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Job Replies There Is No Adjudicator

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² "In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a ^(C1)man be in the right ^(F1)before God?

³ "If one desired to ^(C1)contend with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

⁴ "^(C1)Wise in heart and ^(C2)mighty in power,
Who has ^(C3)stiffened his neck against Him and been at peace?

⁵ "^(C1)God is the One who removes the mountains, they know not how,
When He overturns them in His anger;

⁶ The One who ^(C1)shakes the earth out of its place,
And its ^(C2)pillars tremble;

⁷ The One who says for the ^(C1)sun ^(F1)not to shine,
And sets a seal upon the stars;

⁸ Who alone ^(C1)stretches out the heavens,
And ^(F1)(C2)tramples down the waves of the sea;

⁹ Who makes the ^(C1)Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the ^(C2)chambers of the south;

¹⁰ Who ^(C1)does great things, unsearchable,
And wondrous works, innumerable.

¹¹ "Were He to sweep by me, ^(C1)I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

¹² "Were He to snatch away, who could ^(C1)turn Him back?
Who could say to Him, '^(C2)What are You doing?'

¹³ "God will not turn back His anger;
Beneath Him crouch the helpers of ^(C1)Rahab.

¹⁴ "How then can ^(C1)I ^(F1)answer Him,
And choose my words ^(F2)before Him?

¹⁵ "For ^(C1)though I were right, I could not ^(F1)answer;
I would have to ^(C2)plead for the grace of my judge.

¹⁶ "If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was giving ear to my voice.

¹⁷ "For He ^(C1)bruises me with a tempest
And multiplies my wounds without cause.

¹⁸ "He will ^(C1)not allow me to get my breath,
But saturates me with ^(C2)bitterness.

¹⁹ "If it is a matter of power, ^(C1)behold, He is the mighty one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can make ^(F1)Him testify?

²⁰ "^(C1)Though I am righteous, my mouth will ^(C2)condemn me;
Though I am blameless, He will declare me perverse.

²¹ "I am ^(C1)blameless;
I do not know my soul;
I ^(C2)reject my life.

²² "It is all one; therefore I say,
'He ^(C1)consumes the blameless and the wicked.'

²³ "If the scourge puts to death suddenly,
He ^(C1)mocks the despair of the innocent.

²⁴ "The earth ^(C1)is given into the hand of the wicked;
He ^(C2)covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, then who is it?

²⁵ "Now ^(C1)my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away; ^(C2)they do not see good.

²⁶ "They sweep by like ^(C1)reed boats,
Like an ^(C2)eagle that swoops on its food.

²⁷ "Though I say, 'I will forget ^(C1)my musing,
I will forsake my sad countenance and be cheerful,'

²⁸ I am ^(C1)afraid of all my pains;
I know that ^(C2)You will not acquit me.

²⁹ "I am accounted ^(C1)wicked;
Why then should I toil in vain?

³⁰ "If I should ^(C1)wash myself with snow
And cleanse ^(C2)my hands with lye,

³¹ Yet You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would abhor me.

³² "For ^(C1)He is not a man as I am that ^(C2)I may answer Him,
That we may go to court for judgment together.

³³ "There is no ^(C1)adjudicator between us,
Who may lay his hand upon us both.

³⁴ "Let Him ^(C1)remove His rod from me,
And let not dread of Him terrify me.

³⁵ "Then I ^(C1)would speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.