Parallel Bible results for "job 9"

Job 9

English Standard Version ESV

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 "Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right before God?

3 If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand times.

4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength --who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?--

5 he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger,

6 who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble;

7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars;

8 who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea;

9 who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;

10 who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number.

11 Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him.

12 Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back? Who will say to him, 'What are you doing?'

13 "God will not turn back his anger; beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.

14 How then can I answer him, choosing my words with him?

15 Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.

16 If I summoned him 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 let me get my breath, but fills me with bitterness.

19 If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?

20 Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.

21 I am blameless; I regard not myself; I loathe my life.

22 It is all one; therefore I say, He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.

23 When disaster brings sudden death, he mocks at the calamity 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 then is it?

25 "My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they see no good.

26 They go by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle swooping on the prey.

27 If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,'

28 I become afraid of all my suffering, for I know you will not hold me innocent.

29 I shall be condemned; why then do I labor in vain?

30 If I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,

31 yet you will plunge me into a pit, and my own clothes will abhor me.

32 For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together.

33 There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.

34 Let him take his rod away from me, and let not dread of him terrify me.

35 Then I would speak without fear of him, for I am not so in myself.

The Message Bible MSG

1 Job continued by saying:

2 "So what's new? I know all this. The question is, 'How can mere mortals get right with God?'

3 If we wanted to bring our case before him, what chance would we have? Not one in a thousand!

4 God's wisdom is so deep, God's power so immense, who could take him on and come out in one piece?

5 He moves mountains before they know what's happened, flips them on their heads on a whim.

6 He gives the earth a good shaking up, rocks it down to its very foundations.

7 He tells the sun, 'Don't shine,' and it doesn't; he pulls the blinds on the stars.

8 All by himself he stretches out the heavens and strides on the waves of the sea.

9 He designed the Big Dipper and Orion, the Pleiades and Alpha Centauri.

10 We'll never comprehend all the great things he does; his miracle-surprises can't be counted.

11 Somehow, though he moves right in front of me, I don't see him; quietly but surely he's active, and I miss it.

12 If he steals you blind, who can stop him? Who's going to say, 'Hey, what are you doing?'

13 God doesn't hold back on his anger; even dragon-bred monsters cringe before him.

14 "So how could I ever argue with him, construct a defense that would influence God?

15 Even though I'm innocent I could never prove it; I can only throw myself on the Judge's mercy.

16 If I called on God and he himself answered me, then, and only then, would I believe that he'd heard me.

17 As it is, he knocks me about from pillar to post, beating me up, black and blue, for no good reason.

18 He won't even let me catch my breath, piles bitterness upon bitterness.

19 If it's a question of who's stronger, he wins, hands down! If it's a question of justice, who'll serve him the subpoena?

20 Even though innocent, anything I say incriminates me; blameless as I am, my defense just makes me sound worse. If God's Not Responsible, Who Is?

21 "Believe me, I'm blameless. I don't understand what's going on. I hate my life!

22 Since either way it ends up the same, I can only conclude that God destroys the good right along with the bad.

23 When calamity hits and brings sudden death, he folds his arms, aloof from the despair of the innocent.

24 He lets the wicked take over running the world, he installs judges who can't tell right from wrong. If he's not responsible, who is?

25 "My time is short - what's left of my life races off too fast for me to even glimpse the good.

26 My life is going fast, like a ship under full sail, like an eagle plummeting to its prey.

27 Even if I say, 'I'll put all this behind me, I'll look on the bright side and force a smile,'

28 All these troubles would still be like grit in my gut since it's clear you're not going to let up.

29 The verdict has already been handed down - 'Guilty!' - so what's the use of protests or appeals?

30 Even if I scrub myself all over and wash myself with the strongest soap I can find,

31 It wouldn't last - you'd push me into a pigpen, or worse, so nobody could stand me for the stink.

32 "God and I are not equals; I can't bring a case against him. We'll never enter a courtroom as peers.

33 How I wish we had an arbitrator to step in and let me get on with life -

34 To break God's death grip on me, to free me from this terror so I could breathe again.

35 Then I'd speak up and state my case boldly. As things stand, there is no way I can do it.