Job 9

1 Ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Ἰὼβ, λέγει,

2 Ἐπʼ ἀληθείας οἶδα, ὅτι οὕτως ἐστί· πῶς γὰρ ἔσται δίκαιος βροτὸς παρὰ Κυρίῳ;

3 Ἐὰν γὰρ βούληται κριθῆναι αὐτῷ, οὐ μὴ ὑπακούσῃ αὐτῷ, ἵνα μὴ ἀντείπῃ πρὸς ἕνα λόγον αὐτοῦ ἐκ χιλίων.

4 Σοφὸς γάρ ἐστι διανοίᾳ, κραταιός τε καὶ μέγας· τίς σκληρὸς γενόμενος ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ ὑπέμεινεν;

5 Ὁ παλαιῶν ὄρη καὶ οὐκ οἴδασιν, ὁ καταστρέφων αὐτὰ ὀργῇ·

6 Ὁ σείων τὴν ὑπʼ οὐρανὸν ἐκ θεμελίων, οἱ δὲ στύλοι αὐτῆς σαλεύονται·

7 Ὁ λέγων τῷ ἡλίῳ καὶ οὐκ ἀνατέλλει, κατὰ δὲ ἄστρων κατασφραγίζει·

8 Ὁ τανύσας τὸν οὐρανὸν μόνος, καὶ περιπατῶν ὡς ἐπʼ ἐδάφους ἐπὶ θαλάσσης·

9 Ὁ ποιῶν Πλειάδα καὶ Ἕσπερον καὶ Ἀρκτοῦρον, καὶ ταμεῖα Νότου·

10 Ὁ ποιῶν μεγάλα καὶ ἀνεξιχνίαστα, ἔνδοξά τε καὶ ἐξαίσια, ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός.

11 Ἐὰν ὑπερβῇ με, οὐ μὴ ἴδω· ἐὰν παρέλθῃ με, οὐδʼ ὡς ἔγνων.

12 Ἐὰν ἀπαλλάξῃ, τίς ἀποστρέψει; ἢ τίς ἐρεῖ αὐτῷ, τί ἐποίησας;

13 Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἀπέστραπται ὀργὴν, ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ ἐκάμφθησαν κήτη τὰ ὑπʼ οὐρανόν

14 Ἐὰν δέ μου ὑπακούσεται, ἤ διακρίνει τὰ ῥήματά μου.

15 Ἐὰν γὰρ ὦ δίκαιος, οὐκ εἰσακούσεταί μου, τοῦ κρίματος αὐτοῦ δεηθήσομαι·

16 Ἐάν τε καλέσω καὶ μὴ ὑπακούσῃ, οὐ πιστεύω ὅτι εἰσακήκοέ μου τῆς φωνῆς.

17 Μὴ γνόφῳ με ἐκτρίψῃ· πολλὰ δέ μου τὰ συντρίμματα πεποίηκε διακενῆς.

18 Οὐκ ἐᾷ γάρ με ἀναπνεῦσαι· ἐνέπλησε δέ με πικρίας,

19 ὅτι μὲν γὰρ ἰσχύει κράτει· τίς οὖν κρίματι αὐτοῦ ἀντιστήσεται;

20 Ἐὰν γὰρ ὦ δίκαιος, τὸ στόμα μου ἀσεβήσει· ἐάν τε ᾧ ἄμεμπτος, σκολιὸς ἀποβήσομαι.

21 Εἴτε γὰρ ἠσέβησα, οὐκ οἶδα τῇ ψυχῇ, πλὴν ἀφαιρεῖταί μου ἡ ζωή.

22 Διὸ εἶπον, μέγαν καὶ δυνάστην ἀπολλύει ὀργή,

23 ὅτι φαῦλοι ἐν θανάτῳ ἐξαισίῳ, ἀλλὰ δίκαιοι καταγελῶνται,

24 παραδέδονται γὰρ εἰς χεῖρας ἀσεβοῦς, πρόσωπα κριτῶν αὐτῆς συγκαλύπτει· εἰ δὲ μὴ αὐτός ἐστι, τίς ἐστιν;

25 Ὁ δὲ βίος μου ἐστὶν ἐλαφρότερος δρομέως· ἀπέδρασαν, καὶ οὐκ εἴδοσαν.

26 Ἢ καὶ ἐστι ναυσὶν ἴχνος ὁδοῦ, ἢ ἀετοῦ πετομένου ζητοῦντος βοράν;

27 Ἐάν τε γὰρ εἶπω, ἐπιλήσομαι λαλῶν, συγκύψας τῷ προσώπῳ στενάξω·

28 Σείομαι πᾶσι τοῖς μέλεσιν, οἴδα γὰρ ὅτι οὐκ ἀθῶόν με ἐάσεις.

29 Ἐπειδὴ δέ εἰμι ἀσεβὴς, διὰ τί οὐκ ἀπέθανον;

30 Ἐὰν γὰρ ἀπολούσωμαι χιόνι, καὶ ἀποκαθάρωμαι χερσὶ καθαραῖς,

31 ἱκανῶς ἐν ῥύπῳ με ἔβαψας, ἐβδελύξατο δέ με ἡ στολή.

32 Οὐ γὰρ εἰ ἄνθρωπος κατʼ ἐμὲ, ᾧ ἀντικρινοῦμαι, ἵνα ἔλθωμεν ὁμοθυμαδὸν εἰς κρίσιν.

33 Εἴθε ἦν ὁ μεσίτης ἡμῶν, καὶ ἐλέγχων, καὶ διακούων ἀναμέσον ἀμφοτέρων.

34 Ἀπαλλαξάτω ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ τὴν ῥάβδον, ὁ δὲ φόβος αὐτοῦ μή με στροβείτω,

35 καὶ οὐ μὴ φοβηθῶ, ἀλλὰ λαλήσω· οὐ γὰρ οὕτω συνεπίσταμαι.

1 Then Job answered and said,

2 I know of a truth that it is so: for how shall a mortal man be just before the Lord?

3 For if he would enter into judgment with him, God would not hearken to him, so that he should answer to one of his charges of a thousand.

4 For he is wise in mind, and mighty, and great: who has hardened himself against him and endured?

5 Who wears out the mountains, and men know it not: who overturns them in anger.

6 Who shakes the earth under heaven from its foundations, and its pillars totter.

7 Who commands the sun, and it rises not; and he seals up the stars.

8 Who alone has stretched out the heavens, and walks on the sea as on firm ground.

9 Who makes Pleias, and Hesperus, and Arcturus, and the chambers of the south.

10 Who does great and unsearchable things; glorious also and excellent things, innumerable.

11 If ever he should go beyond me, I shall not see him: if he should pass by me, neither thus have I known it .

12 If he would take away, who shall turn him back? or who shall say to him, What hast thou done?

13 For if he has turned away his anger, the whales under heaven have stooped under him.

14 Oh then that he would hearken to me, or judge my cause.

15 For though I be righteous, he will not hearken to me: I will intreat his judgment.

16 And if I should call and he should not hearken, I cannot believe that he has listened to my voice.

17 Let him not crush me with a dark storm: but he has made my bruises many without cause.

18 For he suffers me not to take breath, but he has filled me with bitterness.

19 For indeed he is strong in power: who then shall resist his judgment?

20 For though I should seem righteous, my mouth will be profane: and though I should seem blameless, I shall be proved perverse.

21 For even if I have sinned, I know it not in my soul: but my life is taken away.

22 Wherefore I said, Wrath slays the great and mighty man.

23 For the worthless die, but the righteous are laughed to scorn.

24 For they are delivered into the hands of the unrighteous man : he covers the faces of the judges of the earth : but if it be not he, who is it?

25 But my life is swifter than a post: my days have fled away, and they knew it not.

26 Or again, is there a trace of their path left by ships? or is there one of the flying eagle as it seeks its prey?

27 And if I should say, I will forget to speak, I will bow down my face and groan;

28 I quake in all my limbs, for I know that thou wilt not leave me alone as innocent.

29 But since I am ungodly, why have I not died?

30 For if I should wash myself with snow, and purge myself with pure hands,

31 thou hadst thoroughly plunged me in filth, and my garment had abhorred me.

32 For thou art not man like me, with whom I could contend, that we might come together to judgment.

33 Would that he our mediator were present , and a reprover, and one who should hear the cause between both.

34 Let him remove his rod from me, and let not his fear terrify me:

35 so shall I not be afraid, but I will speak: for I am not thus conscious of guilt .