9 Then Iyyov answered saying:

2 Yes, I certainly know that.[ref]

But how can a person be declared innocent before God?

3 If someone wanted to argue with him,

he wouldn’t answer them once out of a thousand times.

4 He’s wise in his thinking and very powerful.

Who has ever challenged him and succeeded?

5 He takes down mountains and they don’t even know who is overturning them with his anger.

6 The one who shakes the earth from its place

≈and makes its pillars shudder.

7 The one who can tell the sun not to shine,

and seals off the stars.

8 The one who stretches out space all by himself,

and treads on the tops of the waves in the sea.

9 The one who made the Bear, Orion, Pleiades,

as well as the southern constellations.

10 The one who does more incredible things than we can find,

and does more marvellous things than we can count.

11 It he went past me, I couldn’t see him,

and if he moved off, I wouldn’t be able to perceive it.

12 When he takes things away, who can stop him,

and who will ask him what he’s doing?

13 God won’t suppress his anger.

Those who help Rahab lie beneath him.

14 I will certainly answer him.

I will choose my words against him.

15 If I was innocent, I wouldn’t answer.

I would ask my judge for mercy.

16 If I called and he answered me,

I wouldn’t believe that he’d listened to my voice.

17 He crushes me with storms,

and wounds me over and over without cause.

18 He doesn’t let me catch my breath.

He fills me with bitterness.

19 Concerning strength, he’s powerful.

Concerning justice, he’ll ask, ‘Who will summon me?’

20 If I was innocent, my mouth would condemn me.

If I was blameless, it would declare me guilty.

21 I’m innocent—I don’t know myself.

I despise my life.

22 It’s the same thing, therefore I said,

‘He’s bringing both the blameless and the wicked to their end.’

23 When a disaster brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of innocent people.

24 The world has been given over to someone wicked.

He covers the judges eyes—so who did it?

25 My days go by faster than a sprinter.

≈They’ve fled by without seeing any good.

26 They pass like boats made with reeds—

≈like an eagle swooping down on its food.

27 If I said that I would forget my complaint,

and soften my expression and smile,

28 I’d be afraid of all my sufferings.

I know that you wouldn’t consider me innocent.

29 I’d be guilty,

so why would I work hard for such vanity?

30 If I washed myself from a clear mountain stream

and cleaned my hands with strong soap,

31 then you’d plunge me into a pit

and my own clothes would abhor me.

32 He’s not a human like me,

so we wouldn’t be going into court together.

33 There’s no mediator between us,

who would have authority over both of us.

34 Let him remove his rod from me,

so his terror won’t frighten me.

35 I would speak and not fear him,

but it’s not like that with me.

10 Inside, I loathe my life.

I’ll release my complaints.

I’ll express my inner bitterness.

2 I’ll tell God not to condemn me.

Help me to know why you’re against me.

3 Does it seem good to you to oppress me?

Have you rejected this creation of yours,

and delighted in wicked people’s plans instead?

4 Do you have actual eyes?

Do you see like people do?

5 Are your days like a person’s days

or your years like a person’s years

6 that you look for my guilt

and search for my sin.

7 Knowing that I’m not guilty,

won’t anyone save me from you?

8 Your hands shaped and moulded me.

Will the same hands now destroy me?

9 Please remember that you made me like the clay.

Will you now turn me to dust?

10 Haven’t you poured me out like milk

≈and curdled me like cheese?

11 You clothed me with flesh and skin,

≈and you knit me together with bones and tendons inside.

12 You have made life and genuine love for me,

and your care has kept my spirit alive.

13 But you hid these things in your heart,

and I know that this is with you.

14 If I sin you’ll be watching me,

and you wouldn’t acquit me of my crime.

15 If I’m guilty, may my end be bad.

If I’m innocent, I won’t raise my head.

I’m full of shame and you’ve seen my suffering.

16 If I get up, the lion will hunt me.

Again, you show me how wonderful you are.

17 You find new witnesses against me.

And you get more angry with me and send changed forces against me.

18 So why did you allow me to come out from the womb?

Better if I’d expired and no one had seen me.

19 If only I’d never existed—

just went straight from the womb to the grave.

20 Aren’t my days few?

So leave me and let me enjoy a little comfort

21 before I go and don’t return to the land of darkness and deep shadow—

22 the land of gloom and deep darkness,

disorderly and with gloomy light.