Job 9

God’s Power Is Unstoppable

1 Then Job answered,

2 “Yeah, I know it is true. But how can a human be right before God,

3 If someone tried to argue with Him, they could not answer even one question out of a thousand.

4 God has got a wise heart and unmatched strength, who has ever resisted Him and come out okay,

5 He moves mountains without warning and flips them over in His anger.

6 He shakes the earth from its place, and its pillars tremble.

7 He speaks to the sun, and it stops shining; He seals off the light of the stars.

8 He alone stretches out the heavens and walks on the waves of the sea.

9 He made the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations in the southern sky.

10 He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders beyond counting.

God Is Too Great to Challenge

11 He passes by me, but I cannot see Him; He moves on, but I cannot catch Him.

12 If He snatches something away, who can stop Him, Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

13 God does not hold back His anger; even the helpers of the sea monster cower under Him.

No One Can Beat God in Court

14 So how can I answer Him or choose my words in a debate with Him,

15 Even if I were innocent, I could not answer; I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

16 If I called and He answered, I would not believe He was really listening to me.

17 He crushes me with a storm and multiplies my wounds without cause.

18 He will not even let me catch my breath, but fills me with bitterness.

19 If it is about strength, He has got it. If it is about justice, who can summon Him,

20 Even if I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me; if I am blameless, it would still make me guilty.

21 I am blameless, but I do not care about myself; I despise my own life.

God Destroys Both the Blameless and the Wicked

22 It is all the same, that is why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

23 When a scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent.

24 The earth is handed over to the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not Him, then who is it,

Life Is Short and Miserable

25 My days are speeding by faster than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.

26 They pass like boats made of reeds, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint and put on a smile,’

28 I am still afraid of all my suffering, because I know You will not declare me innocent.

29 Since I am already considered guilty, why should I bother trying,

30 If I washed myself with snow and scrubbed my hands with lye,

31 You would still throw me into a muddy pit, and my own clothes would hate me.

We Need a Mediator

32 God is not a man like me that I can answer Him, that we can go to court together.

33 If only there were someone to mediate between us, to lay his hand on both of us,

34 To take God’s rod away from me so His terror would not frighten me anymore.

35 Then I would speak up without fear of Him. But as it is, I cannot.”