Job 9
1 Then answered Job, and said,
Then Job replied,
2 Truly I know that it is so: and how could a mortal be righteous before God?
“Yes, I certainly know that [much of] what you said is true. But (how can anyone say to God, ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it?’/no one can say to God ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it.’) [RHQ]
3 If he were desirous to enter into a contest with him, he could not give him one answer out of a thousand.
If someone wanted to argue with God [about that], God could ask him 1,000 questions, and that person would not be able to answer any of them!
4 He is wise of heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and escaped unscathed?
God is very wise [IDM] and very powerful; no one who has tried to challenge God has been able to win.
5 [He it is] who removeth mountains, and they know it not, yea, when he overturneth them in his anger;
He even moves mountains, without them (OR, anyone) knowing about it. When he is angry, he turns them upside down.
6 Who shaketh the earth loose out of her place, that her pillars tremble;
He sends earthquakes that shake the ground; he causes the pillars that support the earth to tremble.
7 Who speaketh to the sun, and he shineth not, and around the stars he placeth a seal;
[Some days] he speaks to the sun, and it does not rise, and [some nights] he prevents the stars from shining.
8 Who spread out the heavens by himself alone, and treadeth upon the hillocks of the sea;
He alone (stretched out/put in place) the sky; he alone puts his feet on the waves (OR, on the huge sea monster).
9 Who made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers the south;
He put in their places [the clusters/groups of stars that are called] The Dipper/Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars in the southern sky.
10 Who doth great things which are quite unsearchable, and wonders which are quite without number.
Only he does great things that we cannot understand; he does more marvelous things than we are able to count.
11 Lo, were he to go past by me, I should not see him; and were he to pass along, I should not perceive him.
He passes by where I am, but I do not see him; he moves further on, but I do not see him go.
12 Behold, were he to snatch aught away, who could hold him back? who would say unto him, What dost thou?
If he [wants to] snatch something away, no one [RHQ] can hinder him; no one dares to ask him, ‘Why are you doing that?’ [RHQ]
13 God will not withdraw his anger: beneath him sink down the helpers of the proud.
God will not very easily stop being angry; he defeated [MTY] those who [tried to] help Rahab, [the great sea monster].
14 How much less then could I answer him, and select my words [to contend] with him?
“So, [if God took me to court], what could I say [MTY] to answer him?
15 Whom, were I even righteous, I could not answer? to him that condemneth me I could [only] make supplication.
Even though I (would be innocent/would not have done what is wrong), I would not be able to answer him. All I could do would be to request God, my judge/accuser, to act mercifully toward me.
16 Or were I to call, and he would answer me, I could yet not believe that he would give ear unto my voice—
If I summoned him to [come to the courtroom] and he said that he would come, I would not believe that he would pay attention to what I would say.
17 He that bruiseth me with [his] tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without a cause.
He sends storms to batter me, and he bruises me many times (without any reason to do that/even though I am innocent).
18 He suffereth me not to recover my breath; but feedeth me overmuch with bitter things.
[It is as though] he will not let me get/catch my breath, because he causes me to suffer all the time.
19 If it regard strength, lo, he is the powerful; and if justice, who will cite him for me to appear?
If I would try to (wrestle with/fight against) him, [there is no way that I could defeat him, ] [because] he is stronger than I am. If I would request him to appear in court, there is no one who could [RHQ] force him to go there.
20 If I were righteous even, my own mouth would condemn me: were I innocent, it would still prove me perverse.
Even though I was innocent, what I would say would cause him to say that I must be punished [MTY]; even though I had not done anything wrong, he would prove that I am guilty.
21 I am innocent; I will not have regard for myself: I will despise my life.
“I have not done what is wrong, but that is not important. I despise continuing to remain alive.
22 One thing is [certain], therefore have I said it, The innocent and the wicked he bringeth to their end.
But it doesn’t matter, because God will get rid of [all of us, ] both those who are innocent and those who are wicked.
23 If a scourge should slay suddenly, he will mock at the trial of the guiltless.
When people experience disaster and it causes them to suddenly die, God laughs at it, even if they are innocent.
24 Is a land given up into the hand of the wicked? he covereth the faces of its judges: if this be not the truth, who is it then?
God has allowed wicked people to control [what happens in] the world. [It is as though] he has caused judges to be blindfolded, [with the result that they cannot judge fairly]. If it is not God who has put wicked people in control, who has done it?
25 And my days pass swifter than a runner: they flee away, they see no happiness,
“My days go by very quickly, like a fast runner; [it is as though] they run away, and nothing good happens to me on those days.
26 They hasten along like pirate ships: like the eagle that stoopeth down upon his food.
My life goes by very rapidly, like a boat made from reeds sailing swiftly, or like an eagle that swoops down to seize a small animal.
27 If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my sorrowful countenance, and recover my cheerfulness:
If I smile and say [to God], ‘I will forget what I am complaining about; I will stop looking sad and try to be cheerful/happy,’
28 O then would I be in dread of all my pains; I know that thou wilt not declare me innocent.
then I become afraid because of all that I am suffering, because I know that God does not consider that I am innocent.
29 I must ever be guilty: why then should I fatigue myself for nought?
He will (condemn me/declare that I should be punished), so why should I keep trying in vain [to defend myself]?
30 If I were to wash myself in snow-water, to cleanse myself in the purity of my hands:
If I washed myself with snow or cleansed my hands with lye/soap [to get rid of my guilt],
31 Even then wouldst thou plunge me in the ditch, that my own clothes would render me abhorred.
he would still throw me into a filthy pit; as a result [it would be as though] even my clothes would detest me.
32 For he is not a man, like me, that I could answer him, that we should enter together into a contest.
“God is not a human, as I am, so there is no way that I could answer him [to prove that I am innocent] if we went together to have a trial [in a courtroom].
33 There is no one who can decide between us, who could lay his hand upon us both.
There is no one to (mediate/hear us and decide who is right), no one who has authority over both of us [IDM].
34 Let him but remove from me his rod, and let not his dread terrify me:
I wish/desire that he would stop punishing [MTY] me, and that he would not continue to terrify me.
35 Then would I speak, and not fear him; for the like I feel not within me.
If he did that, I would declare [that I am innocent] without being afraid of him, because I know that I really have not [done what is wrong like God thinks that I have].”
