Verse 14
Job 9:14
New Living Translation
14
“So who am I, that I should try to answer God (Elohim)<br>or even reason with him?<br>
Original Language Text
hebrew
אַ֭ף כִּֽי אָנֹכִ֣י אֶֽעֱנֶ֑/נּוּ אֶבְחֲרָ֖ה דְבָרַ֣/י עִמּֽ/וֹ
English Translation
Even though I shall respond, I will choose my words with him.
AI translation from hebrew via gpt-4o-mini
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Chapter 9 Context
1
Then Job spoke again:
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2
“Yes, I know all this is true in principle.<br>But how can a person be declared innocent in God (Elo...
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3
If someone wanted to take God (Elohim) to court,<br>would it be possible to answer him even once in...
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4
For God (Elohim) is so wise and so mighty.<br>Who has ever challenged him successfully?<br>
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5
“Without warning, he moves the mountains,<br>overturning them in his anger.<br>
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6
He shakes the earth from its place,<br>and its foundations tremble.<br>
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7
If he commands it, the sun won’t rise<br>and the stars won’t shine.<br>
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8
He alone has spread out the heavens<br>and marches on the waves of the sea.<br>
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9
He made all the stars — the Bear and Orion,<br>the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern s...
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10
He does great things too marvelous to understand.<br>He performs countless miracles.<br>
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11
“Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him.<br>When he moves by, I do not see him go.<br>
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12
If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him?<br>Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’<br>
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13
And God (Elohim) does not restrain his anger.<br>Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath hi...
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14
“So who am I, that I should try to answer God (Elohim)<br>or even reason with him?<br>
15
Even if I were right, I would have no defense.<br>I could only plead for mercy.<br>
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16
And even if I summoned him and he responded,<br>I’m not sure he would listen to me.<br>
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17
For he attacks me with a storm<br>and repeatedly wounds me without cause.<br>
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18
He will not let me catch my breath,<br>but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.<br>
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19
If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one.<br>If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to su...
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20
Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty.<br>Though I am blameless, it would pro...
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21
“I am innocent,<br>but it makes no difference to me —<br>I despise my life.<br>
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22
Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God (Elohim).<br>That’s why I say, ‘He destroys both the b...
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23
When a plague sweeps through,<br>he laughs at the death of the innocent.<br>
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24
The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked,<br>and God (Elohim) blinds the eyes of the judges.<br...
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25
“My life passes more swiftly than a runner.<br>It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.<br>
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26
It disappears like a swift papyrus boat,<br>like an eagle swooping down on its prey.<br>
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27
If I decided to forget my complaints,<br>to put away my sad face and be cheerful,<br>
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28
I would still dread all the pain,<br>for I know you will not find me innocent, O God (Elohim).<br>
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29
Whatever happens, I will be found guilty.<br>So what’s the use of trying?<br>
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30
Even if I were to wash myself with soap<br>and clean my hands with lye,<br>
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31
you would plunge me into a muddy ditch,<br>and my own filthy clothing would hate me.<br>
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32
“God (Elohim) is not a mortal like me,<br>so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.<br>
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33
If only there were a mediator between us,<br>someone who could bring us together.<br>
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34
The mediator could make God (Elohim) stop beating me,<br>and I would no longer live in terror of his...
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35
Then I could speak to him without fear,<br>but I cannot do that in my own strength.<br>
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