Job Replies There Is No Adjudicator

1Then Job answered and said,

2“In truth I know that this is so;

But how can a man be in the right [†]before God?

3If one desired to contend with Him,

He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

4Wise in heart and mighty in power,

Who has stiffened his neck against Him and been at peace?

5God is the One who removes the mountains, they know not how,

When He overturns them in His anger;

6The One who shakes the earth out of its place,

And its pillars tremble;

7The One who says for 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, unsearchable,

And wondrous works, innumerable.

11Were He to sweep 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 turn Him back?

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 plead for the grace of my judge.

16If I called and He answered me,

I could not believe that He was giving ear 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 mighty one!

And if it is a matter of justice, who can make [†]Him testify?

20Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me;

Though I am blameless, He will declare me perverse.

21I am blameless;

I do not know my soul;

I reject my life.

22It is all one; therefore I say,

‘He consumes the blameless and the wicked.’

23If the scourge puts to death 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 do not see good.

26They sweep by like reed boats,

Like an eagle that swoops on its food.

27Though I say, ‘I will forget my musing,

I will forsake 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 for judgment together.

33There is no adjudicator 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.