Job
Chapter 9
1 Then Job replied and spoke,
2 I know it’s true: but how can a person be right with God?
3 If he argues with God, he cannot reply to even one out of a thousand questions.
4 He is smart in his heart and very strong: who has resisted him and succeeded?
5 God moves the mountains without their knowing and turns them over in anger.
6 God shakes the earth from its place, making its pillars tremble.
7 Who commands the sun not to rise and seals the stars.
8 Who alone stretches out the sky and walks on the sea’s waves.
9 God made the stars Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades and the hidden places of the south.
10 God does great things beyond understanding and countless wonders.
11 Look, he moves past me, but I don’t see him; he goes by, but I don’t notice him.
12 Look, when God takes something, who can stop Him? Who will ask Him, “What are you doing?”
13 If God does not stop being angry, the prideful supporters must bow down to him.
14 How much less can I reply to God and carefully select my words to argue with Him?
15 Even if I were right, I would not respond but ask for mercy from my judge.
16 If I had called and he had answered me, I still wouldn’t believe that he listened to my voice.
17 He crushes me with a storm and gives me many wounds for no reason.
18 He won’t let me catch my breath, but fills me with sadness.
19 If I talk about power, God is powerful; and if about fairness, who can schedule a time for my case?
20 If I claim to be right, my own words will show I’m wrong: if I claim to be perfect, they will show I’m not.
21 Even if I were perfect, I still would not understand myself; I would hate my life.
22 I said this because God destroys both the good and the bad.
23 If a disaster kills unexpectedly, God will mock when the innocent are tested.
24 God has let wicked people control the earth; they hide the truth from its judges. If this isn’t so, who else could it be?
25 Now my days pass faster than a messenger: they rush by and see nothing good.
26 They have gone by like fast ships, like an eagle swooping down on its food.
27 If I decide to forget my troubles, to put aside my sadness, and to cheer myself up:
28 I am scared of all my troubles; I know you will not find me innocent.
29 If I am bad, why do I work for nothing?
30 If I clean myself with snow and wash my hands very well;
31 You will push me into a pit, and my own clothes will disgust me.
32 He is not a person like me that I could reply to him or that we could meet in court.
33 There is no mediator between us to put a hand on both of us.
34 Let him stop using his rod on me, so his fear won’t scare me.
35 I would talk without being afraid of him; but that is not my situation.