4 a The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
‡
5 If you can answer me,
Set
your words in order before me;
Take your stand.
6 a Truly I
am1 as your spokesman before God;
I also have been formed out of clay.
‡
7 a Surely no fear of me will terrify you,
Nor will my hand be heavy on you.
‡
8 “Surely you have spoken
1 in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of
your words,
saying, ‡
9 ‘I
a am pure, without transgression;
I
am innocent, and
there is no iniquity in me.
‡
10 Yet He finds occasions against me,
a He counts me as His enemy;
‡
11 a He puts my feet in the stocks,
He watches all my paths.’
‡
12 “Look,
in this you are not righteous.
I will answer you,
For God is greater than man.
13 Why do you
a contend with Him?
For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.
‡
14 a For God may speak in one way, or in another,
Yet man does not perceive it.
‡
15 a In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls upon men,
While slumbering on their beds,
‡
16 a Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction.
‡
17 In order to turn man
from his deed,
And conceal pride from man,
18 He keeps back his soul from the Pit,
And his life from
1 perishing by the sword.
‡
19 “
Man is also chastened with pain on his
a bed,
And with strong
pain in many of his bones,
‡
20 a So that his life abhors
b bread,
And his soul
1 succulent food.
‡
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
