1 Then Job replied ⌞to his friends⌟,
2 “Yes, I know that this is true.
3 If he wished to debate with God,
4 “God is wise in heart and mighty in power.
5 He moves mountains without their knowing it,
6 He shakes the earth from its place,
7 He commands the sun not to rise.
8 He stretches out the heavens by himself
9 He made ⌞the constellations⌟ Ursa Major, Orion, and the Pleiades,
10 He does great things that are unsearchable
11 He passes alongside of me, and I don’t even see him.
12 He takes something away, ⌞but⌟ who can stop him?
13 God does not hold back his anger.
14 “How can I possibly answer God?
15 Even if I were right, I could not answer ⌞him⌟.
16 If I cried out and he answered me,
17 He would knock me down with a storm
18 He would not let me catch my breath.
19 If it is a matter of strength,
20 If I am righteous, my own mouth would condemn me.
21 If I am a man of integrity, I have no way of knowing it.
22 It is all the same.
23 When a sudden disaster brings death,
24 The earth is handed over to the wicked.
25 “My days go by more quickly than a runner.
26 They pass by quickly like boats made from reeds,
27 ⌞Even⌟ if I say, ‘I will forget my complaining;
28 I ⌞still⌟ dread everything I must suffer.
29 I’ve already been found guilty.
30 If I wash myself with lye soap
31 then you would plunge me into a muddy pit,
32 A human like me cannot answer God,
33 There is no mediator between us
34 God should take his rod away from me,
35 Then I would speak and not be afraid of him.