Job 9
1 Et respondens Iob, ait:
Then Job answered and said:
2 Vere scio quod ita sit, et quod non iustificetur homo compositus Deo.
Of a truth, I know that it is so: For how can man be just before God?
3 Si voluerit contendere cum eo, non poterit ei respondere unum pro mille.
If he choose to contend with him, He cannot answer him to one charge of a thousand.
4 Sapiens corde est, et fortis robore: quis restitit ei, et pacem habuit?
He is excellent in wisdom, mighty in strength: Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered?
5 Qui transtulit montes, et nescierunt hi quos subvertit in furore suo.
He removeth the mountains, and they know it not; He overturneth them in his anger.
6 Qui commovet terram de loco suo, et columnae eius concutiuntur.
He shaketh the earth out of her place, And the pillars thereof tremble.
7 Qui praecipit Soli, et non oritur: et stellas claudit quasi sub signaculo:
He commandeth the sun, and it riseth not, And he sealeth up the stars.
8 Qui extendit caelos solus, et graditur super fluctus maris.
He alone spreadeth out the heavens, And walketh upon the high waves of the sea.
9 Qui facit Arcturum, et Oriona, et Hyadas, et interiora austri.
He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the secret chambers of the South.
10 Qui facit magna, et incomprehensibilia, et mirabilia, quorum non est numerus.
He doeth great things past finding out, Yea, wonderful things without number.
11 Si venerit ad me, non videbo eum: si abierit, non intelligam.
Lo! he goeth by me, but I see him not; He passeth along, but I do not perceive him.
12 Si repente interroget, quis respondebit ei? vel quis dicere potest: Cur ita facis?
Lo! he seizeth, and who can hinder him? Who will say to him, What doest thou?
13 Deus, cuius irae nemo resistere potest, et sub quo curvantur qui portant orbem.
God will not turn away his anger; The proud helpers are brought low before him.
14 Quantus ergo sum ego, ut respondeam ei, et loquar verbis meis cum eo?
How much less shall I answer him, And choose out words to contend with him?
15 Qui etiam si habuero quippiam iustum, non respondebo, sed meum iudicem deprecabor.
Though I were innocent, I would not answer him; I would cast myself on the mercy of my judge.
16 Et cum invocantem exaudierit me, non credo quod audierit vocem meam.
Should I call, and he make answer to me, I could not believe that he listened to my voice, —
17 In turbine enim conteret me, et multiplicabit vulnera mea etiam sine causa.
He who falleth upon me with a tempest, And multiplieth my wounds without cause!
18 Non concedit requiescere spiritum meum, et implet me amaritudinibus.
Who will not suffer me to take my breath, But filleth me with bitterness!
19 Si fortitudo quaeritur, robustissimus est: si aequitas iudicii, nemo audet pro me testimonium dicere.
If I look to strength, “Lo! here am I!” [[saith he, ]] If to justice, “Who shall summon me to trial?”
20 Si iustificare me voluero, os meum condemnabit me: si innocentem ostendero, pravum me comprobabit.
Though I were upright, yet must my own mouth condemn me; Though I were innocent, He would prove me perverse.
21 Etiam si simplex fuero, hoc ipsum ignorabit anima mea, et taedebit me vitae meae.
Though I were innocent, I would not care for myself; I would despise my life.
22 Unum est quod locutus sum, et innocentem et impium ipse consumit.
It is all one; therefore I will affirm, He destroyeth the righteous and the wicked alike.
23 Si flagellat, occidat semel, et non de poenis innocentum rideat.
When the scourge bringeth sudden destruction, He laugheth at the sufferings of the innocent.
24 Terra data est in manus impii, vultum iudicum eius operit: quod si non ille est, quis ergo est?
The earth is given into the hands of the wicked; He covereth the face of the judges thereof; If it be not He, who is it?
25 Dies mei velociores fuerunt cursore: fugerunt, et non viderunt bonum.
My days have been swifter than a courier; They have fled away; they have seen no good.
26 Pertransierunt quasi naves poma portantes, sicut aquila volans ad escam.
They have gone by like the reed-skiffs; Like the eagle, darting upon his prey.
27 Cum dixero: Nequaquam ita loquar: commuto faciem meam, et dolore torqueor.
If I say, I will forget my lamentation, I will change my countenance, and take courage,
28 Verebar omnia opera mea, sciens quod non parceres delinquenti.
Still am I in dread of the multitude of my sorrows; For I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
29 Si autem et sic impius sum, quare frustra laboravi?
I shall be found guilty; Why then should I labor in vain?
30 Si lotus fuero quasi aquis nivis, et fulserint velut mundissimae manus meae:
If I wash myself in snow, And cleanse my hands with lye,
31 Tamen sordibus intinges me, et abominabuntur me vestimenta mea.
Still wilt thou plunge me into the pit, So that my own clothes will abhor me.
32 Neque enim viro qui similis mei est, respondebo: nec qui mecum in iudicio ex aequo possit audiri.
For He is not a man, as I am, that I may contend with him, And that we may go together into judgment;
33 Non est qui utrumque valeat arguere, et ponere manum suam in ambobus.
There is no umpire between us, Who may lay his hand upon us both.
34 Auferat a me virgam suam, et pavor eius non me terreat.
Let him take from me his rod, And not dismay me with his terrors,
35 Loquar, et non timebo eum: neque enim possum metuens respondere.
Then I will speak, and not be afraid of him: For I am not so at heart.
