Job 9
Legacy Standard Bible
Job Replies There Is No Adjudicator
9 Then Job answered and said,
2 “In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a (A)man be in the right [a]before God?
3 If one desired to (B)contend with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4 (C)Wise in heart and (D)mighty in power,
Who has (E)stiffened his neck against Him and been at peace?
5 (F)God is the One who removes the mountains, they know not how,
When He overturns them in His anger;
6 The One who (G)shakes the earth out of its place,
And its (H)pillars tremble;
7 The One who says for the (I)sun [b]not to shine,
And sets a seal upon the stars;
8 Who alone (J)stretches out the heavens,
And [c](K)tramples down the waves of the sea;
9 Who makes the (L)Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the (M)chambers of the south;
10 Who (N)does great things, unsearchable,
And wondrous works, innumerable.
11 Were He to sweep by me, (O)I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
12 Were He to snatch away, who could (P)turn Him back?
Who could say to Him, ‘(Q)What are You doing?’
13 “God will not turn back His anger;
Beneath Him crouch the helpers of (R)Rahab.
14 How then can (S)I [d]answer Him,
And choose my words [e]before Him?
15 For (T)though I were right, I could not [f]answer;
I would have to (U)plead for the grace of my judge.
16 If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was giving ear to my voice.
17 For He (V)bruises me with a tempest
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 He will (W)not allow me to get my breath,
But saturates me with (X)bitterness.
19 If it is a matter of power, (Y)behold, He is the mighty one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can make [g]Him testify?
20 (Z)Though I am righteous, my mouth will (AA)condemn me;
Though I am blameless, He will declare me perverse.
21 I am (AB)blameless;
I do not know my soul;
I (AC)reject my life.
22 It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He (AD)consumes the blameless and the wicked.’
23 If the scourge puts to death suddenly,
He (AE)mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 The earth (AF)is given into the hand of the wicked;
He (AG)covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, then who is it?
25 “Now (AH)my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away; (AI)they do not see good.
26 They sweep by like (AJ)reed boats,
Like an (AK)eagle that swoops on its food.
27 Though I say, ‘I will forget (AL)my musing,
I will forsake my sad countenance and be cheerful,’
28 I am (AM)afraid of all my pains;
I know that (AN)You will not acquit me.
29 I am accounted (AO)wicked;
Why then should I toil in vain?
30 If I should (AP)wash myself with snow
And cleanse (AQ)my hands with lye,
31 Yet You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would abhor me.
32 For (AR)He is not a man as I am that (AS)I may answer Him,
That we may go to court for judgment together.
33 There is no (AT)adjudicator between us,
Who may lay his hand upon us both.
34 Let Him (AU)remove His rod from me,
And let not dread of Him terrify me.
35 Then I (AV)would speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.
Job 9
Lexham English Bible
Job’s Third Speech: A Response to Bildad
9 Then[a] Job answered and said,
2 “Truly I know that it is so,
but[b] how can a human being be just before God?
3 If he wants to contend with him,
he cannot answer him one time in a thousand.
4 He is wise in[c] heart and mighty in[d] strength;
who has resisted him and succeeded?[e]
5 “He is the one who moves mountains, and they do not know how,
who overturns them in his anger.
6 He is the one who shakes the earth from its place,
and its pillars tremble.
7 He is the one who commands the sun, and it does not rise,
and he seals up the stars.[f]
8 He is the one who alone stretches out the heavens
and who tramples on the waves of the sea.
9 He is the one who made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
10 He is the one who does great things beyond understanding[g]
and marvelous things beyond number.[h]
11 “If[i] he passes by me, I would not see him;[j]
and if he should move on, I would not recognize him.[k]
12 If[l] he would snatch away, who could turn him?
Who could say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God will not turn back his anger;
beneath him the helpers of Rahab bow.
14 How much less[m] can I myself[n] answer him?
How can I choose my words with him,
15 whom I cannot answer, even though I am righteous?
From[o] my judge I must implore grace.
16 If I summon him, and he should answer me,
I do not believe that he will listen to my voice—
17 who crushes me with a tempest
and multiplies[p] my wounds without cause.
18 He will not allow me to catch[q] my breath;
rather, he will fill me with bitterness.
19 If it is a matter of[r] strength, look, he is mighty.
But[s] if it is a matter of[t] justice, who can summon me?[u]
20 Even though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me;
even though I am blameless, yet[v] it would pronounce me guilty.
21 “I am blameless; I do not care about myself;[w]
I loathe my life.
22 It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When the whip[x] kills suddenly,
he mocks at the despair of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
he covers the face of its judge—
if it is not he, then who is it?
25 “And my days are swifter than a runner;
they flee away; they do not see good.
26 They go by like papyrus skiffs,
like an eagle swoops down on its prey.
27 Though[y] I say,[z] ‘I will forget my complaint;
I will change my expression, and I will rejoice,’
28 I become afraid of all my sufferings;
I know that you do not consider me innocent.
29 If I shall be declared guilty,
why then should I labor in vain?
30 If I wash myself with soap,[aa]
and I cleanse my hands with lye,
31 then you plunge me into the slime pit,
and my clothes abhor me.
32 “For[ab] he is not a mortal like me that I can answer him,
that we can come to trial together.[ac]
33 There is no arbiter between us
that he might lay his hand on both of us.
34 May he remove his rod from me,
and let his dread not terrify me;
35 then I would speak and not fear him,[ad]
for in myself I am not fearful.[ae]
Footnotes
- Job 9:1 Hebrew “And”
- Job 9:2 Hebrew “and”
- Job 9:4 Hebrew “of”
- Job 9:4 Hebrew “of”
- Job 9:4 Literally “he succeeded”
- Job 9:7 Literally “and behind the stars he seals up”
- Job 9:10 Literally “until there is not understanding”
- Job 9:10 Literally “until there is not number”
- Job 9:11 Literally “Look”
- Job 9:11 Literally “and I would not see”
- Job 9:11 Literally “and I would not recognize him”
- Job 9:12 Literally “Look”
- Job 9:14 Literally “Also for”
- Job 9:14 Emphatic personal pronoun
- Job 9:15 Hebrew “To”
- Job 9:17 Hebrew “he multiplies”
- Job 9:18 Literally “return,” or “regain”
- Job 9:19 Literally “for”; see NASB, NIV, NET
- Job 9:19 Hebrew “And”
- Job 9:19 Literally “for”; NASB, NIV, NET, NRSV
- Job 9:19 Or “arraign me”
- Job 9:20 Hebrew “and”
- Job 9:21 Perhaps the meaning is “but it makes no difference to me” (NLT)
- Job 9:23 Or “scourge”
- Job 9:27 Or “If”
- Job 9:27 Literally “my saying”
- Job 9:30 Or “with snow,” or “in snow”
- Job 9:32 Or the emphatic “Indeed”
- Job 9:32 Literally “we come together in the justice,” or “we come together in the judgment”
- Job 9:35 Hebrew “and I will not fear him”
- Job 9:35 Literally “not so I with me”
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