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
Job’s Second Reply. 1Then Job answered and said:
2I know well that it is so;
but how can anyone be in the right before God?
3Should one wish to contend with him,#Job begins to explore the possibility of challenging God in a lawsuit, a theme that will recur (10:2), but he knows the odds are against him (vv. 12–20).
he could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who has withstood him and remained whole?
5He removes the mountains before they know it;
he overturns them in his anger.
6He shakes the earth out of its place,#Jb 26:11.
and the pillars beneath it tremble.
7He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
he seals up the stars.
8He alone stretches out the heavens#Ps 104:2; Is 40:22.
and treads upon the back of the sea.
9He made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south;
10He does things great and unsearchable,
things marvelous and innumerable.
11Should he come near me, I do not see him;
should he pass by, I am not aware of him;
12Should he seize me forcibly, who can resist?
Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
13He is God and he does not relent;
the helpers of Rahab#Rahab: another name for the primeval sea-monster; see notes on 3:8 and Ps 89:11; cf. Jb 7:12; 26:12. bow beneath him.
14How then could I give him any answer,
or choose out arguments against him!
15Even though I were right, I could not answer,#Jb 10:15.
but should rather beg for what was due me.
16If I appealed to him and he answered me,
I could not believe that he would listen to me;
17With a storm he might overwhelm me,
and multiply my wounds for nothing;
18He would not allow me to draw breath,
but might fill me with bitter griefs.
19If it be a question of strength, he is mighty;
or of judgment, who will call him to account?
20Though I were right, my own mouth might condemn me;#Jb 15:6.
were I innocent, it might put me in the wrong.
21I am innocent, but I cannot know it;
I despise my life.
22It is all one! therefore I say:
Both the innocent and the wicked he destroys.#Eccl 9:2.
23When the scourge slays suddenly,
he scoffs at the despair of the innocent.
24The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;
he covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not he, who then is it?
25My days are swifter than a runner,
they flee away; they see no happiness;#Jb 7:6.
26They shoot by like skiffs of reed,
like an eagle swooping upon its prey.
27If I say: I will forget my complaining,
I will lay aside my sadness and be of good cheer,
28Then I am in dread of all my pains;
I know that you#You: refers to God. will not hold me innocent.
29It is I who will be accounted guilty;
why then should I strive in vain?
30If I should wash myself with soap
and cleanse my hands with lye,
31Yet you would plunge me in the ditch,
so that my garments would abhor me.
32For he is not a man like myself, that I should answer him,
that we should come together in judgment.
33Would that there were an arbiter between us,
who could lay his hand upon us both
34and withdraw his rod from me,
So that his terrors did not frighten me;
35that I might speak without being afraid of him.
Since this is not the case with me,
#I loathe my life: these words complete the thought of 9:35. I loathe my life.#Jb 9:21.
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