New King James Version | New Living Translation |
1Then Job answered and said: | 1Then Job spoke again: |
2“Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God? | 2“Yes, I know all this is true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight? |
3If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand. | 3If someone wanted to take God to court, would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times? |
4God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered? | 4For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully? |
5He removes the mountains, and they do not know When He overturns them in His anger; | 5“Without warning, he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger. |
6He shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble; | 6He shakes the earth from its place, and its foundations tremble. |
7He commands the sun, and it does not rise; He seals off the stars; | 7If he commands it, the sun won’t rise and the stars won’t shine. |
8He alone spreads out the heavens, And treads on the waves of the sea; | 8He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea. |
9He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south; | 9He made all the stars—the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky. |
10He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number. | 10He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles. |
11If He goes by me, I do not see Him; If He moves past, I do not perceive Him; | 11“Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him. When he moves by, I do not see him go. |
12If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’ | 12If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him? Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’ |
13God will not withdraw His anger, The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him. | 13And God does not restrain his anger. Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath his feet. |
14“How then can I answer Him, And choose my words to reason with Him? | 14“So who am I, that I should try to answer God or even reason with him? |
15For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge. | 15Even if I were right, I would have no defense. I could only plead for mercy. |
16If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice. | 16And even if I summoned him and he responded, I’m not sure he would listen to me. |
17For He crushes me with a tempest, And multiplies my wounds without cause. | 17For he attacks me with a storm and repeatedly wounds me without cause. |
18He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills me with bitterness. | 18He will not let me catch my breath, but fills me instead with bitter sorrows. |
19If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court? | 19If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one. If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court? |
20Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse. | 20Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty. Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked. |
21“I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life. | 21“I am innocent, but it makes no difference to me— I despise my life. |
22It is all one thing; Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’ | 22Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God. That’s why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ |
23If the scourge slays suddenly, He laughs at the plight of the innocent. | 23When a plague sweeps through, he laughs at the death of the innocent. |
24The 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? | 24The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked, and God blinds the eyes of the judges. If he’s not the one who does it, who is? |
25“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. | 25“My life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away without a glimpse of happiness. |
26They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey. | 26It disappears like a swift papyrus boat, like an eagle swooping down on its prey. |
27If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’ | 27If I decided to forget my complaints, to put away my sad face and be cheerful, |
28I am afraid of all my sufferings; I know that You will not hold me innocent. | 28I would still dread all the pain, for I know you will not find me innocent, O God. |
29If I am condemned, Why then do I labor in vain? | 29Whatever happens, I will be found guilty. So what’s the use of trying? |
30If I wash myself with snow water, And cleanse my hands with soap, | 30Even if I were to wash myself with soap and clean my hands with lye, |
31Yet You will plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes will abhor me. | 31you would plunge me into a muddy ditch, and my own filthy clothing would hate me. |
32“For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together. | 32“God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial. |
33Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both. | 33If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together. |
34Let Him take His rod away from me, And do not let dread of Him terrify me. | 34The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment. |
35Then I would speak and not fear Him, But it is not so with me. | 35Then I could speak to him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength. |
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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