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Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man

¹ Then Job ^(F1)answered,

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 wished to ^(C1)dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

⁴ "^(C1)Wise in heart and ^(C2)mighty in strength,
Who has ^(F1)(C3)defied Him ^(F2)without harm?

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

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

⁷ Who commands 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, ^(F1)unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.

¹¹ "Were He to pass 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)restrain Him?
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)implore the mercy of my judge.

¹⁶ "If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening 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 strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon ^(F1)Him?

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

²¹ "I am ^(C1)guiltless;
I do not take notice of myself;
I ^(C2)despise my life.

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

²³ "If the scourge kills 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 see no good.

²⁶ "They slip by like ^(C1)reed boats,
Like an ^(C2)eagle that swoops on ^(F1)its prey.

²⁷ "Though I say, 'I will forget ^(C1)my complaint,
I will leave off 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 ^(F1)court together.

³³ "There is no ^(C1)umpire 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.