3 de setembro de 2016


Job said in reply:

Indeed I know that it is so:
Man cannot win a suit against God.
If he insisted on a trial with Him,
He would not answer one charge in a thousand.
Wise of heart and mighty in power -
Who ever challenged Him and came out whole? -
Him who moves mountains without their knowing it,
Who overturns them in His anger;
Who shakes the earth from its place,
Till its pillars quake;
Who commands the sun not to shine;
Who seals up the stars;
Who by Himself spread out the heavens,
And trod on the back of the sea;
Who made the Bear and Orion,
Pleiades, and the chambers of the south wind;
Who performs great deeds which cannot be fathomed,
And wondrous things without number.
He passes me by - I do not see Him;
He goes by me, but I do not perceive Him.
He snatches away - who can stop Him?
Who can say to Him, "What are You doing?"
God does not restrain His anger;
Under Him Rahab's helpers sink down.
How then can I answer Him,
Or choose my arguments against Him?
Though I were in the right, I could not speak out,
But I would plead for mercy with my judge.
If I summoned Him and He responded,
I do not believe He would lend me His ear.
For He crushes me for a hair;
He wounds me much for no cause.
He does not let me catch my breath,
But sates me with bitterness.
If a trial of strength - He is the strong one;
If a trial in court - who will summon Him for me?
Though I were innocent,
My mouth would condemn me;
Though I were blameless, He would prove me crooked.
I am blameless - I am distraught;
I am sick of life.
It is all one; therefore I say,
"He destroys the blameless and the guilty."
When suddenly a scourge brings death,
He mocks as the innocent fail.
The earth is handed over to the wicked one;
He covers the eyes of its judges.
If it is not He, then who?

My days fly swifter than a runner;
They flee without seeing hapiness;
They pass like reed-boats,
Like an eagle swooping onto its prey.
If I say, "I will forget my complaint;
Abandon my sorrow and be diverted,"
I remain in dread of all my suffering;
I know that You will not acquit me.
It will be I who am in the wrong;
Why then should I waste effort?
If I washed with soap,
Cleansed my hands with lye,
You would dip me in muck
Till my clothes would abhor me.
He is not a man, like me, that I can answer Him,
That we can go to law together.
No arbiter is between us
To lay his hand on us both.
If He would only take His rod away from me
And not let His terror frighten me,
Then I would speak out without fear of Him;
For I know myself not to be so. 

Job 9
(JPS)