Job 9
1 Et respondens Iob, ait:
Then answered Job, and said,
2 Vere scio quod ita sit, et quod non iustificetur homo compositus Deo.
Truly I know that it is so: and how could a mortal be righteous before God?
3 Si voluerit contendere cum eo, non poterit ei respondere unum pro mille.
If he were desirous to enter into a contest with him, he could not give him one answer out of a thousand.
4 Sapiens corde est, et fortis robore: quis restitit ei, et pacem habuit?
He is wise of heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and escaped unscathed?
5 Qui transtulit montes, et nescierunt hi quos subvertit in furore suo.
[He it is] who removeth mountains, and they know it not, yea, when he overturneth them in his anger;
6 Qui commovet terram de loco suo, et columnae eius concutiuntur.
Who shaketh the earth loose out of her place, that her pillars tremble;
7 Qui praecipit Soli, et non oritur: et stellas claudit quasi sub signaculo:
Who speaketh to the sun, and he shineth not, and around the stars he placeth a seal;
8 Qui extendit caelos solus, et graditur super fluctus maris.
Who spread out the heavens by himself alone, and treadeth upon the hillocks of the sea;
9 Qui facit Arcturum, et Oriona, et Hyadas, et interiora austri.
Who made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers the south;
10 Qui facit magna, et incomprehensibilia, et mirabilia, quorum non est numerus.
Who doth great things which are quite unsearchable, and wonders which are quite without number.
11 Si venerit ad me, non videbo eum: si abierit, non intelligam.
Lo, were he to go past by me, I should not see him; and were he to pass along, I should not perceive him.
12 Si repente interroget, quis respondebit ei? vel quis dicere potest: Cur ita facis?
Behold, were he to snatch aught away, who could hold him back? who would say unto him, What dost thou?
13 Deus, cuius irae nemo resistere potest, et sub quo curvantur qui portant orbem.
God will not withdraw his anger: beneath him sink down the helpers of the proud.
14 Quantus ergo sum ego, ut respondeam ei, et loquar verbis meis cum eo?
How much less then could I answer him, and select my words [to contend] with him?
15 Qui etiam si habuero quippiam iustum, non respondebo, sed meum iudicem deprecabor.
Whom, were I even righteous, I could not answer? to him that condemneth me I could [only] make supplication.
16 Et cum invocantem exaudierit me, non credo quod audierit vocem meam.
Or were I to call, and he would answer me, I could yet not believe that he would give ear unto my voice—
17 In turbine enim conteret me, et multiplicabit vulnera mea etiam sine causa.
He that bruiseth me with [his] tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without a cause.
18 Non concedit requiescere spiritum meum, et implet me amaritudinibus.
He suffereth me not to recover my breath; but feedeth me overmuch with bitter things.
19 Si fortitudo quaeritur, robustissimus est: si aequitas iudicii, nemo audet pro me testimonium dicere.
If it regard strength, lo, he is the powerful; and if justice, who will cite him for me to appear?
20 Si iustificare me voluero, os meum condemnabit me: si innocentem ostendero, pravum me comprobabit.
If I were righteous even, my own mouth would condemn me: were I innocent, it would still prove me perverse.
21 Etiam si simplex fuero, hoc ipsum ignorabit anima mea, et taedebit me vitae meae.
I am innocent; I will not have regard for myself: I will despise my life.
22 Unum est quod locutus sum, et innocentem et impium ipse consumit.
One thing is [certain], therefore have I said it, The innocent and the wicked he bringeth to their end.
23 Si flagellat, occidat semel, et non de poenis innocentum rideat.
If a scourge should slay suddenly, he will mock at the trial of the guiltless.
24 Terra data est in manus impii, vultum iudicum eius operit: quod si non ille est, quis ergo est?
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?
25 Dies mei velociores fuerunt cursore: fugerunt, et non viderunt bonum.
And my days pass swifter than a runner: they flee away, they see no happiness,
26 Pertransierunt quasi naves poma portantes, sicut aquila volans ad escam.
They hasten along like pirate ships: like the eagle that stoopeth down upon his food.
27 Cum dixero: Nequaquam ita loquar: commuto faciem meam, et dolore torqueor.
If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my sorrowful countenance, and recover my cheerfulness:
28 Verebar omnia opera mea, sciens quod non parceres delinquenti.
O then would I be in dread of all my pains; I know that thou wilt not declare me innocent.
29 Si autem et sic impius sum, quare frustra laboravi?
I must ever be guilty: why then should I fatigue myself for nought?
30 Si lotus fuero quasi aquis nivis, et fulserint velut mundissimae manus meae:
If I were to wash myself in snow-water, to cleanse myself in the purity of my hands:
31 Tamen sordibus intinges me, et abominabuntur me vestimenta mea.
Even then wouldst thou plunge me in the ditch, that my own clothes would render me abhorred.
32 Neque enim viro qui similis mei est, respondebo: nec qui mecum in iudicio ex aequo possit audiri.
For he is not a man, like me, that I could answer him, that we should enter together into a contest.
33 Non est qui utrumque valeat arguere, et ponere manum suam in ambobus.
There is no one who can decide between us, who could lay his hand upon us both.
34 Auferat a me virgam suam, et pavor eius non me terreat.
Let him but remove from me his rod, and let not his dread terrify me:
35 Loquar, et non timebo eum: neque enim possum metuens respondere.
Then would I speak, and not fear him; for the like I feel not within me.
