| New International Version | English Standard Version |
| 1Then Job replied: | 1Then Job answered and said: |
| 2"Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God? | 2“Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right before God? |
| 3Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand. | 3If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand times. |
| 4His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed? | 4He is wise in heart and mighty in strength—who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?— |
| 5He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. | 5he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger, |
| 6He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. | 6who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; |
| 7He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars. | 7who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; |
| 8He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. | 8who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea; |
| 9He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. | 9who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south; |
| 10He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. | 10who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number. |
| 11When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him. | 11Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him. |
| 12If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?' | 12Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back? Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’ |
| 13God does not restrain his anger; even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet. | 13“God will not turn back his anger; beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab. |
| 14"How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him? | 14How then can I answer him, choosing my words with him? |
| 15Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy. | 15Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser. |
| 16Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing. | 16If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice. |
| 17He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason. | 17For he crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without cause; |
| 18He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery. | 18he will not let me get my breath, but fills me with bitterness. |
| 19If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him? | 19If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him? |
| 20Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty. | 20Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse. |
| 21"Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life. | 21I am blameless; I regard not myself; I loathe my life. |
| 22It is all the same; that is why I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.' | 22It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ |
| 23When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent. | 23When disaster brings sudden death, he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. |
| 24When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it? | 24The 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 fly away without a glimpse of joy. | 25“My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they see no good. |
| 26They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey. | 26They go by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle swooping on the prey. |
| 27If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,' | 27If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,’ |
| 28I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent. | 28I become afraid of all my suffering, for I know you will not hold me innocent. |
| 29Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain? | 29I shall be condemned; why then do I labor in vain? |
| 30Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with cleansing powder, | 30If I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye, |
| 31you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would detest me. | 31yet you will plunge me into a pit, and my own clothes will abhor me. |
| 32"He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. | 32For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together. |
| 33If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together, | 33There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both. |
| 34someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. | 34Let him take his rod away from me, and let not dread of him terrify me. |
| 35Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot. | 35Then I would speak without fear of him, for I am not so in myself. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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