Job 9
9
Job: There Is No Mediator
1Then Job answered and said:
2“Truly I know it is so,
But how can a #(Job 4:17; 15:14–16; Ps. 143:2; Rom. 3:20)man be #(Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38)righteous before God?
3If one wished to contend with Him,
He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
4#Job 36:5God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
5He removes the mountains, and they do not know
When He overturns them in His anger;
6He #Is. 2:19, 21; Hag. 2:6; Heb. 12:26shakes the earth out of its place,
And its #Job 26:11pillars tremble;
7He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
He seals off the stars;
8#Gen. 1:6; Job 37:18; Ps. 104:2, 3; Is. 40:22He alone spreads out the heavens,
And treads on the waves of the sea;
9#Gen. 1:16; Job 38:31; Amos 5:8He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;
10#Job 5:9He does great things past finding out,
Yes, wonders without number.
11#(Job 23:8, 9; 35:14)If He goes by me, I do not see Him;
If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;
12#(Is. 45:9; Dan. 4:35; Rom. 9:20)If He takes away, who can hinder Him?
Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13God will not withdraw His anger,
#Job 26:12The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.
14“How then can I answer Him,
And choose my words to reason with Him?
15#Job 10:15; 23:1–7For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him;
I would beg mercy of my Judge.
16If I called and He answered me,
I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17For He crushes me with a tempest,
And multiplies my wounds #Job 2:3without cause.
18He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills me with bitterness.
19If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong;
And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?
20Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me;
Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.
21“I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;
I despise my life.
22It is all one thing;
Therefore I say, #(Eccl. 9:2, 3); Ezek. 21:3‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’
23If the scourge slays suddenly,
He laughs at the plight of the innocent.
24The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, who else could it be?
25“Now #Job 7:6, 7my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, they see no good.
26They pass by like swift ships,
#Job 39:29; Hab. 1:8Like an eagle swooping on its prey.
27#Job 7:13If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’
28#Ps. 119:120I am afraid of all my sufferings;
I know that You #Ex. 20:7will not hold me innocent.
29If I am condemned,
Why then do I labor in vain?
30#(Jer. 2:22)If I wash myself with snow water,
And cleanse my hands with soap,
31Yet You will plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes will abhor me.
32“For #Eccl. 6:10; (Is. 45:9; Jer. 49:19; Rom. 9:20)He is not a man, as I am,
That I may answer Him,
And that we should go to court together.
33#(1 Sam. 2:25); Job 9:19; Is. 1:18Nor is there any mediator between us,
Who may lay his hand on us both.
34#Job 13:20, 21; Ps. 39:10Let Him take His rod away from me,
And do not let dread of Him terrify me.
35Then I would speak and not fear Him,
But it is not so with me.
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Job 9: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Job 9
9
1Then Job answered:
2“Truly I know that it is so:
But how can a man be just before God?
3If one wished to contend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength
—who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—
5he who removes mountains, and they know it not,
when he overturns them in his anger;
6who shakes the earth out of its place,
and its pillars tremble;
7who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
who seals up the stars;
8who alone stretched out the heavens,
and trampled the waves of the sea;#9.8 Or trampled the back of the sea dragon
9who made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
10who does great things beyond understanding,
and marvelous things without number.
11Lo, he passes by me, and I see him not;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12Behold, he snatches away; who can hinder him?
Who will say to him, ‘What doest thou?’
13“God will not turn back his anger;
beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.
14How then can I answer him,
choosing my words with him?
15Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him;
I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.#9.15 Or for my right
16If I summoned him and he answered me,
I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.
17For he crushes me with a tempest,
and multiplies my wounds without cause;
18he will not let me get my breath,
but fills me with bitterness.
19If it is a contest of strength, behold him!
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?#9.19 Compare Gk: Heb me. The text of the verse is uncertain
20Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me;
though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
21I am blameless; I regard not myself;
I loathe my life.
22It is all one; therefore I say,
he destroys both the blameless and the wicked.
23When disaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamity#9.23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain of the innocent.
24The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
he covers the faces of its judges—
if it is not he, who then is it?
25“My days are swifter than a runner;
they flee away, they see no good.
26They go by like skiffs of reed,
like an eagle swooping on the prey.
27If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad countenance, and be of good cheer,’
28I become afraid of all my suffering,
for I know thou wilt not hold me innocent.
29I shall be condemned;
why then do I labor in vain?
30If I wash myself with snow,
and cleanse my hands with lye,
31yet thou wilt plunge me into a pit,
and my own clothes will abhor me.
32For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,
that we should come to trial together.
33There is no#9.33 Another reading is Would that there were umpire between us,
who might lay his hand upon us both.
34Let him take his rod away from me,
and let not dread of him terrify me.
35Then I would speak without fear of him,
for I am not so in myself.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America