Job 9-12
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: I Would Plead with God
10 “My (X)soul loathes my life;
I will [j]give free course to my complaint,
(Y)I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me;
Show me why You contend with me.
3 Does it seem good to You that You should oppress,
That You should despise the work of Your hands,
And smile on the counsel of the wicked?
4 Do You have eyes of flesh?
Or (Z)do You see as man sees?
5 Are Your days like the days of a mortal man?
Are Your years like the days of a mighty man,
6 That You should seek for my iniquity
And search out my sin,
7 Although You know that I am not wicked,
And there is no one who can deliver from Your hand?
8 ‘Your(AA) hands have made me and fashioned me,
An intricate unity;
Yet You would (AB)destroy me.
9 Remember, I pray, (AC)that You have made me like clay.
And will You turn me into dust again?
10 (AD)Did You not pour me out like milk,
And curdle me like cheese,
11 Clothe me with skin and flesh,
And knit me together with bones and sinews?
12 You have granted me life and favor,
And Your care has preserved my spirit.
13 ‘And these things You have hidden in Your heart;
I know that this was with You:
14 If I sin, then (AE)You mark me,
And will not acquit me of my iniquity.
15 If I am wicked, (AF)woe to me;
(AG)Even if I am righteous, I [k]cannot lift up my head.
I am full of disgrace;
(AH)See my misery!
16 If my head is exalted,
(AI)You hunt me like a fierce lion,
And again You show Yourself awesome against me.
17 You renew Your witnesses against me,
And increase Your indignation toward me;
Changes and war are ever with me.
18 ‘Why(AJ) then have You brought me out of the womb?
Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me!
19 I would have been as though I had not been.
I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.
20 (AK)Are not my days few?
Cease! (AL)Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort,
21 Before I go to the place from which I shall not return,
(AM)To the land of darkness (AN)and the shadow of death,
22 A land as dark as darkness itself,
As the shadow of death, without any order,
Where even the light is like darkness.’ ”
Zophar Urges Job to Repent
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
2 “Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should [l]a man full of talk be vindicated?
3 Should your empty talk make men [m]hold their peace?
And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?
4 For you have said,
(AO)‘My doctrine is pure,
And I am clean in your eyes.’
5 But oh, that God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
6 That He would show you the secrets of wisdom!
For they would double your prudence.
Know therefore that (AP)God [n]exacts from you
Less than your iniquity deserves.
7 “Can(AQ) you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
8 They are higher than heaven—what can you do?
Deeper than [o]Sheol—what can you know?
9 Their measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.
10 “If(AR) He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment,
Then who can [p]hinder Him?
11 For (AS)He knows deceitful men;
He sees wickedness also.
Will He not then consider it?
12 For an (AT)empty-headed man will be wise,
When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.
13 “If you would (AU)prepare your heart,
And (AV)stretch out your hands toward Him;
14 If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away,
And (AW)would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;
15 (AX)Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;
Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear;
16 Because you would (AY)forget your misery,
And remember it as waters that have passed away,
17 And your life (AZ)would be brighter than noonday.
Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.
18 And you would be secure, because there is hope;
Yes, you would dig around you, and (BA)take your rest in safety.
19 You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;
Yes, many would court your favor.
20 But (BB)the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And they shall not escape,
And (BC)their hope—[q]loss of life!”
Job Answers His Critics
12 Then Job answered and said:
2 “No doubt you are the people,
And wisdom will die with you!
3 But I have [r]understanding as well as you;
I am not (BD)inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?
4 “I(BE) am one mocked by his friends,
Who (BF)called on God, and He answered him,
The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
5 A [s]lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;
It is made ready for (BG)those whose feet slip.
6 (BH)The tents of robbers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure—
In what God provides by His hand.
7 “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 (BI)In whose hand is the [t]life of every living thing,
And the (BJ)breath of [u]all mankind?
11 Does not the ear test words
And the [v]mouth taste its food?
12 Wisdom is with aged men,
And with [w]length of days, understanding.
13 “With Him are (BK)wisdom and strength,
He has counsel and understanding.
14 If (BL)He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
15 If He (BM)withholds the waters, they dry up;
If He (BN)sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.
16 With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leads counselors away plundered,
And makes fools of the judges.
18 He loosens the bonds of kings,
And binds their waist with a belt.
19 He leads [x]princes away plundered,
And overthrows the mighty.
20 (BO)He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 (BP)He pours contempt on princes,
And [y]disarms the mighty.
22 He (BQ)uncovers deep things out of darkness,
And brings the shadow of death to light.
23 (BR)He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He [z]enlarges nations, and guides them.
24 He takes away the [aa]understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And (BS)makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
25 (BT)They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them (BU)stagger like a drunken man.
Footnotes
- Job 9:3 argue
- Job 9:8 walks
- Job 9:8 Lit. heights
- Job 9:9 Heb. Ash, Kesil, and Kimah
- Job 9:12 Lit. who can turn Him back?
- Job 9:13 Heb. rahab
- Job 9:26 Lit. ships of reeds
- Job 9:30 lye
- Job 9:31 loathe
- Job 10:1 Lit. leave on myself
- Job 10:15 Lit. will not
- Job 11:2 Lit. a man of lips
- Job 11:3 be silent
- Job 11:6 Lit. forgets some of your iniquity for you
- Job 11:8 The abode of the dead
- Job 11:10 restrain
- Job 11:20 Lit. the breathing out of life
- Job 12:3 Lit. a heart
- Job 12:5 Or disaster
- Job 12:10 Or soul
- Job 12:10 Lit. all flesh of men
- Job 12:11 palate
- Job 12:12 Long life
- Job 12:19 Lit. priests, but not in a technical sense
- Job 12:21 loosens the belt of
- Job 12:23 Lit. spreads out
- Job 12:24 Lit. heart
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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