1 Then Iob answered, and sayd, 2 I knowe verily that it is so: for howe should man compared vnto God, be iustified? 3 If I would dispute with him, hee could not answere him one thing of a thousand. 4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath bene fierce against him and hath prospered? 5 He remoueth the mountaines, and they feele not when he ouerthroweth them in his wrath. 6 Hee remooueth the earth out of her place, that the pillars thereof doe shake. 7 He commandeth the sunne, and it riseth not: hee closeth vp the starres, as vnder a signet. 8 Hee himselfe alone spreadeth out the heauens, and walketh vpon the height of the sea. 9 He maketh the starres Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the climates of the South. 10 He doeth great things, and vnsearcheable: yea, marueilous things without nomber. 11 Lo, when he goeth by me, I see him not: and when he passeth by, I perceiue him not. 12 Behold, when he taketh a pray, who can make him to restore it? who shall say vnto him, What doest thou? 13 God will not withdrawe his anger, and the most mightie helpes doe stoupe vnder him. 14 Howe much lesse shall I answere him? or howe should I finde out my words with him? 15 For though I were iust, yet could I not answere, but I would make supplication to my Iudge. 16 If I cry, and he answere me, yet woulde I not beleeue, that he heard my voyce. 17 For he destroyeth mee with a tempest, and woundeth me without cause. 18 He wil not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitternesse. 19 If we speake of strength, behold, he is strog: if we speake of iudgement, who shall bring me in to pleade? 20 If I woulde iustifie my selfe, mine owne mouth shall condemne mee: if I would be perfite, he shall iudge me wicked. 21 Though I were perfite, yet I knowe not my soule: therefore abhorre I my life. 22 This is one point: therefore I said, Hee destroyeth the perfite and the wicked. 23 If the scourge should suddenly slay, should God laugh at the punishment of the innocent? 24 The earth is giuen into the hand of ye wicked: he couereth the faces of the iudges therof: if not, where is he? or who is he? 25 My dayes haue bene more swift then a post: they haue fled, and haue seene no good thing. 26 They are passed as with the most swift ships, and as the eagle that flyeth to the pray. 27 If I say, I wil forget my complaynt, I will cease from my wrath, and comfort mee, 28 Then I am afrayd of all my sorowes, knowing that thou wilt not iudge me innocent. 29 If I be wicked, why labour I thus in vaine? 30 If I wash my selfe with snowe water, and purge mine hands most cleane, 31 Yet shalt thou plunge mee in the pit, and mine owne clothes shall make me filthie. 32 For he is not a man as I am, that I shoulde answere him, if we come together to iudgement. 33 Neyther is there any vmpire that might lay his hand vpon vs both. 34 Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his feare astonish me: 35 Then will I speake, and feare him not: but because I am not so, I holde me still.
Job
1-2 Yes, I've heard all that before.
But how can a human being win a case against God?
3 How can anyone argue with him?
He can ask a thousand questions
that no one could ever answer.
4 God is so wise and powerful;
no one can stand up against him.
5 Without warning he moves mountains
and in anger he destroys them.
6 God sends earthquakes and shakes the ground;
he rocks the pillars that support the earth.
7 He can keep the sun from rising,
and the stars from shining at night.
8 No one helped God spread out the heavens
or trample the sea monster's back.
9 God hung the stars in the sky—the Dipper,
Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars of the south.
10 We cannot understand the great things he does,
and to his miracles there is no end.
11 God passes by, but I cannot see him.
12 He takes what he wants, and no one can stop him;
no one dares ask him, “What are you doing?”
13 God's anger is constant. He crushed his enemies
who helped Rahab, the sea monster, oppose him.
14 So how can I find words to answer God?
15 Though I am innocent, all I can do
is beg for mercy from God my judge.
16 Yet even then, if he lets me speak,
I can't believe he would listen to me.
17 He sends storms to batter and bruise me
without any reason at all.
18 He won't let me catch my breath;
he has filled my life with bitterness.
19 Should I try force? Try force on God?
Should I take him to court? Could anyone make him go?
20 I am innocent and faithful, but my words sound guilty,
and everything I say seems to condemn me.
21-22 I am innocent, but I no longer care.
I am sick of living. Nothing matters;
innocent or guilty, God will destroy us.
23 When an innocent person suddenly dies,
God laughs.
24 God gave the world to the wicked.
He made all the judges blind.
And if God didn't do it, who did?
25 My days race by, not one of them good.
26 My life passes like the swiftest boat,
as fast as an eagle swooping down on a rabbit.
27-28 If I smile and try to forget my pain,
all my suffering comes back to haunt me;
I know that God does hold me guilty.
29 Since I am held guilty, why should I bother?
30 No soap can wash away my sins.
31 God throws me into a pit with filth,
and even my clothes are ashamed of me.
32 If God were human, I could answer him;
we could go to court to decide our quarrel.
33 But there is no one to step between us—
no one to judge both God and me.
34 Stop punishing me, God!
Keep your terrors away!
35 I am not afraid. I am going to talk
because I know my own heart.