Job: There Is No Mediator
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Truly I knowitisso,
# But how can aman berighteous before God?
3 If one wished to contend with Him,
He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
4 Godiswise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has hardenedhimselfagainst Him and prospered?
5 He removes the mountains, and they do not know
When He overturns them in His anger;
6 Heshakes the earth out of its place,
# And itspillars 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 seeHim;
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,
Andchoose my wordstoreasonwith 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 woundswithout cause.
18 He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills me with bitterness.
19 Ifitisamatterof strength, indeedHeisstrong;
And if of justice, who will appoint my dayincourt?
20 Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me;
Though Iwereblameless, it would prove me perverse.
21 “I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;
I despise my life.
22 Itisall onething;
# 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 notHe,who else could it be?
25 “Nowmy 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 Youwill not hold me innocent.
29 IfI 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 “ForHeisnot a man, as Iam,
ThatI may answer Him,
Andthatwe should go to court together.
33 Nor is there any mediator between us,
Whomay 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 ThenI would speak and not fear Him,
But it is not so with me.