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9:1  Then Job replied:
9:2  "Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?
9:3  Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
9:4  His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
9:5  He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger.
9:6  He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble.
9:7  He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars.
9:8  He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
9:9  He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
9:10  He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
9:11  When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
9:12  If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'
9:13  God does not restrain his anger; even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.
9:14  "How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him?
9:15  Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
9:16  Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
9:17  He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason.
9:18  He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.
9:19  If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him?
9:20  Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.
9:21  "Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.
9:22  It is all the same; that is why I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'
9:23  When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent.
9:24  When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it?
9:25  "My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.
9:26  They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey.
9:27  If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,'
9:28  I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent.
9:29  Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?
9:30  Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with cleansing powder,
9:31  you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would detest me.
9:32  "He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court.
9:33  If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together,
9:34  someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more.
9:35  Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.