Him take His rod away from me,
And do not let dread of Him terrify me.
35 Then I would speak and not fear Him,
But it is not so with me.
Job 9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Job’s Reply to Bildad
9 Then Job answered:
2 Yes, I know what you’ve said is true,
but how can a person be justified before God?(A)
3 If one wanted to take(B) Him to court,
he could not answer God[a] once in a thousand times.(C)
4 God is wise(D) and all-powerful.
Who has opposed Him and come out unharmed?
5 He removes mountains without their knowledge,
overturning them in His anger.(E)
6 He shakes the earth from its place
so that its pillars tremble.
7 He commands the sun not to shine
and seals off the stars.(F)
8 He alone stretches out the heavens(G)
and treads on the waves of the sea.[b]
9 He makes the stars: the Bear,[c] Orion,
the Pleiades,(H) and the constellations[d] of the southern sky.
10 He does great and unsearchable things,
wonders without number.(I)
11 If He passes by me, I wouldn’t see Him;(J)
if He goes right by, I wouldn’t recognize Him.
12 If He snatches something, who can stop[e] Him?
Who can ask Him, “What are You doing?”(K)
13 God does not hold back His anger;
Rahab’s(L) assistants cringe in fear beneath Him!
14 How then can I answer Him
or choose my arguments against Him?
15 Even if I were in the right, I could not answer.
I could only beg my Judge for mercy.(M)
16 If I summoned Him and He answered me,
I do not believe He would pay attention to what I said.
17 He batters me with a whirlwind(N)
and multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 He doesn’t let me catch my breath
but soaks me with bitter experiences.
19 If it is a matter of strength, look, He is the Mighty One!(O)
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon(P) Him?[f]
20 Even if I were in the right, my own mouth would condemn me;(Q)
if I were blameless, my mouth would declare me guilty.
21 Though I am blameless,
I no longer care about myself;
I renounce my life.(R)
22 It is all the same. Therefore I say,
“He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.”(S)
23 When disaster brings sudden death,
He mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 The earth[g] is handed over to the wicked;
He blindfolds[h] its judges.(T)
If it isn’t He, then who is it?
25 My days fly by faster than a runner;[i](U)
they flee without seeing any good.(V)
26 They sweep by like boats made of papyrus,
like an eagle swooping down on its prey.(W)
27 If I said, “I will forget my complaint,
change my expression, and smile,”
28 I would still live in terror of all my pains.(X)
I know You will not acquit me.(Y)
29 Since I will be found guilty,(Z)
why should I labor in vain?
30 If I wash myself with snow,
and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 then You dip me in a pit of mud,
and my own clothes despise me!
32 For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him,(AA)
that we can take each other to court.
33 There is no one to judge between us,
to lay his hand on both of us.
34 Let Him take His rod away from me
so His terror will no longer frighten me.(AB)
35 Then I would speak and not fear Him.
But that is not the case; I am on my own.
Jobsbók 9
Icelandic Bible
9 Þá svaraði Job og sagði:
2 Vissulega, ég veit að það er svo, og hvernig ætti maðurinn að hafa rétt fyrir sér gagnvart Guði?
3 Þóknist honum að deila við hann, getur hann ekki svarað einni spurningu af þúsund.
4 Hann er vitur í hjarta og máttkur að afli _ hver þrjóskaðist gegn honum og sakaði eigi? _
5 Hann sem flytur fjöll, svo að þau vita ekki af, hann sem kollvarpar þeim í reiði sinni,
6 hann sem hrærir jörðina úr stað, svo að stoðir hennar leika á reiðiskjálfi,
7 hann sem býður sólinni, og hún rennur ekki upp, og setur innsigli fyrir stjörnurnar,
8 hann sem þenur út himininn aleinn, og gengur á háöldum sjávarins,
9 hann sem skóp Vagnstirnið og Óríon, Sjöstjörnuna og forðabúr sunnanvindsins,
10 hann sem gjörir mikla hluti og órannsakanlega og dásemdarverk, er eigi verða talin,
11 sjá, hann gengur fram hjá mér, en ég sé hann ekki, hann strýkst fram hjá, en ég verð hans ekki var.
12 Þegar hann þrífur til, hver vill þá aftra honum, hver vill segja við hann: "Hvað gjörir þú?"
13 Guð heldur ekki aftur reiði sinni, bandamenn hafdrekans beygðu sig undir hann.
14 Hversu miklu síður mundi ég þá geta svarað honum, geta valið orð mín gagnvart honum,
15 ég sem ekki mætti svara, þótt ég hefði rétt fyrir mér, heldur verð að beiðast miskunnar af dómara mínum.
16 Þótt ég kallaði og hann svaraði mér, þá mundi ég ekki trúa, að hann hlustaði á mig.
17 Miklu fremur mundi hann hvæsa á mig í stormviðri og margfalda sár mín án saka,
18 aldrei leyfa mér að draga andann, heldur metta mig beiskri kvöl.
19 Sé um kraft að ræða, er mátturinn hans, sé um rétt að ræða, hver vill þá stefna honum?
20 Þótt ég hefði rétt fyrir mér, þá mundi munnur minn sakfella mig, þótt ég væri saklaus, mundi hann koma á mig sektinni.
21 Saklaus er ég, ég hirði ekkert um líf mitt, ég virði að vettugi tilveru mína!
22 Mér stendur á sama um það. Fyrir því segi ég: hann tortímir jafnt saklausum sem óguðlegum.
23 Þegar svipan deyðir snögglega, þá gjörir hann gys að örvænting hinna saklausu.
24 Jörðin er gefin í vald hinna óguðlegu, hann byrgir fyrir andlitið á dómendum hennar. Sé það ekki hann _ hver þá?
25 Dagar mínir voru skjótari en hraðboði, liðu svo hjá, að þeir litu enga hamingju.
26 Þeir brunuðu áfram eins og reyrbátar, eins og örn, sem steypir sér niður á æti.
27 Ef ég segi: Ég ætla að gleyma volæði mínu, ég ætla að breyta andlitssvip mínum og vera kátur, _
28 þá hryllir mig við öllum þjáningum mínum, því ég veit þú sýknar mig ekki.
29 Ég á nú að vera sekur, hví skyldi ég þá vera að mæðast til ónýtis?
30 Þótt ég þvægi mér úr snjó og hreinsaði hendur mínar í lút,
31 þá mundir þú dýfa mér ofan í forarvilpu, svo að klæðum mínum byði við mér.
32 Guð er ekki maður eins og ég, að ég geti svarað honum, að við getum gengið saman fyrir réttinn.
33 Enginn er sá, er úr skeri okkar í milli, er lagt geti hönd sína á okkur báða.
34 Hann taki vönd sinn frá mér og láti ekki skelfing sína hræða mig,
35 þá vil ég tala og eigi óttast hann, því að svo er mér eigi farið hið innra.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
by Icelandic Bible Society