Job 9:1-25
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 9
1Then Job responded,
2'In truth I know that this is so; But how can a person be in the right with 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?
5 It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know how, When He overturns them in His anger.
6 It is He who shakes the earth from its place, And its pillars tremble;
7Who commands the sun not to shine, And puts a seal on 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 constellations of the south.
10 It is He who does great things, the unfathomable, And wondrous works without number.
11If He were to pass by me, I would not see Him; Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
12If He were 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 the helpers of Rahab cower.
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 storm And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18He will not allow me to get my breath, But He 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 reject my life.
22It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’
23If the whip kills suddenly, He mocks the despair of the innocent.
24The earth is handed over to 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.
King James Version
Chapter 9
1Then Job answered and said, 2I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?
13If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.
14How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 9
1Then Job answered:
2Yes, I know what you’ve said is true, but how can a person be justified before God?
3If one wanted to take him to court, he could not answer God once in a thousand times.
4God is wise and all-powerful. Who has opposed him and come out unharmed?
5He removes mountains without their knowledge, overturning them in his anger.
6He shakes the earth from its place so that its pillars tremble.
7He commands the sun not to shine and seals off the stars.
8He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
9He makes the stars: the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky.
10He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
11If he passed by me, I wouldn’t see him; if he went by, I wouldn’t recognize him.
12If he snatches something, who can stop him? Who can ask him, "What are you doing?"
13God does not hold back his anger; Rahab’s assistants cringe in fear beneath him!
14How then can I answer him or choose my arguments against him?
15Even if I were in the right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy.
16If I summoned him and he answered me, I do not believe he would pay attention to what I said.
17He batters me with a whirlwind and multiplies my wounds without cause.
18He doesn’t let me catch my breath but fills me with bitter experiences.
19If it is a matter of strength, look, he is the powerful one! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
20Even if I were in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, my mouth would declare me guilty.
21Though I am blameless, I no longer care about myself; I renounce my life.
22It is all the same. Therefore I say, "He destroys both the blameless and the wicked."
23When catastrophe brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent.
New Living Translation
Chapter 9
1Then Job spoke again:
2'Yes, I know all this is true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight?
3If someone wanted to take God to court, would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times?
4For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully?
5'Without warning, he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger.
6He shakes the earth from its place, and its foundations tremble.
7If he commands it, the sun won’t rise and the stars won’t shine.
8He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea.
9He made all the stars — the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.
10He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.
11'Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him. When he moves by, I do not see him go.
12If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him? Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’
13And God does not restrain his anger. Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath his feet.
14'So who am I, that I should try to answer God or even reason with him?
15Even if I were right, I would have no defense. I could only plead for mercy.
16And even if I summoned him and he responded, I’m not sure he would listen to me.
17For he attacks me with a storm and repeatedly wounds me without cause.
18He will not let me catch my breath, but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.
19If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one. If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court?
20Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty. Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.
21'I am innocent, but it makes no difference to me — I despise my life.
22Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God. That’s why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23When a plague sweeps through, he laughs at the death of the innocent.
24The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked, and God blinds the eyes of the judges. If he’s not the one who does it, who is?
English Standard Version
Chapter 9
1Then Job answered and said:
2"Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right before God?
3If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4He is wise in heart and mighty in strength — who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded? —
5he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger,
6who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble;
7who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars;
8who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea;
9who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
10who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number.
11Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back? Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13"God will not turn back his anger; beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.
14 How then can I answer him, choosing my words with him?
15 Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
16If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.
17For he crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without cause;
18he will not let me get my breath, but fills me with bitterness.
19If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
20Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
21I am blameless; I regard not myself; I loathe my life.
22It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23When disaster brings sudden death, he mocks at the calamity 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 then is it?
25"My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they see no good.
New International Version
Chapter 9
1Then Job replied:
2"Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?
3Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
4His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
5He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger.
6He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble.
7He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars.
8He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
9He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
10He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
11When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
12If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13God does not restrain his anger; even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.
14"How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him?
15Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
16Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
17He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason.
18He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.
19If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him ?
20Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.
21"Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.
22It is all the same; that is why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent.
New King James Version
Chapter 9
1Then Job answered and said:
2“Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God?
3If 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?
5He removes the mountains, and they do not know When He overturns them in His anger;
6He shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble;
7He 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?’
13God 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.
16If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17For He crushes me with a tempest, And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills me with bitterness.
19If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?
20Though 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.
22It is all one thing; Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’
23If the scourge slays suddenly, He laughs at the plight 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, who else could it be?
25“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.
