< Job 9 >

1 et respondens Iob ait
And Job answered, and said:
2 vere scio quod ita sit et quod non iustificetur homo conpositus Deo
Indeed I know it is so, and that man cannot be justified compared with God.
3 si voluerit contendere cum eo non poterit ei respondere unum pro mille
If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one for a thousand.
4 sapiens corde est et fortis robore quis restitit ei et pacem habuit
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath resisted him, and hath had peace?
5 qui transtulit montes et nescierunt hii quos subvertit in furore suo
Who hath removed mountains, and they whom he overthrew in his wrath, knew it not.
6 qui commovet terram de loco suo et columnae eius concutiuntur
Who 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
Who commandeth tile sun and it riseth not: and shutteth up the stars as it were under a seal:
8 qui extendit caelos solus et graditur super fluctus maris
Who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and walketh upon the waves of the sea.
9 qui facit Arcturum et Oriona et Hyadas et interiora austri
Who maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and Hyades, and the inner parts of the south.
10 qui facit magna et inconprehensibilia et mirabilia quorum non est numerus
Who doth things great and incomprehensible, and wonderful, of which there is no number.
11 si venerit ad me non videbo si abierit non intellegam eum
If he come to me, I shall not see him: if he depart I shall not understand.
12 si repente interroget quis respondebit ei vel quis dicere potest cur facis
If he examine on a sudden, who shall answer him? or who can say: Why dost thou so?
13 Deus cuius resistere irae nemo potest et sub quo curvantur qui portant orbem
God, whose wrath no mall can resist, and under whom they stoop that bear up the world.
14 quantus ergo sum ego qui respondeam ei et loquar verbis meis cum eo
What am I then, that I should answer him, and have words with him?
15 qui etiam si habuero quippiam iustum non respondebo sed meum iudicem deprecabor
I, who although I should have any just thing, would not answer, but would make supplication to my judge.
16 et cum invocantem exaudierit me non credo quod audierit vocem meam
And if he should hear me when I call, I should not believe that he had heard my voice.
17 in turbine enim conteret me et multiplicabit vulnera mea etiam sine causa
For he shall crush me in a whirlwind, and multiply my wounds even without cause.
18 non concedit requiescere spiritum meum et implet me amaritudinibus
He alloweth not my spirit to rest, and he filleth me with bitterness.
19 si fortitudo quaeritur robustissimus est si aequitas iudicii nemo pro me audet testimonium dicere
If strength be demanded, he is most strong: if equity of judgment, no man dare bear witness for me.
20 si iustificare me voluero os meum condemnabit me si innocentem ostendere pravum me conprobabit
If I would justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me: if I would shew myself innocent, he shall prove me wicked.
21 etiam si simplex fuero hoc ipsum ignorabit anima mea et taedebit me vitae meae
Although I should be simple, even this my soul shall be ignorant of, and I shall be weary of my life.
22 unum est quod locutus sum et innocentem et impium ipse consumit
One thing there is that I have spoken, both the innocent and the wicked he consumeth.
23 si flagellat occidat semel et non de poenis innocentum rideat
If he scourge, let him kill at once, and not laugh at the pains of the innocent.
24 terra data est in manu impii vultum iudicum eius operit quod si non ille est quis ergo est
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked, he covereth the face of the judges thereof: and if it be not he, who is it then?
25 dies mei velociores fuerunt cursore fugerunt et non viderunt bonum
My days have been swifter than a post: they have fled away and have not seen good.
26 pertransierunt quasi naves poma portantes sicut aquila volans ad escam
They have passed by as ships carrying fruits, as an eagle flying to the prey.
27 cum dixero nequaquam ita loquar commuto faciem meam et dolore torqueor
If I say: I will not speak so: I change my face, and am tormented with sorrow.
28 verebar omnia opera mea sciens quod non parceres delinquenti
I feared all my works, knowing that thou didst not spare the offender.
29 si autem et sic impius sum quare frustra laboravi
But if so also I am wicked, why have I laboured in vain?
30 si lotus fuero quasi aquis nivis et fulserint velut mundissimae manus meae
If I be washed as it were with snow waters, and my hands shall shine ever so clean:
31 tamen sordibus intingues me et abominabuntur me vestimenta mea
Yet thou shalt plunge me in filth, and my garments shall abhor me,
32 neque enim viro qui similis mei est respondebo nec qui mecum in iudicio ex aequo possit audiri
For I shall not answer a man that is like myself: nor one that may be heard with me equally in judgment.
33 non est qui utrumque valeat arguere et ponere manum suam in ambobus
There is none that may be able to reprove both, and to put his hand between both.
34 auferat a me virgam suam et pavor eius non me terreat
Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me.
35 loquar et non timebo eum neque enim possum metuens respondere
I will speak, and will not fear him: for I cannot answer while I am in fear.

< Job 9 >