9:1  Then Job answered and said:

9:2  "Truly I know it is so,
But how can a man be righteous before God?

9:3  If one wished to contend with Him,
He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

9:4  God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?

9:5  He removes the mountains, and they do not know
When He overturns them in His anger;

9:6  He shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;

9:7  He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
He seals off the stars;

9:8  He alone spreads out the heavens,
And treads on the waves of the sea;

9:9  He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;

9:10  He does great things past finding out,
Yes, wonders without number.

9:11  If He goes by me, I do not see Him;
If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;

9:12  If He takes away, who can hinder Him?
Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

9:13  God will not withdraw His anger,
The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.

9:14  “How then can I answer Him,
And choose my words to reason with Him?

9:15  For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him;
I would beg mercy of my Judge.

9:16  If I called and He answered me,
I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.

9:17  For He crushes me with a tempest,
And multiplies my wounds without cause.

9:18  He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills me with bitterness.

9:19  If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong;
And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?

9:20  Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me;
Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.

9:21  “I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;
I despise my life.

9:22  It is all one thing;
Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’

9:23  If the scourge slays suddenly,
He laughs at the plight of the innocent.

9:24  The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, who else could it be?

9:25  “Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, they see no good.

9:26  They pass by like swift ships,
Like an eagle swooping on its prey.

9:27  If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’

9:28  I am afraid of all my sufferings;
I know that You will not hold me innocent.

9:29  If I am condemned,
Why then do I labor in vain?

9:30  If I wash myself with snow water,
And cleanse my hands with soap,

9:31  Yet You will plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes will abhor me.

9:32  "For He is not a man, as I am,
That I may answer Him,
And that we should go to court together.

9:33  Nor is there any mediator between us,
Who may lay his hand on us both.

9:34  Let Him take His rod away from me,
And do not let dread of Him terrify me.

9:35  Then I would speak and not fear Him,
But it is not so with me.