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14 How then can I answer Him and choose my words with Him, 15 whom, if I were righteous, I could not answer; to my Judge I would plead for mercy. 16 If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He gives ear to my voice— 17 He who crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause. 18 He does not allow me to return my breath, but He fills me with bitterness. 19 If it is of power, behold, He is mighty; and if of justice, who can summon Him? 20 If I were righteous, my own mouth would declare me wicked; if I were blameless, then it would declare me perverse. 21 I am blameless; I do not know my soul; I despise my life. 22 It is one thing! And upon thus I say, ‘The blameless and the wicked He brings to an end.’ 23 If the whip kills suddenly, He mocks the despair of the innocent. 24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges—If not, then who is it? 25 So my days are swifter than a runner; they flee, not seeing good. 26 They pass by with ships of papyrus, like an eagle rushing upon its food. 27 If I were to say, ‘I will forget my complaint, let me change my face and smile,’ 28 I would fear all my sorrows, and I know that You will not clear me. 29 I am wicked; why then should I labor in vain? 30 If I wash myself with water of snow, and cleanse my hands with lye, 31 yet into the pit You will plunge me, and my own garments will abhor me. 32 For He is not a man like I am, that I may answer Him, that we would come together into judgment. 33 There is not a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon the two of us, 34 tu turn away from me His rod, and not let His terror frighten me. 35 I would speak and not be afraid of Him; but I am not thus with me. Job 9:14-35, Berean Literal Bible. Public domain.
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