Job 9, side by side

¹Then Job answered:

¹Then Job answered and said,

²“Yes, I know that it is so, but how can a mortal be righteous before God?

²I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?

³If one wished to contend with God, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

³If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.

⁴God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?

⁴He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?

⁵He moves mountains without their knowledge and overturns them in His anger.

⁵Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.

⁶He shakes the earth from its place, so that its foundations tremble.

⁶Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.

⁷He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars.

⁷Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.

⁸He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.

⁸Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

⁹He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

⁹Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.

¹⁰He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number.

¹⁰Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.

¹¹Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him.

¹¹Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.

¹²If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’

¹²Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?

¹³God does not restrain His anger; the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him.

¹³If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.

¹⁴How then can I answer Him or choose my arguments against Him?

¹⁴How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?

¹⁵For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

¹⁵Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.

¹⁶If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice.

¹⁶If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.

¹⁷For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.

¹⁷For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.

¹⁸He does not let me catch my breath, but overwhelms me with bitterness.

¹⁸He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.

¹⁹If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

¹⁹If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?

²⁰Even if I were righteous, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would declare me guilty.

²⁰If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.

²¹Though I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.

²¹Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.

²²It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

²²This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

²³When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent.

²³If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.

²⁴The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?

²⁴The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?

²⁵My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good.

²⁵Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.

²⁶They sweep by like boats of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

²⁶They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.

²⁷If I were to say, ‘I will forget my complaint and change my expression and smile,’

²⁷If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:

²⁸I would still dread all my sufferings; I know that You will not acquit me.

²⁸I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.

²⁹Since I am already found guilty, why should I labor in vain?

²⁹If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?

³⁰If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,

³⁰If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;

³¹then You would plunge me into the pit, and even my own clothes would despise me.

³¹Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.

³²For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.

³²For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.

³³Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both.

³³Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.

³⁴Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me.

³⁴Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:

³⁵Then I would speak without fear of Him. But as it is, I am on my own.

³⁵Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.