Jó 9

Job Replies: There Is No Arbiter

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 "Truly I know that it is so:

But how can a man be *ch. 4:17in the right before God?

3 If one wished to *[ch. 10:2;Ps. 143:2;Rom. 3:20]contend with him,

one could not answer him once in a thousand times.

4 He is *[ch. 12:13;36:5] wise in heart and mighty in strength—

who has *[Ex. 7:13;32:9]hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—

5 he who removes mountains, and they know it not,

when he overturns them in his anger,

6 who *Isa. 2:19,21;13:13;Hag. 2:6,21;Heb. 12:26shakes the earth out of its place,

and *ch. 26:11;Ps. 75:3its pillars tremble;

7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise;

who seals up the stars;

8 who alone *ch. 26:7;Ps. 104:2;Jer. 10:12;51:15;Zech. 12:1stretched out the heavens

and trampled the waves of the sea;

9 who *Gen. 1:16made *ch. 38:32the Bear and *ch. 38:31;Amos 5:8Orion,

the Pleiades *ch. 37:9and the chambers of the south;

10 who does *See ch. 5:9great things beyond searching out,

and marvelous things beyond number.

11 Behold, he passes by me, and I *ch. 23:8,9see him not;

he moves on, but I do not perceive him.

12 Behold, he snatches away; *ch. 11:10;23:13who can turn him back?

*Isa. 45:9;[Jer. 18:6;Rom. 9:20]Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

13 "God will not turn back his anger;

beneath him bowed the helpers of *ch. 26:12;Ps. 87:4;89:10;Isa. 30:7;51:9Rahab.

14 *ch. 15:16How then can I *ver. 3answer him,

choosing my words with him?

15 *ch. 10:15Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;

I must *ch. 8:5appeal for mercy to my accuser.*9:15 Or to my judge

16 If I summoned him and he answered me,

I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.

17 For he crushes me with a tempest

and multiplies my wounds *ch. 2:3;[ch. 34:6]without cause;

18 he will not let me get my breath,

but fills me with bitterness.

19 If it is a contest of *[ver. 4] strength, behold, he is mighty!

If it is a matter of justice, who can *Jer. 49:19;50:44summon him?*9:19 Or who can grant me a hearing?

20 Though I am in the right, *ch. 15:6my own mouth would condemn me;

though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.

21 I am *ch. 1:1blameless; I regard not myself;

I *ch. 7:16(Heb.);[ch. 10:1]loathe my life.

22 It is all one; therefore I say,

‘He *Eccles. 9:2,3;Ezek. 21:3destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

23 When *Isa. 10:26disaster brings sudden death,

he mocks at the calamity*9:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain of the innocent.

24 *[ch. 10:3] The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;

he *See ch. 12:17covers the faces of its judges—

*[ch. 24:25]if it is not he, who then is it?

25 "My *ch. 7:6days are swifter than *[2 Chr. 30:6;Jer. 51:31]a runner;

they flee away; they see no good.

26 They go by like *[Isa. 18:2] skiffs of reed,

like *Hab. 1:8an eagle swooping on the prey.

27 If I say, *[ch. 7:13] ‘I will forget my complaint,

I will put off my sad face, and *Ps. 39:13be of good cheer,’

28 I become *[Ps. 119:120] afraid of all my suffering,

for I know you will not *ch. 10:14hold me innocent.

29 I shall be *[ch. 10:2]condemned;

why then do I labor in vain?

30 If I wash myself with snow

and *Isa. 1:25;Jer. 2:22;See ch. 22:30cleanse my hands with lye,

31 yet you will plunge me into a pit,

and my own clothes will *ch. 19:19;30:10abhor me.

32 For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,

that we should *Eccles. 6:10;Rom. 9:20come to trial together.

33 *ver. 19;1 Sam. 2:25;[ch. 16:21]There is no*9:33 Or Would that there were an arbiter between us,

who might lay his hand on us both.

34 *[Ps. 39:10] Let him take his *ch. 21:9;Ps. 89:32;Isa. 10:24rod away from me,

and let *[ch. 13:21;33:7]not dread of him terrify me.

35 Then I would speak without fear of him,

for I am not so in myself.