Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 “Yes, I know it is true.
But how can a mortal man be right before God?
3 “If one should want to contendordispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousandtimes.
4 “Godis wise in heart and mighty in strength;
Who has [ever] defiedorchallenged Him and remained unharmed?
5 “It is Godwho removes the mountains, and they do not know it,
When He overturns them in His anger;
6 Who shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;
7 Who commands the sun, and it does not shine;
Who seals up the stars [from view];
8 Who alone stretches out the heavens
And tramples down thewaves of the sea;
9 Who made [the constellations] the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the [vast starry] spaces of the south;
10 Who does great things, [beyond understanding,] unfathomable,
Yes, marvelousandwondrous things without number.
11 “Behold, He passes by me, and I do not see Him;
He moves past me, but I do not perceive Him.
12 “Behold, He snatches away; who can restrainorturn Him back?
Who will say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13 “God will not turn back His anger;
The [proud] helpers of Rahab [the arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.
14 “How can I answer Him [and plead my case],
Choosing my words [to reason] with Him?
15 For though I were righteous, I could not answer.
I must appeal for mercy to my OpponentandJudge.
16 “If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17 “For He bruises me with a tempest
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 “He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fillsandsaturates me with bitterness.
19 “If it is a matter of strengthandpower, behold,He ismighty!
And if of justice, who can summonandchallenge Him?
20 “Though I am innocentandin the right, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty;
Though I am blameless, He would denounce me as guilty.
21 “[Though] I am blameless,
I do not care about myself;
I despise my life.
22 “It isallone; therefore I say,
‘He destroys [both] the blameless and the wicked.’
23 “When [His] scourge kills suddenly,
He mocks at the despair of the innocent.
24 “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]?
25 “Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They vanish, they see no good.
26 “They pass by like the [swift] boats made of reeds,
Like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.
27 “If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad appearance, and be cheerfulandbrighten up,’
28 I am afraid of all my painsandworries [yet to come];
I know that You will not acquit meandleave me unpunished.
29 “I am accounted wickedandheld guilty;
Why then should I labor in vain [to appear innocent]?
30 “If I were to wash myself with snow
And cleanse my hands with lye,
31 You would still plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would hate me [and refuse to cover my foul body].
32 “For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him,
That we may go to courtandjudgment together.
33 “There is no arbitrator between us,
Who could lay his hand upon us both [would that there were].
34 “Let Him take His rod away from me,
And let not the dreadandfear of Him terrify me.
35 “ThenI would speak [my defense] and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.