Job 9
1 Then Job answered:
Et respondens Iob, ait:
2 “Yes, I know that it is so, but how can a mortal be righteous before God?
Vere scio quod ita sit, et quod non iustificetur homo compositus Deo.
3 If one wished to contend with God, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
Si voluerit contendere cum eo, non poterit ei respondere unum pro mille.
4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?
Sapiens corde est, et fortis robore: quis restitit ei, et pacem habuit?
5 He moves mountains without their knowledge and overturns them in His anger.
Qui transtulit montes, et nescierunt hi quos subvertit in furore suo.
6 He shakes the earth from its place, so that its foundations tremble.
Qui commovet terram de loco suo, et columnæ eius concutiuntur.
7 He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars.
Qui præcipit Soli, et non oritur: et stellas claudit quasi sub signaculo:
8 He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
Qui extendit cælos solus, et graditur super fluctus maris.
9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
Qui facit Arcturum, et Oriona, et Hyadas, et interiora austri.
10 He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number.
Qui facit magna, et incomprehensibilia, et mirabilia, quorum non est numerus.
11 Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him.
Si venerit ad me, non videbo eum: si abierit, non intelligam.
12 If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’
Si repente interroget, quis respondebit ei? vel quis dicere potest: Cur ita facis?
13 God does not restrain His anger; the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him.
Deus, cuius iræ nemo resistere potest, et sub quo curvantur qui portant orbem.
14 How then can I answer Him or choose my arguments against Him?
Quantus ergo sum ego, ut respondeam ei, et loquar verbis meis cum eo?
15 For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy.
Qui etiam si habuero quippiam iustum, non respondebo, sed meum iudicem deprecabor.
16 If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice.
Et cum invocantem exaudierit me, non credo quod audierit vocem meam.
17 For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.
In turbine enim conteret me, et multiplicabit vulnera mea etiam sine causa.
18 He does not let me catch my breath, but overwhelms me with bitterness.
Non concedit requiescere spiritum meum, et implet me amaritudinibus.
19 If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
Si fortitudo quæritur, robustissimus est: si æquitas iudicii, nemo audet pro me testimonium dicere.
20 Even if I were righteous, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would declare me guilty.
Si iustificare me voluero, os meum condemnabit me: si innocentem ostendero, pravum me comprobabit.
21 Though I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.
Etiam si simplex fuero, hoc ipsum ignorabit anima mea, et tædebit me vitæ meæ.
22 It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
Unum est quod locutus sum, et innocentem et impium ipse consumit.
23 When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent.
Si flagellat, occidat semel, et non de pœnis innocentum rideat.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?
Terra data est in manus impii, vultum iudicum eius operit: quod si non ille est, quis ergo est?
25 My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good.
Dies mei velociores fuerunt cursore: fugerunt, et non viderunt bonum.
26 They sweep by like boats of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
Pertransierunt quasi naves poma portantes, sicut aquila volans ad escam.
27 If I were to say, ‘I will forget my complaint and change my expression and smile,’
Cum dixero: Nequaquam ita loquar: commuto faciem meam, et dolore torqueor.
28 I would still dread all my sufferings; I know that You will not acquit me.
Verebar omnia opera mea, sciens quod non parceres delinquenti.
29 Since I am already found guilty, why should I labor in vain?
Si autem et sic impius sum, quare frustra laboravi?
30 If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,
Si lotus fuero quasi aquis nivis, et fulserit velut mundissimæ manus meæ:
31 then You would plunge me into the pit, and even my own clothes would despise me.
Tamen sordibus intinges me, et abominabuntur me vestimenta mea.
32 For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.
Neque enim viro qui similis mei est, respondebo: nec qui mecum in iudicio ex æquo possit audiri.
33 Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both.
Non est qui utrumque valeat arguere, et ponere manum suam in ambobus.
34 Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me.
Auferat a me virgam suam, et pavor eius non me terreat.
35 Then I would speak without fear of Him. But as it is, I am on my own.
Loquar, et non timebo eum: neque enim possum metuens respondere.
