Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man
1Then Job answered,
2“In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a man be in the right before God?
3If one wished to dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4Wise in heart and mighty in strength,
Who has defied Him without harm?
5It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,
When He overturns them in His anger;
6Who shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;
7Who commands the sun not to shine,
And sets a seal upon the stars;
8Who alone stretches out the heavens
And tramples down the waves of the sea;
9Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;
10Who does great things, unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.
11Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
12Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13“God will not turn back His anger;
Beneath Him crouch the helpers of Rahab.
14How then can I answer Him,
And choose my words before Him?
15For though I were right, I could not answer;
I would have to implore the mercy of my judge.
16If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17For He bruises me with a tempest
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18He will not allow me to get my breath,
But saturates me with bitterness.
19If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
20Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me;
Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.
21I am guiltless;
I do not take notice of myself;
I despise my life.
22It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’
23If the scourge kills suddenly,
He mocks the despair of the innocent.
24The 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?
25“Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, they see no good.
26They slip by like reed boats,
Like an eagle that swoops on its prey.
27Though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful,’
28I am afraid of all my pains,
I know that You will not acquit me.
29I am accounted wicked,
Why then should I toil in vain?
30If I should wash myself with snow
And cleanse my hands with lye,
31Yet You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would abhor me.
32For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him,
That we may go to court together.
33There is no umpire between us,
Who may lay his hand upon us both.
34Let Him remove His rod from me,
And let not dread of Him terrify me.
35Then I would speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.