Job 9
New Catholic Bible
Job’s Second Response[a]
Chapter 9
The Irresistible Power of God.[b] 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “Indeed, I realize that this is true,
but how can anyone claim to be righteous before God?
3 If someone wished to debate with him,
he could not answer him once in a thousand.
4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who then has resisted him and remained unscathed?
5 “He moves mountains without their realizing it
and overturns them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth out of its place,
and makes its pillars tremble.
7 He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
he seals up the light of the stars.
8 He alone stretches out the heavens
and tramples upon the waves of the sea.
9 He made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades[c] and the constellations of the South.
10 “God performs deeds that are beyond understanding
and marvels that cannot be numbered.
11 If he passes near me, I do not see him;
he moves on, imperceptible to me.
12 If he snatches something away, who can stop him?
Who will dare to ask him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God will not relent in his wrath;
the servants of Rahab lie prostrate at his feet.
Even If I Am Innocent, How Can I Answer God?[d]
14 “How then can I possibly reply to him
or devise arguments to counter him?
15 Even if I am innocent, how can I answer him?
I can only plead that he have mercy on me.
16 “Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe that he would listen to what I said.
17 He might crush me in a tempest
and multiply my wounds without cause.
18 He might leave me no opportunity to regain my breath
and fill me with bitterness.
19 “If it is a contest of strength,
I cannot compete with him.
If it is a matter of judgment,
who can summon him to present his evidence?
20 Even though I am innocent,
my own mouth might condemn me.
Even though I am blameless,
he might prove me guilty.
21 But am I without blame?
I am no longer certain.
Life itself I despise.
22 “It is all the same; that is why I say,
‘He destroys both the innocent and the wicked.’
23 When a deadly scourge suddenly appears,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 When the earth is given into the hands of the wicked,
he blindfolds the eyes of its judges.[e]
If it is not he who does so,
then who else is responsible?
There Is No Arbiter To Judge between God and Me
25 “My days pass more swiftly than a runner;
they fly away without any experience of happiness.
26 They skim past like boats of papyrus,
like an eagle swooping upon its prey.
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaints,
I will put on a cheerful face instead of a sad countenance,’
28 I will still dread my sufferings,
for I know that you will not hold me innocent.
29 “If I am to be condemned as guilty,
why then should I struggle in vain?
30 If I should wash myself with snow
and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 you would plunge me into a dung-filled ditch
so that even my clothes would abhor me.
32 “For God is not a man like me,
someone before whom I can plead my case
or whom I can confront in a court.
33 There is no arbiter to judge between us
with the power to render a verdict,
34 someone who could remove God’s rod from me
so that I would not shrink from him in terror.
35 Then I would speak out without fear of him,
for I know I am not what I am thought to be.
Footnotes
- Job 9:1 Far from denying the justice of God, Job proclaims it in his turn, but he will focus attention on the mystery of this justice by emphasizing the fearful power of the Creator and his seeming hostility to the human beings who have come from his own hands.
- Job 9:1 This first hymn to God the Creator emphasizes the nothingness of human beings. The Book of Job shows a liking for these grandiose visions in which we find the ancient cosmology reflected: earth is like a building set on pillars that reach down into the abyss (v. 6); in the firmament God has set constellations that cannot all be identified with certainty (v. 9).
- Job 9:9 Bear . . . Orion . . . Pleiades: three constellations, whose creation by God was evidence of his overwhelming might. They reappear in Job 38:31-32, and the last two are found in Am 5:8.
- Job 9:14 Hounded by the desire to obtain justice, Job would like to come before God. But the heavy burden of the trial leads him to have doubts both about his own virtue and about the justice of God.
- Job 9:24 Blindfolds the eyes of [the earth’s] judges: in our day, we portray Lady Justice as wearing a blindfold, meaning that she will be an impartial judge. Job accused God of blindfolding the judges of his time so that they would be oblivious to both crimes and innocence.
Job 9
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
9 Then Job answered and said,
2 Yes, I know it is true. But how can mortal man be right before God?
3 If one should want to contend with Him, he cannot answer one [of His questions] in a thousand.
4 [God] is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has [ever] hardened himself against Him and prospered or even been safe?
5 [God] Who removes the mountains, and they know it not when He overturns them in His anger;
6 Who shakes the earth out of its place, and the pillars of it tremble;
7 Who commands the sun, and it rises not; Who seals up the stars [from view];
8 Who alone stretches out the heavens and treads upon the waves and high places of the sea;
9 Who made [the constellations] the Bear, Orion, and the [loose cluster] Pleiades, and the [vast starry] spaces of the south;
10 Who does great things past finding out, yes, marvelous things without number.
11 Behold, He goes by me, and I see Him not; He passes on also, but I perceive Him not.
12 Behold, He snatches away; who can hinder or turn Him back? Who will say to Him, What are You doing?
13 God will not withdraw His anger; the [proud] helpers of Rahab [arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.
14 How much less shall I answer Him, choosing out my words to reason with Him
15 Whom, though I were righteous (upright and innocent) yet I could not answer? I must appeal for mercy to my Opponent and Judge [for my right].
16 If I called and He answered me, yet would I not believe that He listened to my voice.
17 For He overwhelms and breaks 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 I speak of strength, behold, He is mighty! And if of justice, Who, says He, will summon Me?
20 Though I am innocent and in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, He would prove me perverse.
21 Though I am blameless, I regard not myself; I despise my life.
22 It is all one; therefore I say, God [does not discriminate, but] destroys the blameless and the wicked.
23 When [His] scourge slays suddenly, He mocks at the calamity and trial 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 blinded to justice]. If it is not [God], who then is it [responsible for all this inequality]?
25 Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they see no good.
26 They are passed away like the swift rowboats made of reeds, or like the eagle that swoops down on the prey.
27 If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad countenance, and be of good cheer and brighten up,
28 I become afraid of all my pains and sorrows [yet to come], for I know You will not pronounce me innocent [by removing them].
29 I shall be held guilty and be condemned; why then should I labor in vain [to appear innocent]?
30 If I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 Yet You will plunge me into the ditch, and my own clothes will abhor me [and refuse to cover so foul a body].
32 For [God] is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I should answer Him, that we should come together in court.
33 There is no umpire between us, who might lay his hand upon us both, [would that there were!](A)
34 That He might take His rod away from [threatening] me, and that the fear of Him might not terrify me.
35 [Then] would I speak and not fear Him, but I am not so in myself [to make me afraid, were only a fair trial given me].
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
