1 Then Job answered and said: |
2 "Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God? |
3 If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand. |
4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered? |
5 He removes the mountains, and they do not know When He overturns them in His anger; |
6 He shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble; |
7 He commands the sun, and it does not rise; He seals off the stars; |
8 He alone spreads out the heavens, And treads on the waves of the sea; |
9 He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south; |
10 He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number. |
11 If He goes by me, I do not see Him; If He moves past, I do not perceive Him; |
12 If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, 'What are You doing?' |
13 God will not withdraw His anger, The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him. |
14 "How then can I answer Him, And choose my words to reason with Him? |
15 For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge. |
16 If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice. |
17 For He crushes me with a tempest, And multiplies my wounds without cause. |
18 He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills me with bitterness. |
19 If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court? |
20 Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse. |
21 "I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life. |
22 It is all one thing; Therefore I say, 'He destroys the blameless and the wicked.' |
23 If the scourge slays suddenly, He laughs at the plight of the innocent. |
24 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? |
25 "Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. |
26 They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey. |
27 If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,' |
28 I am afraid of all my sufferings; I know that You will not hold me innocent. |
29 If I am condemned, Why then do I labor in vain? |
30 If I wash myself with snow water, And cleanse my hands with soap, |
31 Yet You will plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes will abhor me. |
32 "For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together. |
33 Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both. |
34 Let Him take His rod away from me, And do not let dread of Him terrify me. |
35 Then I would speak and not fear Him, But it is not so with me. |