Job 9
1 And Job answereth and saith: —
Then Job answered:
2 Truly I have known that [it is] so, And what — is man righteous with God?
“Yes, I know that it is so, but how can a mortal be righteous before God?
3 If he delight to strive with Him — He doth not answer him one of a thousand.
If one wished to contend with God, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
4 Wise in heart and strong in power — Who hath hardened toward Him and is at peace?
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?
5 Who is removing mountains, And they have not known, Who hath overturned them in His anger.
He moves mountains without their knowledge and overturns them in His anger.
6 Who is shaking earth from its place, And its pillars move themselves.
He shakes the earth from its place, so that its foundations tremble.
7 Who is speaking to the sun, and it riseth not, And the stars He sealeth up.
He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars.
8 Stretching out the heavens by Himself, And treading on the heights of the sea,
He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
9 Making Osh, Kesil, and Kimah, And the inner chambers of the south.
He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
10 Doing great things till there is no searching, And wonderful, till there is no numbering.
He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number.
11 Lo, He goeth over by me, and I see not, And He passeth on, and I attend not to it.
Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him.
12 Lo, He snatches away, who bringeth it back? Who saith unto Him, 'What dost Thou?'
If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13 God doth not turn back His anger, Under Him bowed have proud helpers.
God does not restrain His anger; the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him.
14 How much less do I — I answer Him? Choose out my words with Him?
How then can I answer Him or choose my arguments against Him?
15 Whom, though I were righteous, I answer not, For my judgment I make supplication.
For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy.
16 Though I had called and He answereth me, I do not believe that He giveth ear [to] my voice.
If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice.
17 Because with a tempest He bruiseth me, And hath multiplied my wounds for nought.
For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.
18 He permitteth me not to refresh my spirit, But filleth me with bitter things.
He does not let me catch my breath, but overwhelms me with bitterness.
19 If of power, lo, the Strong One; And if of judgment — who doth convene me?
If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
20 If I be righteous, Mine mouth doth declare me wicked, Perfect I am! — it declareth me perverse.
Even if I were righteous, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would declare me guilty.
21 Perfect I am! — I know not my soul, I despise my life.
Though I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.
22 It is the same thing, therefore I said, 'The perfect and the wicked He is consuming.'
It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 If a scourge doth put to death suddenly, At the trial of the innocent He laugheth.
When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 Earth hath been given Into the hand of the wicked one. The face of its judges he covereth, If not — where, who [is] he?
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?
25 My days have been swifter than a runner, They have fled, they have not seen good,
My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good.
26 They have passed on with ships of reed, As an eagle darteth on food.
They sweep by like boats of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27 Though I say, 'I forget my talking, I forsake my corner, and I brighten up!'
If I were to say, ‘I will forget my complaint and change my expression and smile,’
28 I have been afraid of all my griefs, I have known that Thou dost not acquit me.
I would still dread all my sufferings; I know that You will not acquit me.
29 I — I am become wicked; why [is] this? [In] vain I labour.
Since I am already found guilty, why should I labor in vain?
30 If I have washed myself with snow-water, And purified with soap my hands,
If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 Then in corruption Thou dost dip me, And my garments have abominated me.
then You would plunge me into the pit, and even my own clothes would despise me.
32 But if a man like myself — I answer him, We come together into judgment.
For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.
33 If there were between us an umpire, He doth place his hand on us both.
Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both.
34 He doth turn aside from off me his rod, And His terror doth not make me afraid,
Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me.
35 I speak, and do not fear Him, But I am not right with myself.
Then I would speak without fear of Him. But as it is, I am on my own.
