Job 9
New American Standard Bible 1995
Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man
9 Then Job [a]answered,
2 “In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a (A)man be in the right [b]before God?
3 “If one wished to (B)dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4 “(C)Wise in heart and (D)mighty in strength,
Who has [c](E)defied Him [d]without harm?
5 “(F)It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,
When He overturns them in His anger;
6 Who (G)shakes the earth out of its place,
And its (H)pillars tremble;
7 Who commands the (I)sun [e]not to shine,
And sets a seal upon the stars;
8 Who alone (J)stretches out the heavens
And [f](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, [g]unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.
11 “Were He to pass 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)restrain Him?
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 [h]answer Him,
And choose my words [i]before Him?
15 “For (T)though I were right, I could not [j]answer;
I would have to (U)implore the mercy of my judge.
16 “If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening 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 strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon [k]Him?
20 “(Z)Though I am righteous, my mouth will (AA)condemn me;
Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.
21 “I am (AB)guiltless;
I do not take notice of myself;
I (AC)despise my life.
22 “It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He (AD)destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’
23 “If the scourge kills 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 see no good.
26 “They slip by like (AJ)reed boats,
Like an (AK)eagle that swoops on [l]its prey.
27 “Though I say, ‘I will forget (AL)my complaint,
I will leave off 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 [m]court together.
33 “There is no (AT)umpire 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.
Footnotes
- Job 9:1 Lit answered and said
- Job 9:2 Lit with
- Job 9:4 Lit stiffened his neck against
- Job 9:4 Lit and remained safe
- Job 9:7 Lit and it does not shine
- Job 9:8 Lit treads upon the heights of
- Job 9:10 Lit until there is no searching out
- Job 9:14 Or plead my case
- Job 9:14 Lit with
- Job 9:15 Or plead my case
- Job 9:19 So with Gr; Heb me
- Job 9:26 Lit food
- Job 9:32 Lit judgment
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
New American Standard Bible
Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Mankind
9 Then Job responded,
2 “In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a (A)person be in the right with God?
3 If one wished to (B)dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4 (C)Wise in heart and (D)mighty in strength,
Who has [a](E)defied Him [b]without harm?
5 (F)It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know how,
When He overturns them in His anger.
6 It is He who (G)shakes the earth from its place,
And its (H)pillars tremble;
7 Who commands the (I)sun [c]not to shine,
And puts a seal on the stars;
8 Who alone (J)stretches out the heavens,
And [d](K)tramples down the waves of the sea;
9 Who makes the (L)Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the [e](M)constellations of the south.
10 It is He who (N)does great things, [f]the unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.
11 If He were to pass by me, (O)I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
12 If He were to snatch away, who could (P)restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘(Q)What are You doing?’
13 “God will not turn back His anger;
Beneath Him the helpers of [g](R)Rahab cower.
14 How then can (S)I [h]answer Him,
And choose my words [i]before Him?
15 For (T)though I were right, I could not [j]answer;
I would have to (U)implore the mercy of my Judge.
16 If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17 For He (V)bruises me with a storm
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 He will (W)not allow me to get my breath,
But He saturates me with (X)bitterness.
19 If it is a matter of power, (Y)behold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon [k]Him?
20 (Z)Though I am righteous, my mouth will (AA)condemn me;
Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.
21 I am (AB)guiltless;
I do not take notice of myself;
I (AC)reject my life.
22 It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He (AD)destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’
23 If the whip kills suddenly,
He (AE)mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 The earth (AF)is handed over to 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 see no good.
26 They slip by like (AJ)reed boats,
Like an (AK)eagle that swoops on [l]its prey.
27 Though I say, ‘I will forget (AL)my complaint,
I will [m]put my face in order and be cheerful,’
28 I am (AM)afraid of all my pains,
I know that (AN)You will not acquit me.
29 I am (AO)guilty,
Why then should I struggle in vain?
30 If I (AP)washed myself with snow,
And cleansed (AQ)my hands with lye,
31 Then You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would loathe me.
32 For (AR)He is not a man, as I am, that (AS)I may answer Him—
That we may go to [n]court together!
33 There is no (AT)arbitrator between us,
Who can place his hand upon us both.
34 Let Him (AU)remove His rod from me,
And let not the dread of Him terrify me.
35 Then I (AV)would speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.
Footnotes
- Job 9:4 Lit stiffened his neck against
- Job 9:4 Lit and remained safe
- Job 9:7 Lit and it does not shine
- Job 9:8 Lit treads upon the heights of
- Job 9:9 Lit chambers
- Job 9:10 Lit until there is no searching out
- Job 9:13 I.e., a sea monster, not to be confused with Rahab in Joshua 2
- Job 9:14 Or plead my case
- Job 9:14 Lit with
- Job 9:15 Or plead my case
- Job 9:19 As in LXX; Heb me
- Job 9:26 Lit food
- Job 9:27 I.e., improve the look
- Job 9:32 Lit judgment
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.