Job 9
9
Job’s Third Speech: A Response to Bildad
1Then Job spoke again:
2“Yes, I know all this is true in principle.
But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight?
3If someone wanted to take God to court,#9:3 Or If God wanted to take someone to court.
would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times?
4For God is so wise and so mighty.
Who has ever challenged him successfully?
5“Without warning, he moves the mountains,
overturning them in his anger.
6He shakes the earth from its place,
and its foundations tremble.
7If he commands it, the sun won’t rise
and the stars won’t shine.
8He alone has spread out the heavens
and marches on the waves of the sea.
9He made all the stars—the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.
10He does great things too marvelous to understand.
He performs countless miracles.
11“Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him.
When he moves by, I do not see him go.
12If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him?
Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’
13And God does not restrain his anger.
Even the monsters of the sea#9:13 Hebrew the helpers of Rahab, the name of a mythical sea monster that represents chaos in ancient literature. are crushed beneath his feet.
14“So who am I, that I should try to answer God
or even reason with him?
15Even if I were right, I would have no defense.
I could only plead for mercy.
16And even if I summoned him and he responded,
I’m not sure he would listen to me.
17For he attacks me with a storm
and repeatedly wounds me without cause.
18He will not let me catch my breath,
but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.
19If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one.
If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him#9:19 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads me. to court?
20Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty.
Though I am blameless, it#9:20 Or he. would prove me wicked.
21“I am innocent,
but it makes no difference to me—
I despise my life.
22Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God.
That’s why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23When a plague#9:23 Or disaster. sweeps through,
he laughs at the death of the innocent.
24The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked,
and God blinds the eyes of the judges.
If he’s not the one who does it, who is?
25“My life passes more swiftly than a runner.
It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.
26It disappears like a swift papyrus boat,
like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27If I decided to forget my complaints,
to put away my sad face and be cheerful,
28I would still dread all the pain,
for I know you will not find me innocent, O God.
29Whatever happens, I will be found guilty.
So what’s the use of trying?
30Even if I were to wash myself with soap
and clean my hands with lye,
31you would plunge me into a muddy ditch,
and my own filthy clothing would hate me.
32“God is not a mortal like me,
so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.
33If only there were a mediator between us,
someone who could bring us together.
34The mediator could make God stop beating me,
and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.
35Then I could speak to him without fear,
but I cannot do that in my own strength.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Job 9
9
Job Answers Bildad
1Then Job answered:
2“Yes, I know that this is true,
but how can anyone be right in the presence of God?
3Someone might want to argue with God,
but no one could answer God,
not one time out of a thousand.
4God’s wisdom is deep, and his power is great;
no one can fight him without getting hurt.
5God moves mountains without anyone knowing it
and turns them over when he is angry.
6He shakes the earth out of its place
and makes its foundations tremble.
7He commands the sun not to shine
and shuts off the light of the stars.
8He alone stretches out the skies
and walks on the waves of the sea.
9It is God who made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades
and the groups of stars in the southern sky.
10He does wonders that cannot be understood;
he does so many miracles they cannot be counted.
11When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by me, I do not recognize him.
12If he snatches something away, no one can stop him
or say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13God will not hold back his anger.
Even the helpers of the monster Rahab lie at his feet in fear.
14So how can I argue with God,
or even find words to argue with him?
15Even if I were right, I could not answer him;
I could only beg God, my Judge, for mercy.
16If I called to him and he answered,
I still don’t believe he would listen to me.
17He would crush me with a storm
and multiply my wounds for no reason.
18He would not let me catch my breath
but would overwhelm me with misery.
19When it comes to strength, God is stronger than I;
when it comes to justice, no one can accuse him.
20Even if I were right, my own mouth would say I was wrong;
if I were innocent, my mouth would say I was guilty.
21“I am innocent,
but I don’t care about myself.
I hate my own life.
22It is all the same. That is why I say,
‘God destroys both the innocent and the guilty.’
23If the whip brings sudden death,
God will laugh at the suffering of the innocent.
24When the land falls into the hands of evil people,
he covers the judges’ faces so they can’t see it.
If it is not God who does this, then who is it?
25“My days go by faster than a runner;
they fly away without my seeing any joy.
26They glide past like paper boats.
They attack like eagles swooping down to feed.
27Even though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint;
I will change the look on my face and smile,’
28I still dread all my suffering.
I know you will hold me guilty.
29I have already been found guilty,
so why should I struggle for no reason?
30I might wash myself with soap
and scrub my hands with strong soap,
31but you would push me into a dirty pit,
and even my clothes would hate me.
32“God is not human like me, so I cannot answer him.
We cannot meet each other in court.
33I wish there were someone to make peace between us,
someone to decide our case.
34Maybe he could remove God’s punishment
so his terror would no longer frighten me.
35Then I could speak without being afraid,
but I am not able to do that.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.