Job 9
1 Et respondens Iob, ait:
Then responded Job, and said—
2 Vere scio quod ita sit, et quod non iustificetur homo compositus Deo.
Of a truth, I know that so it is, But how can a mortal be just with GOD?
3 Si voluerit contendere cum eo, non poterit ei respondere unum pro mille.
If he choose to contend with him, he cannot answer him, one of a thousand:
4 Sapiens corde est, et fortis robore: quis restitit ei, et pacem habuit?
Wise in heart, and alert in vigour, What man hath hardened himself against him, and prospered!
5 Qui transtulit montes, et nescierunt hi quos subvertit in furore suo.
Who removeth mountains, unawares, Who overturneth them in his anger;
6 Qui commovet terram de loco suo, et columnæ eius concutiuntur.
Who shaketh the earth, out of its place, and, the pillars thereof, shudder;
7 Qui præcipit Soli, et non oritur: et stellas claudit quasi sub signaculo:
Who commandeth the sun, and it breaketh not forth, and, about the stars, he putteth a seal;
8 Qui extendit cælos solus, et graditur super fluctus maris.
Who spreadeth out fire heavens, by himself alone! and marcheth along, on the heights of the sea;
9 Qui facit Arcturum, et Oriona, et Hyadas, et interiora austri.
Who made the Bear, the Giant and the Cluster, and the chambers of the south;
10 Qui facit magna, et incomprehensibilia, et mirabilia, quorum non est numerus.
Who doeth great things, past finding out, and marvels, beyond number.
11 Si venerit ad me, non videbo eum: si abierit, non intelligam.
Lo! he cometh upon me, yet can I not see him, Yea he passeth on, yet can I not discern him.
12 Si repente interroget, quis respondebit ei? vel quis dicere potest: Cur ita facis?
Lo! he snatcheth away, who can bring it back? Who shall say unto him, What wouldst thou do?
13 Deus, cuius iræ nemo resistere potest, et sub quo curvantur qui portant orbem.
As for GOD, if he withdraw not his anger, under him, will have submitted themselves—the proud helpers.
14 Quantus ergo sum ego, ut respondeam ei, et loquar verbis meis cum eo?
How much less that, I, should answer him, should choose my words with him?
15 Qui etiam si habuero quippiam iustum, non respondebo, sed meum iudicem deprecabor.
Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, to be absolved, I would make supplication.
16 Et cum invocantem exaudierit me, non credo quod audierit vocem meam.
Though I had called, and he had answered me, I could not believe, that he would lend an ear to my voice.
17 In turbine enim conteret me, et multiplicabit vulnera mea etiam sine causa.
For, with a tempest, would he fall upon me, and would multiply my wounds without need;
18 Non concedit requiescere spiritum meum, et implet me amaritudinibus.
He would not suffer me to recover my breath, for he would surfeit me with bitter things.
19 Si fortitudo quæritur, robustissimus est: si æquitas iudicii, nemo audet pro me testimonium dicere.
If it regardeth vigour, bold is he! If justice, who could summon him?
20 Si iustificare me voluero, os meum condemnabit me: si innocentem ostendero, pravum me comprobabit.
If I should justify myself, mine own mouth, would condemn me, —I blameless? then had it shewn me perverse.
21 Etiam si simplex fuero, hoc ipsum ignorabit anima mea, et tædebit me vitæ meæ.
I blameless? I should not know my own soul, I should despise my own life!
22 Unum est quod locutus sum, et innocentem et impium ipse consumit.
One thing, there is, for which cause, I have said it, The blameless and the lawless, he bringeth to an end.
23 Si flagellat, occidat semel, et non de pœnis innocentum rideat.
If, a scourge, slay suddenly, at the despair of innocent ones, he mocketh.
24 Terra data est in manus impii, vultum iudicum eius operit: quod si non ille est, quis ergo est?
The earth, hath been given into the hand of a lawless one, The faces of her judges, he covereth, If not, then who is it?
25 Dies mei velociores fuerunt cursore: fugerunt, et non viderunt bonum.
My days, therefore, are swifter than a runner, They have fled, they have seen no good.
26 Pertransierunt quasi naves poma portantes, sicut aquila volans ad escam.
They have passed away with boats of paper-reed, like a vulture [which] rusheth upon food.
27 Cum dixero: Nequaquam ita loquar: commuto faciem meam, et dolore torqueor.
If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will lay aside my sad countenance, and brighten up,
28 Verebar omnia opera mea, sciens quod non parceres delinquenti.
I am afraid of all my pains, I know, that thou wilt not pronounce me innocent.
29 Si autem et sic impius sum, quare frustra laboravi?
I, shall be held guilty, —Wherefore then, in vain, should I toil?
30 Si lotus fuero quasi aquis nivis, et fulserit velut mundissimæ manus meæ:
Though I bathe myself in snow water, and cleanse, in cleanness itself, my hands,
31 Tamen sordibus intinges me, et abominabuntur me vestimenta mea.
Then, in a ditch, wouldst thou plunge me, and mine own clothes should abhor me:
32 Neque enim viro qui similis mei est, respondebo: nec qui mecum in iudicio ex æquo possit audiri.
For he is not a man like myself, whom I might answer, nor could we come together into judgment:
33 Non est qui utrumque valeat arguere, et ponere manum suam in ambobus.
There is not, between us, a mediator, who might lay his hand upon us both.
34 Auferat a me virgam suam, et pavor eius non me terreat.
Let him take from off me his rod, and, his terror, let it not startle me:
35 Loquar, et non timebo eum: neque enim possum metuens respondere.
I could speak, and not be afraid of him, although, not so, am, I, in myself!
