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
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 passed by me, I wouldn’t see him;(J)
if he went 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 fills me with bitter experiences.
19 If it is a matter of strength, look, he is the powerful 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 catastrophe[g] brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 The earth[h] is handed over to the wicked;
he blindfolds[i] its judges.(T)
If it isn’t he, then who is it?
25 My days fly by faster than a runner;[j](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 struggle 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 mediator 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.
Job 9
International Standard Version
Job Cannot Argue with His Creator
9 This was Job’s response:
2 “Indeed, I’m fully aware that this is so,
but how can a person become right with God?
3 If one were to seek to argue with him,
he won’t be able to answer him even once in a thousand times.
4 He is wise in heart and strong in will—
who can be stubborn against him and succeed?
5 “He removes mountains without their knowledge,
overthrowing them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth from its orbit,[a]
so that its foundations shudder.
7 He commands the sun so that it doesn’t shine[b]
and seals up the stars.
8 He alone spreads out the heavens,
he walks on the waves[c] of the sea.
9 He created Bear, Orion, the Pleiades,
and the southern constellations.
10 He does great things that cannot be explained,
and awesome deeds that cannot be counted.
11 “If he were to pass near me, I wouldn’t notice;
if he moves by, I wouldn’t perceive him.
12 Indeed, if he snatches someone[d] away,
who could restrain him?
Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 “God doesn’t restrain his anger.
Rahab’s assistants are humiliated under him.
14 So how am I to answer him,
choosing what I am to say to him?
15 Even if I’m in the right,
I cannot answer him.
I can only appeal for mercy.
16 “Were I to be summoned, and he were to answer me,
I wouldn’t even believe
that he was listening to what I have to say.[e]
17 For he crushes me with a storm,
and keeps on wounding me for no reason.
18 He won’t let me catch my breath;
instead, he fills me with bitterness.
19 “Is this a contest of strength? He is obviously stronger!
Is this a matter of justice? Who can sue him?
20 Though I’m in the right, my own mouth will condemn me;
though I’m blameless, he’ll pronounce me as guilty.
21 “I’m blameless;
I don’t know myself;
I despise my life.
22 I say it’s all the same—
he destroys both the blameless and the guilty.[f]
23 If a calamity[g] causes sudden death,
he’ll mock at the despair of the innocent.
24 A land is given into the hands of a wicked person;[h]
he covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not God,[i] then who is it?”
Job Argues that God Won’t Acquit Him
25 “My days pass faster than a runner;
but they pass quickly without seeing anything good.
26 They pass by like a ship made of reeds,
like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27 If I were to say, ‘Let me forget my complaint,’
change[j] the expression on[k] my face, and look cheerful,
28 then I still dread all of my suffering;
I know you still won’t acquit me.
29 I will be condemned,
so why should I wear myself out with this futility?
30 “If I wash myself with water from snow,
and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 you’ll still drop me into the Pit,[l]
and my own clothes will despise me.
32 He’s not a man like me,
so that I can answer him,
or that we can enter into litigation[m] with one another.
33 There is not yet a mediator between us,
who would set his hand on the two of us,
34 removing his rod from me,
and not letting terror of him overwhelm me.
35 Otherwise, I would speak without being terrified of him,
because I’m not like that inside myself.”
Footnotes
- Job 9:6 Lit. place
- Job 9:7 Lit. rise
- Job 9:8 Lit. high places
- Job 9:12 The Heb. lacks someone
- Job 9:16 Lit. to my voice
- Job 9:22 Or wicked
- Job 9:23 Or scourge
- Job 9:24 Lit. man
- Job 9:24 Lit. he
- Job 9:27 Lit. forsake
- Job 9:27 The Heb. lacks the expression on
- Job 9:31 I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife
- Job 9:32 Lit. controversy
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
