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’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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