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Job 9 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Mankind

9 Then Job responded,

²“In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a ^(A)person be in the right with God?
³If one wished to ^(B)dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
⁴^(C)Wise in heart and ^(D)mighty in strength,
Who has ^[a]^(E)defied Him ^[b]without harm?
⁵^(F)It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know how,
When He overturns them in His anger.
⁶It is He who ^(G)shakes the earth from its place,
And its ^(H)pillars tremble;
⁷Who commands the ^(I)sun ^[c]not to shine,
And puts a seal on the stars;
⁸Who alone ^(J)stretches out the heavens,
And ^[d]^(K)tramples down the waves of the sea;
⁹Who makes the ^(L)Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the ^[e]^(M)constellations of the south.
¹⁰It is He who ^(N)does great things, ^[f]the unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.
¹¹If He were to pass by me, ^(O)I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
¹²If He were to snatch away, who could ^(P)restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘^(Q)What are You doing?’

¹³“God will not turn back His anger;
Beneath Him the helpers of ^[g]^(R)Rahab cower.
¹⁴How then can ^(S)I ^[h]answer Him,
And choose my words ^[i]before Him?
¹⁵For ^(T)though I were right, I could not ^[j]answer;
I would have to ^(U)implore the mercy of my Judge.
¹⁶If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
¹⁷For He ^(V)bruises me with a storm
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
¹⁸He will ^(W)not allow me to get my breath,
But He saturates me with ^(X)bitterness.
¹⁹If it is a matter of power, ^(Y)behold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon ^[k]Him?
²⁰^(Z)Though I am righteous, my mouth will ^(AA)condemn me;
Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.
²¹I am ^(AB)guiltless;
I do not take notice of myself;
I ^(AC)reject my life.
²²It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He ^(AD)destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’
²³If the whip kills suddenly,
He ^(AE)mocks the despair of the innocent.
²⁴The earth ^(AF)is handed over to the wicked;
He ^(AG)covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, then who is it?

²⁵“Now ^(AH)my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, ^(AI)they see no good.
²⁶They slip by like ^(AJ)reed boats,
Like an ^(AK)eagle that swoops on ^[l]its prey.
²⁷Though I say, ‘I will forget ^(AL)my complaint,
I will ^[m]put my face in order and be cheerful,’
²⁸I am ^(AM)afraid of all my pains,
I know that ^(AN)You will not acquit me.
²⁹I am ^(AO)guilty,
Why then should I struggle in vain?
³⁰If I ^(AP)washed myself with snow,
And cleansed ^(AQ)my hands with lye,
³¹Then You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would loathe me.
³²For ^(AR)He is not a man, as I am, that ^(AS)I may answer Him—
That we may go to ^[n]court together!
³³There is no ^(AT)arbitrator between us,
Who can place his hand upon us both.
³⁴Let Him ^(AU)remove His rod from me,
And let not the dread of Him terrify me.
³⁵Then I ^(AV)would speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)