1 Then Job {Iyov: deeply afflicted} answered {vaya'an: formal response} and said,
2 Truly, I have known that it is so; but how can a man be justified {yitsdaq: declared righteous} with God {El, Supreme Judge}?
3 If a person should wish to contend with Him {El, Unanswerable Judge}, He would not answer him one time {akhat: single occasion} out of a thousand.
4 Wise in heart and mighty in strength is He {Elohim, All-Wise Ruler}—who has hardened himself {hiksha: stubbornly resisted} against Him and prospered?
5 He {Divine Judge, overwhelming power} moves away mountains, and they do not know when He overturns them in His anger {appo: fierce wrath}.
6 The One who shakes the earth {eretz: entire world} from its place, and its pillars {amudeha: foundational supports} tremble.
7 He {El, Cosmic Commander} says to the sun, “Do not rise,” and He seals off the stars {kokhavim: celestial lights}.
8 He alone stretches out the heavens {shamayim: vast celestial expanse} and treads upon the heights of the sea {bamotei: towering wave-crests}.
9 He {Sovereign Star-Maker} is the One who makes Ash, Kesil, and Kimah, and the chambers of the South {chadrei teman: remote southern skies}.
10 He {Eloah, Worker Of Wonders} does great things beyond searching out {cheqer: deep investigation} and marvelous things beyond numbering.
11 Behold, He {Divine One, Hidden Actor} passes over me, and I do not see Him; He goes by, but I do not perceive {avin: deeply understand} Him.
12 Behold, He {El, Irresistible Actor} snatches away {yakhtof: sudden removal}; who can turn Him back? Who can say to Him, “What are You doing?”
13 God {Eloah, Unopposed Judge} does not turn back His anger; under Him the helpers of Rahab {Rahav: Primeval Chaos Symbol} bow in submission.
14 How much less could I answer Him {Eloah, Unapproachable Judge}? I would choose my words {devarai: carefully weighed speech} with Him.
15 Even if I were righteous {tsadakti: morally in the right}, I could not answer; to my judge {limshof'ti: supreme legal authority} I would plead for favor.
16 If I called and He {Eloah, Questioned Hearer} answered me, I would not believe that He would listen to my voice {qol: personal cry}.
17 He {Eloah, Overwhelming Afflicter} crushes me with a storm {searah: violent tempest} and multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 He {Eloah, Unrelenting Sovereign} does not let me regain my breath {ruach: fragile life}, for He fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is about strength {koach: overwhelming power}, behold, He {Eloah, Unmatched Strength} is mighty; and if it is about justice, who will appoint a time for me?
20 If I am righteous, my mouth {pi: self-condemning speech} will condemn me; if I am blameless, it will declare me perverse {vayyaqsheni: viewed as twisted}.
21 I am blameless, yet I do not know my soul {nefesh: inner life}; I despise my life {chayyai: earthly existence}.
22 It is all one; therefore I have said, “He {El, Supreme Arbiter} destroys both the blameless {tam: morally upright} and the wicked.”
23 If a scourge {shot: instrument of harsh affliction} brings sudden death, at the testing of the innocent, He {Elohim, Sovereign Arbiter} mocks.
24 The land {erets: governed territory} is given into the hand of the wicked; He {Eloah, Sovereign Disposer} covers the faces of its judges {shofet: legal arbiters}. If it is not He, then who is it?
25 And my days {yamai: the course of my life} are swifter than a runner; they have fled and have not seen good {tovah: lasting well-being}.
26 They passed by with ships of papyrus {oniyot eveh: light reed boats}, like an eagle swooping {yatush: sudden downward dive} upon food.
27 If I say, “I will forget my complaint {sichi: inward lament}, I will put away my sad face {panai: outward expression}, and I will brighten up.”
28 I have feared all my sorrows {atzvotai: accumulated afflictions}; I have known that You {Divine One, withholding acquittal} will not declare me innocent.
29 I am found guilty {ersha: legally condemned}; why then should I labor in futility {hevel: empty outcome}?
30 If I wash myself with snow-water {mei sheleg: intensely pure image} and make my hands pure with lye {bor: cleansing alkali},
31 Then You {Eloah, Unyielding Judge} would plunge me into the pit {bashachat: place of ruin}, and my garments would abhor me.
32 For He is not a man {ish: ordinary mortal} like me, that I should answer Him, that we should come together in judgment {mishpat: legal dispute}.
33 There is no arbiter {mokhiach: judicial mediator} between us who might lay his hand {yad: symbol of authority} upon us both.
34 Let Him {Elohim, Awe-Inspiring Judge} remove His rod {shivto: instrument of discipline} from upon me, and let His terror not frighten me.
35 I would speak up {adaberah: earnest self-defense}, and I would not fear him, for it is not so with me {imadi: in my situation}.