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14 How much less[a] can I myself[b] answer him?
How can I choose my words with him,
15 whom I cannot answer, even though I am righteous?
From[c] my judge I must implore grace.
16 If I summon him, and he should answer me,
I do not believe that he will listen to my voice—
17 who crushes me with a tempest
and multiplies[d] my wounds without cause.
18 He will not allow me to catch[e] my breath;
rather, he will fill me with bitterness.
19 If it is a matter of[f] strength, look, he is mighty.
But[g] if it is a matter of[h] justice, who can summon me?[i]
20 Even though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me;
even though I am blameless, yet[j] it would pronounce me guilty.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 9:14 Literally “Also for”
  2. Job 9:14 Emphatic personal pronoun
  3. Job 9:15 Hebrew “To”
  4. Job 9:17 Hebrew “he multiplies”
  5. Job 9:18 Literally “return,” or “regain”
  6. Job 9:19 Literally “for”; see NASB, NIV, NET
  7. Job 9:19 Hebrew “And”
  8. Job 9:19 Literally “for”; NASB, NIV, NET, NRSV
  9. Job 9:19 Or “arraign me”
  10. Job 9:20 Hebrew “and”

14 Yet I myself will answer him;
    I’ll choose my words in a contest[a] 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.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 9:14 Heb lacks in a contest.