Job 9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 9
Job’s Second Reply. 1 Then Job answered and said:
2 I know well that it is so;
but how can anyone be in the right before God?
3 Should one wish to contend with him,[a]
he could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who has withstood him and remained whole?
5 He removes the mountains before they know it;
he overturns them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth out of its place,(A)
and the pillars beneath it tremble.
7 He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
he seals up the stars.
8 He alone stretches out the heavens(B)
and treads upon the back of the sea.
9 He made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south;
10 He does things great and unsearchable,
things marvelous and innumerable.
11 Should he come near me, I do not see him;
should he pass by, I am not aware of him;
12 Should he seize me forcibly, who can resist?
Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
13 He is God and he does not relent;
the helpers of Rahab[b] bow beneath him.
14 How then could I give him any answer,
or choose out arguments against him!
15 Even though I were right, I could not answer,(C)
but should rather beg for what was due me.
16 If I appealed to him and he answered me,
I could not believe that he would listen to me;
17 With a storm he might overwhelm me,
and multiply my wounds for nothing;
18 He would not allow me to draw breath,
but might fill me with bitter griefs.
19 If it be a question of strength, he is mighty;
or of judgment, who will call him to account?
20 Though I were right, my own mouth might condemn me;(D)
were I innocent, it might put me in the wrong.
21 I am innocent, but I cannot know it;
I despise my life.
22 It is all one! therefore I say:
Both the innocent and the wicked he destroys.(E)
23 When the scourge slays suddenly,
he scoffs at the despair of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;
he covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not he, who then is it?
25 My days are swifter than a runner,
they flee away; they see no happiness;(F)
26 They shoot by like skiffs of reed,
like an eagle swooping upon its prey.
27 If I say: I will forget my complaining,
I will lay aside my sadness and be of good cheer,
28 Then I am in dread of all my pains;
I know that you[c] will not hold me innocent.
29 It is I who will be accounted guilty;
why then should I strive in vain?
30 If I should wash myself with soap
and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 Yet you would plunge me in the ditch,
so that my garments would abhor me.
32 For he is not a man like myself, that I should answer him,
that we should come together in judgment.
33 Would that there were an arbiter between us,
who could lay his hand upon us both
34 and withdraw his rod from me,
So that his terrors did not frighten me;
35 that I might speak without being afraid of him.
Since this is not the case with me,
1 [d]I loathe my life.(G)
Footnotes
- 9:3 Job begins to explore the possibility of challenging God in a lawsuit, a theme that will recur (10:2), but he knows the odds are against him (vv. 12–20).
- 9:13 Rahab: another name for the primeval sea-monster; see notes on 3:8 and Ps 89:11; cf. Jb 7:12; 26:12.
- 9:28–31 You: refers to God.
- 10:1 I loathe my life: these words complete the thought of 9:35.
约伯记 9
Revised Chinese Union Version (Simplified Script) Shen Edition
9 约伯回答说：
2 “我真的知道是这样，
但人在 神前怎能成为义呢？
3 人若想要与他争辩，
千次中也不能回答一次。
4 他心里有智慧，且大有能力。
谁向 神刚硬而得平安呢？
5 他把山挪移，山却不知，
他在怒气中，把山翻倒。
6 他使地震动，离其本位，
地的柱子就摇撼。
7 他吩咐太阳，太阳就不出来，
又封住众星。
8 他独自铺张诸天，
步行在海浪之上。
9 他造北斗、参星、昴星，
以及南方的星宿[a]；
10 他行大事不可测度，
行奇事不可胜数。
11 看哪，他从我旁边经过，我看不见；
他走过，我没有察觉他。
12 看哪，他夺去，谁能阻挡他？
谁敢对他说：‘你做什么呢？’
13 “ 神必不收回他的怒气，
扶助拉哈伯[b]的，屈身在 神以下。
14 既是这样，我怎敢回答他，
怎敢在他之前选择辩词呢？
15 我虽有义，也不能回答，
我要向那审判我的恳求。
16 我若呼求，纵然他应允我，
我仍不信他会侧耳听我的声音。
17 他用暴风[c]摧折我，
无故加增我的损伤。
18 他不容我喘一口气，
倒使我饱受苦恼。
19 若论力量，看哪，他真有能力！
若论审判，‘谁能传我呢？’
20 我虽有义，我的口要定我有罪；
我虽完全，他必证明我为弯曲。
21 我虽完全，不顾自己；
我厌弃我的性命。
22 所以我说，都是一样；
完全人和恶人，他都灭绝。
23 若灾祸忽然带来死亡，
他必戏笑无辜人的苦难。
24 世界交在恶人手中；
他蒙蔽世界审判官的脸，
若不是他，那么是谁呢？
25 “我的日子比奔跑者更快，
急速过去，不见福乐。
26 我的日子如蒲草船掠过，
如鹰俯冲抓食。
27 我若说：‘我要忘记我的苦情，
强颜欢笑’，
28 我就因一切的愁苦而惧怕；
我知道你必不以我为无辜。
29 我必被定罪，
我何必徒然劳苦呢？
30 我若用雪水洗身，
用碱洁净我的手掌，
31 你还要把我扔在坑里，
我的衣服都憎恶我。
32 他不像我是个人，使我可以回答他，
使我们可以一同受审判。
33 我们中间没有仲裁者，
可以按手在我们两造之间。
34 愿他使他的杖离开我，
不使他的威严恐吓我，
35 我就说话，不惧怕他；
但对我来说，我却不是这样。”
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.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
和合本修訂版經文 © 2006, 2010, 2017 香港聖經公會。蒙允許使用。 Scripture Text of Revised Chinese Union Version © 2006, 2010, 2017 Hong Kong Bible Society. www.hkbs.org.hk/en/ Used by permission.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
