Job 9
Good News Translation
9 (A)1-2 Yes, I've heard all that before.
But how can a human being win a case against God?
3 How can anyone argue with him?
He can ask a thousand questions
that no one could ever answer.[a]
4 God is so wise and powerful;
no one can stand up against him.
5 Without warning he moves mountains
and in anger he destroys them.
6 God sends earthquakes and shakes the ground;
he rocks the pillars that support the earth.
7 (B)He can keep the sun from rising,
and the stars from shining at night.
8 No one helped God spread out the heavens
or trample the sea monster's back.[b]
9 (C)God hung the stars in the sky—the Dipper,
Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars of the south.
10 We cannot understand the great things he does,
and to his miracles there is no end.
11 God passes by, but I cannot see him.
12 He takes what he wants, and no one can stop him;
no one dares ask him, “What are you doing?”
13 God's anger is constant. He crushed his enemies
who helped Rahab,[c] the sea monster, oppose him.
14 So how can I find words to answer God?
15 Though I am innocent, all I can do
is beg for mercy from God my judge.
16 Yet even then, if he lets me speak,
I can't believe he would listen to me.
17 He sends storms to batter and bruise me
without any reason at all.
18 He won't let me catch my breath;
he has filled my life with bitterness.
19 Should I try force? Try force on God?
Should I take him to court? Could anyone make him go?[d]
20 I am innocent and faithful, but my words sound guilty,
and everything I say seems to condemn me.
21-22 I am innocent, but I no longer care.
I am sick of living. Nothing matters;
innocent or guilty, God will destroy us.
23 When an innocent person suddenly dies,
God laughs.
24 God gave the world to the wicked.
He made all the judges blind.
And if God didn't do it, who did?
25 My days race by, not one of them good.
26 My life passes like the swiftest boat,
as fast as an eagle swooping down on a rabbit.
27-28 If I smile and try to forget my pain,
all my suffering comes back to haunt me;
I know that God does hold me guilty.
29 Since I am held guilty, why should I bother?
30 No soap can wash away my sins.
31 God throws me into a pit with filth,
and even my clothes are ashamed of me.
32 If God were human, I could answer him;
we could go to court to decide our quarrel.
33 But there is no one to step between us—
no one to judge both God and me.
34 Stop punishing me, God!
Keep your terrors away!
35 I am not afraid. I am going to talk
because I know my own heart.
Footnotes
- Job 9:3 He can ask … answer; or Someone could ask him a thousand questions, and he would not answer.
- Job 9:8 A reference to ancient stories in which a sea monster was killed and then trampled (see also 26.13).
- Job 9:13 A legendary sea monster which represented the forces of chaos and evil.
- Job 9:19 Probable text make him go; Hebrew make me go.
Job 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Job Replies: There Is No Mediator
9 Then Job answered:
2 “Indeed, I know that this is so,
but how can a mortal be just before God?(A)
3 If one wished to contend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand.(B)
4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who has resisted him and succeeded?(C)
5 He removes mountains, and they do not know it
when he overturns them in his anger;
6 he shakes the earth out of its place,
and its pillars tremble;(D)
7 he commands the sun, and it does not rise;
he seals up the stars;
8 he alone stretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the Sea;[a](E)
9 he made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;(F)
10 he does great things beyond understanding
and marvelous things without number.(G)
11 Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.(H)
12 He snatches away; who can stop him?
Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’(I)
13 “God will not turn back his anger;
the helpers of Rahab bowed beneath him.(J)
14 How then can I answer him,
choosing my words with him?
15 Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him;
I must appeal to my accuser for my right.(K)
16 If I summoned him and he answered me,
I do not believe that he would listen to my voice.
17 For he crushes me with a tempest
and multiplies my wounds without cause;(L)
18 he will not let me get my breath
but fills me with bitterness.(M)
19 If it is a contest of strength, he is the strong one!
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?[b]
20 Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me;
though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
21 I am blameless; I do not know myself;
I loathe my life.(N)
22 It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’(O)
23 When disaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamity[c] of the innocent.(P)
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
he covers the eyes of its judges—
if it is not he, who then is it?(Q)
25 “My days are swifter than a runner;
they flee away; they see no good.
26 They go by like skiffs of reed,
like an eagle swooping on the prey.(R)
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint;
I will put off my sad countenance and be of good cheer,’
28 I become afraid of all my suffering,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29 I shall be condemned;
why then do I labor in vain?(S)
30 If I wash myself with soap
and cleanse my hands with lye,(T)
31 yet you will plunge me into filth,
and my own clothes will abhor me.
32 For he is not a mortal, as I am, that I might answer him,
that we should come to trial together.(U)
33 There is no mediator[d] between us,
who might lay his hand on us both.(V)
34 If he would take his rod away from me
and not let dread of him terrify me,(W)
35 then I would speak without fear of him,
for I know I am not what I am thought to be.[e]
Job 9
Complete Jewish Bible
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.
Job 9
The Message
Job Continues
How Can Mere Mortals Get Right with God?
9 1-13 Job continued by saying:
“So what’s new? I know all this.
The question is, ‘How can mere mortals get right with God?’
If we wanted to bring our case before him,
what chance would we have? Not one in a thousand!
God’s wisdom is so deep, God’s power so immense,
who could take him on and come out in one piece?
He moves mountains before they know what’s happened,
flips them on their heads on a whim.
He gives the earth a good shaking up,
rocks it down to its very foundations.
He tells the sun, ‘Don’t shine,’ and it doesn’t;
he pulls the blinds on the stars.
All by himself he stretches out the heavens
and strides on the waves of the sea.
He designed the Big Dipper and Orion,
the Pleiades and Alpha Centauri.
We’ll never comprehend all the great things he does;
his miracle-surprises can’t be counted.
Somehow, though he moves right in front of me, I don’t see him;
quietly but surely he’s active, and I miss it.
If he steals you blind, who can stop him?
Who’s going to say, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’
God doesn’t hold back on his anger;
even dragon-bred monsters cringe before him.
14-20 “So how could I ever argue with him,
construct a defense that would influence God?
Even though I’m innocent I could never prove it;
I can only throw myself on the Judge’s mercy.
If I called on God and he himself answered me,
then, and only then, would I believe that he’d heard me.
As it is, he knocks me about from pillar to post,
beating me up, black-and-blue, for no good reason.
He won’t even let me catch my breath,
piles bitterness upon bitterness.
If it’s a question of who’s stronger, he wins, hands down!
If it’s a question of justice, who’ll serve him the subpoena?
Even though innocent, anything I say incriminates me;
blameless as I am, my defense just makes me sound worse.
If God’s Not Responsible, Who Is?
21-24 “Believe me, I’m blameless.
I don’t understand what’s going on.
I hate my life!
Since either way it ends up the same, I can only conclude
that God destroys the good right along with the bad.
When calamity hits and brings sudden death,
he folds his arms, aloof from the despair of the innocent.
He lets the wicked take over running the world,
he installs judges who can’t tell right from wrong.
If he’s not responsible, who is?
25-31 “My time is short—what’s left of my life races off
too fast for me to even glimpse the good.
My life is going fast, like a ship under full sail,
like an eagle plummeting to its prey.
Even if I say, ‘I’ll put all this behind me,
I’ll look on the bright side and force a smile,’
All these troubles would still be like grit in my gut
since it’s clear you’re not going to let up.
The verdict has already been handed down—‘Guilty!’—
so what’s the use of protests or appeals?
Even if I scrub myself all over
and wash myself with the strongest soap I can find,
It wouldn’t last—you’d push me into a pigpen, or worse,
so nobody could stand me for the stink.
32-35 “God and I are not equals; I can’t bring a case against him.
We’ll never enter a courtroom as peers.
How I wish we had an arbitrator
to step in and let me get on with life—
To break God’s death grip on me,
to free me from this terror so I could breathe again.
Then I’d speak up and state my case boldly.
As things stand, there is no way I can do it.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson