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¹ Then Job answered and said: ² "Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God? ³ If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand. ⁴ God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered? ⁵ He removes the mountains, and they do not know When He overturns them in His anger; ⁶ He shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars 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 see Him; 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 [fn] lie prostrate beneath Him.

¹⁴ "How then can I answer Him, And choose my words to reason with 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 wounds without cause. ¹⁸ He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills me with bitterness. ¹⁹ If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court? ²⁰ Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse. ²¹ "I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life.

²² It is all one thing; 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 not He, who else could it be?

²⁵ "Now my 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 You will not hold me innocent. ²⁹ If I 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 "For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together. ³³ Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may 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 Then I would speak and not fear Him, But it is not so with me.