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Job Replies: There Is No Mediator

Then Job answered:

“Truly, I know it is so,
    but how can a man be righteous with God?
If one would dispute with Him,
    he cannot answer Him once in a thousand times.
He is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
    Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
He who removes mountains, and they know not,
    who overturns them in His anger.
He who shakes the earth out of its place,
    and its pillars tremble.
He who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
    he seals off the stars.
He who alone spreads out the heavens,
    and treads on the waves of the sea.
He who makes the Bear, Orion, and Pleiades,
    and the constellations of the south.
10 He who does great things, beyond discovery,
    yes, and wonders beyond number.
11 Yes, He would cross before me, and I would not see Him;
    He would pass on by, but I would not perceive Him.
12 Yes, He takes away; who can hinder Him?
    Who will say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13 God will not withdraw His anger.
    The proud helpers bow down beneath Him.

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Job’s Third Speech: A Response to Bildad

Then[a] Job answered and said,

“Truly I know that it is so,
but[b] how can a human being be just before God?
If he wants to contend with him,
he cannot answer him one time in a thousand.
He is wise in[c] heart and mighty in[d] strength;
who has resisted him and succeeded?[e]
He is the one who moves mountains, and they do not know how,
who overturns them in his anger.
He is the one who shakes the earth from its place,
and its pillars tremble.
He is the one who commands the sun, and it does not rise,
and he seals up the stars.[f]
He is the one who alone stretches out the heavens
and who tramples on the waves of the sea.
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.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 9:1 Hebrew “And”
  2. Job 9:2 Hebrew “and”
  3. Job 9:4 Hebrew “of”
  4. Job 9:4 Hebrew “of”
  5. Job 9:4 Literally “he succeeded”
  6. Job 9:7 Literally “and behind the stars he seals up”
  7. Job 9:10 Literally “until there is not understanding”
  8. Job 9:10 Literally “until there is not number”
  9. Job 9:11 Literally “Look”
  10. Job 9:11 Literally “and I would not see”
  11. Job 9:11 Literally “and I would not recognize him”
  12. Job 9:12 Literally “Look”