Job 9
9
Job's Reply to Bildad
What You Say Is True
1Job said:
2 #
Job 4.17. What you say is true.
No human is innocent
in the sight of God.
3Not once in a thousand times
could we win our case
if we took him to court.
4God is wise and powerful—
who could possibly
oppose him and win?
5When God becomes angry,
he can move mountains
before they even know it.
6God can shake the earth loose
from its foundations
7 #
Ba 3.34,35. or command the sun and stars
to hold back their light.
8God alone stretched out the sky,
stepped on the sea,#9.8 sea: Or “sea monster” (see verse 13 and the note there).
9 #
Job 38.31; Am 5.8. and set the stars in place—
the Big Dipper and Orion,
the Pleiades and the stars
in the southern sky.
10Of all the miracles God works,
we cannot understand a one.
11God walks right past me,
without making a sound.
12And if he grabs something,
who can stop him
or raise a question?
13When God showed his anger,
the servants of the sea monster#9.13 the sea monster: The Hebrew text has “Rahab,” which was some kind of sea monster with supernatural powers (see the notes at 3.8 and 26.12).
fell at his feet.
14How, then, could I possibly
argue my case with God?
Though I Am Innocent
15Even though I am innocent,
I can only beg for mercy.
16And if God came into court
when I called him,
he would not hear my case.
17He would strike me with a storm#9.17 strike … storm: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and increase my injuries
for no reason at all.
18Before I could get my breath,
my miseries would multiply.
19God is much stronger than I am,
and who would call me into court
to give me justice?
20Even if I were innocent,
God would prove me wrong.#9.20 God … wrong: Or “my own words would prove me wrong.”
21I am not guilty,
but I no longer care
what happens to me.
22What difference does it make?
God destroys the innocent
along with the guilty.
23When a good person dies
a sudden death,
God sits back and laughs.
24And who else but God
blindfolds the judges,
then lets the wicked
take over the earth?
My Life Is Speeding By
25My life is speeding by,
without a hope of happiness.
26Each day passes swifter
than a sailing ship
or an eagle swooping down.
27Sometimes I try to be cheerful
and to stop complaining,
28but my sufferings frighten me,
because I know that God
still considers me guilty.
29So what's the use of trying
to prove my innocence?
30Even if I washed myself
with the strongest soap,
31God would throw me into a pit
of stinking slime, leaving me
disgusting to my clothes.
32God isn't a mere human like me.
I can't put him on trial.
33Who could possibly judge
between the two of us?
34Can someone snatch away
the stick God carries
to frighten me?
35Then I could speak up
without fear of him,
but for now, I cannot speak.#9.35 but … speak: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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Job 9: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
