Job 9:1-35 CEV

[1] Job's Reply to Bildad Job said: [2] What you say is true. No human is innocent in the sight of God. [3] Not once in a thousand times could we win our case if we took him to court. [4] God is wise and powerful- who could possibly oppose him and win? [5] When God becomes angry, he can move mountains before they even know it. [6] God can shake the earth loose from its foundations [7] or command the sun and stars to hold back their light. [8] God alone stretched out the sky, stepped on the sea, [9] and set the stars in place- the Big Dipper and Orion, the Pleiades and the stars in the southern sky. [10] Of all the miracles God works, we cannot understand a one. [11] God walks right past me, without making a sound. [12] And if he grabs something, who can stop him or raise a question? [13] When God showed his anger, the servants of the sea monster fell at his feet. [14] How, then, could I possibly argue my case with God? [15] Even though I am innocent, I can only beg for mercy. [16] And if God came into court when I called him, he would not hear my case. [17] He would strike me with a storm and increase my injuries for no reason at all. [18] Before I could get my breath, my miseries would multiply. [19] God is much stronger than I am, and who would call me into court to give me justice? [20] Even if I were innocent, God would prove me wrong. [21] I am not guilty, but I no longer care what happens to me. [22] What difference does it make? God destroys the innocent along with the guilty. [23] When a good person dies a sudden death, God sits back and laughs. [24] And who else but God blindfolds the judges, then lets the wicked take over the earth? [25] My life is speeding by, without a hope of happiness. [26] Each day passes swifter than a sailing ship or an eagle swooping down. [27] Sometimes I try to be cheerful and to stop complaining, [28] but my sufferings frighten me, because I know that God still considers me guilty. [29] So what's the use of trying to prove my innocence? [30] Even if I washed myself with the strongest soap, [31] God would throw me into a pit of stinking slime, leaving me disgusting to my clothes. [32] God isn't a mere human like me. I can't put him on trial. [33] Who could possibly judge between the two of us? [34] Can someone snatch away the stick God carries to frighten me? [35] Then I could speak up without fear of him, but for now, I cannot speak.