Job 9:1 - Prayer Tents

9Then Job replied:H347H6030H559 2"Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?H3045H551H582H6663H410 3Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.H2654H7378H6030H259H505 4His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?H2450H3824H533H3581H7185H7999 5He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger.H6275H2022H3045H2015H639 6He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble.H7264H776H4725H5982H6426 7He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars.H559H2775H2224H2856H3556 8He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.H5186H8064H1869H1116H3220 9He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.H6213H5906H3685H3598H2315H8486 10He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.H6213H1419H369H2714H6381H4557 11When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.H5674H7200H2498H995 12If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'H2862H7725H559H6213 13God does not restrain his anger; even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.H433H7725H639H7293H5826H7817 14"How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him?H6030H977H1697 15Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.H6663H6030H2603H8199 16Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing.H7121H6030H539H238H6963 17He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason.H7779H8183H7235H6482H2600 18He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.H5414H7725H7307H7646H4472 19If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him ?H3581H533H4941H3259 20Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.H6663H6310H7561H8535H6140 21"Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.H8535H3045H5315H3988H2416 22It is all the same; that is why I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'H259H559H3615H8535H7563 23When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent.H7752H4191H6597H3932H4531H5355 24When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it?H776H5414H3027H7563H3680H6440H8199H645 25"My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.H3117H7043H7323H1272H7200H2896 26They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey.H2498H5973H16H591H5404H2907H400 27If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,'H559H7911H7879H5800H6440H1082 28I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent.H3025H6094H3045H5352 29Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?H7561H3021H1892 30Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with cleansing powder,H7364H7950H4325H1119H3709H1252H1253H2141 31you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would detest me.H227H2881H7845H8008H8581 32"He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court.H376H6030H935H3162H4941 33If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay a hand on us both,H3426H3198H7896H3027H8147 34someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more.H5493H7626H5493H367H1204 35Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.H1696H3372