Job 9

Job replies to Bildad

1 Then Job replied. This is what he said:

2 ‘The things that you have said are true. I know that they are true.

But God will not agree that anyone is completely honest.

3 We might decide to quarrel with him about that.

But God can ask 1,000 questions which we cannot answer.

4 God is very wise and he is very powerful.

It is impossible to argue with him.

5 He is so powerful that he can move mountains.

When he is angry he can knock them down.

6 He can make the earth itself move.

He can even move it from the place where it belongs.

7 He can tell the sun not to shine during the day.

He can stop the stars shining at night.

8 God made the sky and everything that is above the earth.

He did not need anyone to help him. And he tells the seas what they should do.

9 He made all the stars and he put them in their places in the sky.

He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades.

He also put the stars in their places in the south sky.

10 Nobody can understand all the things that he does.

And nobody can count the surprising things that he has done.

11 When God passes in front of me, I cannot see him.

He may go somewhere else. And I cannot see where he has gone.

12 He takes what he wants. And no one can stop him.

No one can ask him what he is doing.

13 God will always be angry with his enemies.

They may fight against him but they will not beat him.

14 I cannot cause God to change his thoughts about me.

There are no words that I can use.

15 I may not have done anything that was wrong. But I cannot explain that to God.

I can only ask him to be kind and to forgive me.

16 If I call to him he might answer me.

But even then he would not listen to the things that I say.

17 He would send a storm to cause me pain.

He would hurt me for no reason.

18 I would not be able to breathe.

Instead, he would make me very sad.

19 God is much stronger than I am.

And no one can ask him to explain what he has done.

20 I may not have done anything that was wrong.

But my words do not show that this is true.

I may be completely honest.

But when I speak, no one believes me.

21 I have not done anything that was wrong.

But my life is not important and I hate myself.

22 The same thing happens to everybody in the end.

So I say, “God kills both good people and very bad people.”

23 Sometimes a good man will become ill while he is young.

But even if he is very sad, God does not do anything to help him.

24 Bad men may rule the countries in the world.

And the judges do not see what the bad men are doing.

It must be God who lets those things happen.

I do not know anyone else that would do that.

25 I am becoming old very quickly.

But even if I live for many years, I will not be happy.

26 A fast boat passes very quickly. My life is like that. It will soon end.

A bird can catch a small animal in a moment. My life seems to be as short as that.

27 I may try to smile.

And I may try to forget about all my troubles.

28 Even then, I will be afraid of the pain that God causes.

God does not agree that I am an honest man. I know that.

29 He has decided that I have done wrong things.

So I do not see why I should continue to argue with him.

30 I might wash myself with soap,

and I might clean my hands with powder.

31 Even then, God would throw me into a dirty hole.

I would be so dirty that I could not wear my own clothes.

32 God is not a man; so I cannot argue with him.

We cannot argue with each other in court.

33 No one can decide which of us is right.

What I say may be true. But no one can check if it is true.

34 No one can stop God when he hurts me.

If that were possible, then I would not be afraid any more.

35 If that were possible, I would not be afraid to speak.

But it is not possible, so I cannot speak.’