Job 9
9
Job's Inability to Answer God
1Then Job answered and said,
2I know it is so of a truth:
but how should man be just with God?
3If he will contend with him,
he cannot answer him one of a thousand.
4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength:
who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?
5which removeth the mountains, and they know not;
which overturneth them in his anger;
6which shaketh the earth out of her place,
and the pillars thereof tremble;
7which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not;
and sealeth up the stars;
8which alone spreadeth out the heavens,
and treadeth upon the waves of the sea;
9 #
Job 38.31; Amos 5.8. which maketh Arctu´rus, Ori´on, and Plei´ades,
and the chambers of the south;
10which doeth great things past finding out;
yea, and wonders without number.
11Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not:
he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
12Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him?
Who will say unto him, What doest thou?
13 If God will not withdraw his anger,
the proud helpers do stoop under him.
14How much less shall I answer him,
and choose out my words to reason with him?
15whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer,
but I would make supplication to my judge.
16If I had called, and he had answered me;
yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.
17For he breaketh me with a tempest,
and multiplieth my wounds without cause.
18He will not suffer me to take my breath,
but filleth me with bitterness.
19If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong:
and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?
20If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me:
if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
21 Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul:
I would despise my life.
22This is one thing, therefore I said it,
He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
23If the scourge slay suddenly,
he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.
24The earth is given into the hand of the wicked:
he covereth the faces of the judges thereof;
if not, where, and who is he?
25Now my days are swifter than a post:
they flee away, they see no good.
26They are passed away as the swift ships:
as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.
27If I say, I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself;
28I am afraid of all my sorrows,
I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
29 If I be wicked,
why then labor I in vain?
30If I wash myself with snow water,
and make my hands never so clean;
31yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch,
and mine own clothes shall abhor me.
32For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him,
and we should come together in judgment.
33Neither is there any daysman betwixt us,
that might lay his hand upon us both.
34Let him take his rod away from me,
and let not his fear terrify me:
35 then would I speak, and not fear him;
but it is not so with me.
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Job 9: KJVAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Job 9
9
Job Speaks: the Futility of Arguing with God
1Then Job replied ⌞to his friends⌟,
2“Yes, I know that this is true.
But how can a mortal be declared righteous to God?
3If he wished to debate with God,
he wouldn’t be able to answer one question in a thousand.
4“God is wise in heart and mighty in power.
Who could oppose him and win?
5He moves mountains without their knowing it,
and he topples them in his anger.
6He shakes the earth from its place,
and its pillars tremble.
7He commands the sun not to rise.
He doesn’t let the stars come out.
8He stretches out the heavens by himself
and walks on the waves of the sea.
9He made ⌞the constellations⌟ Ursa Major, Orion, and the Pleiades,
and the clusters of stars in the south.
10He does great things that are unsearchable
and miracles that cannot be numbered.
11He passes alongside of me, and I don’t even see him.
He goes past me, and I don’t even notice him.
12He takes something away, ⌞but⌟ who can stop him?
Who is going to ask him, ‘What are you doing?’
13God does not hold back his anger.
Even Rahab’s#9:13 Rahab is the name of a demonic creature who opposes God. helpers bow humbly in front of him.
14“How can I possibly answer God?
How can I find the right words ⌞to speak⌟ with him?
15Even if I were right, I could not answer ⌞him⌟.
I would have to plead for mercy from my judge.
16If I cried out and he answered me,
I do not believe that he would listen to me.
17He would knock me down with a storm
and bruise me without a reason.
18He would not let me catch my breath.
He fills me with bitterness.
19If it is a matter of strength,
then he is the mighty one.
If it is about justice,
who will charge me with a crime?
20If I am righteous, my own mouth would condemn me.
It would declare that I am corrupt even if I am a man of integrity.
21If I am a man of integrity, I have no way of knowing it.
I hate my life!
22It is all the same.
That is why I say,
‘He destroys ⌞both⌟ the man of integrity and the wicked.’
23When a sudden disaster brings death,
he makes fun of the despair of innocent people.
24The earth is handed over to the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If he isn’t the one ⌞doing this⌟, who is?
25“My days go by more quickly than a runner.
They sprint away.
They don’t see anything good.
26They pass by quickly like boats made from reeds,
like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27 ⌞Even⌟ if I say, ‘I will forget my complaining;
I will change my expression and smile,’
28I ⌞still⌟ dread everything I must suffer.
I know that you won’t declare me innocent.
29I’ve already been found guilty.
Why should I work so hard for nothing?
30If I wash myself with lye soap#9:30 Or “with water made from snow.”
and cleanse my hands with bleach,
31then you would plunge me into a muddy pit,
and my own clothes would find me disgusting.
32A human like me cannot answer God,
‘Let’s take our case to court.’
33There is no mediator between us
to put his hand on both of us.
34God should take his rod away from me,
and he should not terrify me.#9:33–34 Or “If there were a mediator between us to put his hand on both of us, he would remove his rod from me, and no longer terrify me.”
35Then I would speak and not be afraid of him.
But I know that I am not like that.
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