Capítulo 9

1 - Then Job replied:

2 - "Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?

3 - Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.

4 - His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?

5 - He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger.

6 - He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble.

7 - He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars.

8 - He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.

9 - He is the Maker of the Bear Or [of Leo] and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

10 - He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.

11 - When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.

12 - If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'

13 - God does not restrain his anger; even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.

14 - "How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him?

15 - Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.

16 - Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing.

17 - He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason.

18 - He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.

19 - If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him See Septuagint; Hebrew [me.]?

20 - Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.

21 - "Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.

22 - It is all the same; that is why I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'

23 - When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent.

24 - When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it?

25 - "My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.

26 - They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey.

27 - If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,'

28 - I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent.

29 - Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?

30 - Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with cleansing powder,

31 - you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would detest me.

32 - "He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court.

33 - If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together,

34 - someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more.

35 - Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.