Job 9:21-35
Job 9:21-35 The Message (MSG)
“Believe me, I’m blameless. I don’t understand what’s going on. I hate my life! Since either way it ends up the same, I can only conclude that God destroys the good right along with the bad. When calamity hits and brings sudden death, he folds his arms, aloof from the despair of the innocent. He lets the wicked take over running the world, he installs judges who can’t tell right from wrong. If he’s not responsible, who is? “My time is short—what’s left of my life races off too fast for me to even glimpse the good. My life is going fast, like a ship under full sail, like an eagle plummeting to its prey. Even if I say, ‘I’ll put all this behind me, I’ll look on the bright side and force a smile,’ All these troubles would still be like grit in my gut since it’s clear you’re not going to let up. The verdict has already been handed down—‘Guilty!’— so what’s the use of protests or appeals? Even if I scrub myself all over and wash myself with the strongest soap I can find, It wouldn’t last—you’d push me into a pigpen, or worse, so nobody could stand me for the stink. “God and I are not equals; I can’t bring a case against him. We’ll never enter a courtroom as peers. How I wish we had an arbitrator to step in and let me get on with life— To break God’s death grip on me, to free me from this terror so I could breathe again. Then I’d speak up and state my case boldly. As things stand, there is no way I can do it.”
Job 9:21-35 King James Version (KJV)
Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life. This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. If the scourge slay suddenly, He will laugh at the trial of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: He covereth the faces of the judges thereof; If not, where, and who is he? Now my days are swifter than a post: They flee away, they see no good. They are passed away as the swift ships: As the eagle that hasteth to the prey. If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself: I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. If I be wicked, Why then labour I in vain? If I wash myself with snow water, And make my hands never so clean; Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, And mine own clothes shall abhor me. For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, And we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, That might lay his hand upon us both. Let him take his rod away from me, And let not his fear terrify me: Then would I speak, and not fear him; But it is not so with me.
Job 9:21-35 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
I am guiltless; I do not take notice of myself; I despise my life. It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’ If the scourge kills suddenly, He mocks the despair of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it? “Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. They slip by like reed boats, Like an eagle that swoops on its prey. Though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful,’ I am afraid of all my pains, I know that You will not acquit me. I am accounted wicked, Why then should I toil in vain? If I should wash myself with snow And cleanse my hands with lye, Yet You would plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes would abhor me. For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him, That we may go to court together. There is no umpire between us, Who may lay his hand upon us both. Let Him remove His rod from me, And let not dread of Him terrify me. Then I would speak and not fear Him; But I am not like that in myself.
Job 9:21-35 New Century Version (NCV)
“I am innocent, but I don’t care about myself. I hate my own life. It is all the same. That is why I say, ‘God destroys both the innocent and the guilty.’ If the whip brings sudden death, God will laugh at the suffering of the innocent. When 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? “My days go by faster than a runner; they fly away without my seeing any joy. They glide past like paper boats. They attack like eagles swooping down to feed. Even though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint; I will change the look on my face and smile,’ I still dread all my suffering. I know you will hold me guilty. I have already been found guilty, so why should I struggle for no reason? I might wash myself with soap and scrub my hands with strong soap, but you would push me into a dirty pit, and even my clothes would hate me. “God is not human like me, so I cannot answer him. We cannot meet each other in court. I wish there were someone to make peace between us, someone to decide our case. Maybe he could remove God’s punishment so his terror would no longer frighten me. Then I could speak without being afraid, but I am not able to do that.
Job 9:21-35 American Standard Version (ASV)
I am perfect; I regard not myself; I despise my life. It is all one; therefore I say, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. If the scourge slay suddenly, He will mock at the trial of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covereth the faces of the judges thereof: If it be not he, who then is it? Now my days are swifter than a post: They flee away, they see no good. They are passed away as the swift ships; As the eagle that swoopeth on the prey. If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad countenance, and be of good cheer; I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. I shall be condemned; Why then do I labor in vain? If I wash myself with snow water, And make my hands never so clean; Yet wilt thou plunge me in the ditch, And mine own clothes shall abhor me. For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, That we should come together in judgment. There is no umpire betwixt us, That might lay his hand upon us both. Let him take his rod away from me, And let not his terror make me afraid: Then would I speak, and not fear him; For I am not so in myself.
Job 9:21-35 New International Version (NIV)
“Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life. It is all the same; that is why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent. When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it? “My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy. They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey. If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,’ I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent. Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain? Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with cleansing powder, you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would detest me. “He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.
Job 9:21-35 New King James Version (NKJV)
“I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life. It is all one thing; Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’ If the scourge slays suddenly, He laughs at the plight of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, who else could it be? “Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey. If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’ I am afraid of all my sufferings; I know that You will not hold me innocent. If I am condemned, Why then do I labor in vain? If I wash myself with snow water, And cleanse my hands with soap, Yet You will plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes will abhor me. “For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both. Let Him take His rod away from me, And do not let dread of Him terrify me. Then I would speak and not fear Him, But it is not so with me.
Job 9:21-35 Amplified Bible (AMP)
“[Though] I am blameless, I do not care about myself; I despise my life. “It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys [both] the blameless and the wicked.’ “When [His] scourge kills suddenly, He mocks at the despair of the innocent. “The earth is given into the hands of the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice]. If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]? ¶“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They vanish, they see no good. “They pass by like the [swift] boats made of reeds, Like an eagle that swoops down on its prey. “If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my sad appearance, and be cheerful and brighten up,’ I am afraid of all my pains and worries [yet to come]; I know that You will not acquit me and leave me unpunished. “I am accounted wicked and held guilty; Why then should I labor in vain [to appear innocent]? “If I were to wash myself with snow And cleanse my hands with lye, You would still plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes would hate me [and refuse to cover my foul body]. “For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him, That we may go to court and judgment together. “There is no arbitrator between us, Who could lay his hand upon us both [would that there were]. [1 Tim 2:5] “Let Him take His rod away from me, And let not the dread and fear of Him terrify me. “Then I would speak [my defense] and not fear Him; But I am not like that in myself.
Job 9:21-35 New Living Translation (NLT)
“I am innocent, but it makes no difference to me— I despise my life. Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God. That’s why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ When a plague sweeps through, he laughs at the death of the innocent. The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked, and God blinds the eyes of the judges. If he’s not the one who does it, who is? “My life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away without a glimpse of happiness. It disappears like a swift papyrus boat, like an eagle swooping down on its prey. If I decided to forget my complaints, to put away my sad face and be cheerful, I would still dread all the pain, for I know you will not find me innocent, O God. Whatever happens, I will be found guilty. So what’s the use of trying? Even if I were to wash myself with soap and clean my hands with lye, you would plunge me into a muddy ditch, and my own filthy clothing would hate me. “God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial. If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together. The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment. Then I could speak to him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength.
Job 9:21-35 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
I am blameless; I regard not myself; I loathe my life. It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ When disaster brings sudden death, he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; he covers the faces of its judges— if it is not he, who then is it? “My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they see no good. They go by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle swooping on the prey. If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,’ I become afraid of all my suffering, for I know you will not hold me innocent. I shall be condemned; why then do I labor in vain? If I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye, yet you will plunge me into a pit, and my own clothes will abhor me. For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together. There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both. Let him take his rod away from me, and let not dread of him terrify me. Then I would speak without fear of him, for I am not so in myself.