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.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.