Job 9:14-31

“How can I answer Him [and plead my case], Choosing my words [to reason] with Him? “For though I were righteous, I could not answer. I must appeal for mercy to my Opponent and Judge. “If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice. “For He bruises me with a tempest And multiplies my wounds without cause. “He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills and saturates me with bitterness. “If it is a matter of strength and power, behold, He is mighty! And if of justice, who can summon and challenge Him? “Though I am innocent and in the right, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty; Though I am blameless, He would denounce me as guilty. “[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].