Job 9
Common English Bible
Hymnic praise
9 Job responded:
2 I know for certain that this is so;
and how can anyone be innocent before God?
3 If one wants to contend with him,
he won’t answer one in a thousand.
4 He is wise[a] and powerful;
who can resist him and prosper?
5 Who removes mountains, and they are unaware;
who overthrows them in anger?
6 Who shakes the earth from its place,
and its pillars shudder?
7 Who commands the sun, and it does not rise,
even seals up the stars;
8 stretched out the heavens alone
and trod on the waves of the Sea;[b]
9 made the Bear and Orion, Pleiades
and the southern constellations;
10 does great and unsearchable things,
wonders beyond number?
A mismatch
11 If God goes by me, I can’t see him;
he glides past, and I can’t perceive him.
12 If he seizes, who can bring back?
Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
13 God won’t retract his anger;
the helpers of Rahab bow beneath him.
14 Yet I myself will answer him;
I’ll choose my words in a contest[c] with him.
15 Even if I’m innocent, I can’t answer;
I must plead for justice.
16 If I were to call and he answered me,
I couldn’t believe that he heard my voice.
17 Who bruises me with a tempest
and multiplies my wounds for no reason?
18 He doesn’t let me catch my breath,
for he fills me with bitterness.
19 If the issue is strength—behold power!
If justice—who calls God to meet me?
There is no justice
20 If I’m innocent, my mouth condemns me;
I have integrity; but God declares me perverse.
21 I’m blameless, yet don’t know myself;
I reject my life.
22 It’s all the same;
therefore, I say God destroys the blameless and the sinners.
23 If calamity suddenly kills,
he mocks at the slaying[d] of innocents.
24 The earth is handed over to the wicked;
he covers the faces of its judges.
If not God, then who does?
Job wants an arbitrator
25 My days are swifter than a runner;
they flee and don’t experience good.
26 They sweep by like ships made of reeds,
as an eagle swoops on prey.
27 If I say, “I’ll forget my lament,
put on a different face so I can smile,”
28 I’m still afraid of all my suffering;
I know that you won’t declare me innocent.
29 I myself am thought guilty;
why have I tried so hard in vain?
30 If I wash myself with snow,
purify my hands with soap,
31 then you’ll hurl me into a slimy pit
so that my clothes detest me.
32 God is not a man like me—someone I could answer—
so that we could come together in court.
33 Oh, that[e] there were a mediator between us;
he would lay his hand on both of us,
34 remove his rod from me,
so his fury wouldn’t frighten me.
35 Then I would speak—unafraid—
for I’m not that way.
Job 9
Amplified Bible
Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man
9 Then Job answered and said,
2
“Yes, I know it is true.
But how can a mortal man be right before God?
3
“If one should want to contend or dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4
“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
Who has [ever] defied or challenged Him and remained unharmed?
5
“It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know it,
When He overturns them in His anger;
6
Who shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;
7
Who commands the sun, and it does not shine;
Who seals up the stars [from view];
8
Who alone stretches out the heavens
And tramples down the [a]waves of the sea;
9
Who made [the constellations] the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the [vast starry] spaces of the south;
10
Who does great things, [beyond understanding,] unfathomable,
Yes, marvelous and wondrous things without number.
11
“Behold, He passes by me, and I do not see Him;
He moves past me, but I do not perceive Him.
12
“Behold, He snatches away; who can restrain or turn Him back?
Who will say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13
“God will not turn back His anger;
The [proud] helpers of Rahab [the arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.
14
“How can I answer Him [and plead my case],
Choosing my words [to reason] with Him?
15
For though I were righteous, I could not answer.
I must appeal for mercy to my Opponent and Judge.
16
“If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17
“For He bruises me with a tempest
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18
“He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills and saturates me with bitterness.
19
“If it is a matter of strength and power, behold, He is mighty!
And if of justice, who can summon and challenge Him?
20
“Though I am innocent and in the right, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty;
Though I am blameless, He would denounce me as guilty.
21
“[Though] I am blameless,
I do not care about myself;
I despise my life.
22
“It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys [both] the blameless and the wicked.’
23
“When [His] scourge kills suddenly,
He mocks at the despair of the innocent.
24
“The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;
He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice].
If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]?
25
“Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They vanish, they see no good.
26
“They pass by like the [swift] boats made of reeds,
Like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.
27
“If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad appearance, and be cheerful and brighten up,’
28
I am afraid of all my pains and worries [yet to come];
I know that You will not acquit me and leave me unpunished.
29
“I am accounted wicked and held guilty;
Why then should I labor in vain [to appear innocent]?
30
“If I were to wash myself with snow
And cleanse my hands with lye,
31
You would still plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would hate me [and refuse to cover my foul body].
32
“For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him,
That we may go to court and judgment together.
33
“There is no arbitrator between us,
Who could lay his hand upon us both [would that there were].(A)
34
“Let Him take His rod away from me,
And let not the dread and fear of Him terrify me.
35
“Then I would speak [my defense] and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.
Footnotes
- Job 9:8 Lit high places.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
