“If one should want to contend or dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
Who has [ever] defied or challenged Him and remained unharmed?
“It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know it,
When He overturns them in His anger;
Who made [the constellations] the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the [vast starry] spaces of the south;
Who does great things, [beyond understanding,] unfathomable,
Yes, marvelous and wondrous things without number.
“Behold, He snatches away; who can restrain or turn Him back?
Who will say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
“God will not turn back His anger;
The [proud] helpers of Rahab [the arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.
“For though I were righteous, I could not answer.
I must appeal for mercy to my Opponent and Judge.
“If it is a matter of strength and power, behold, He is mighty!
And if of justice, who can summon and challenge Him?
“Though I am innocent and in the right, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty;
Though I am blameless, He would denounce me as guilty.
“The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;
He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice].
If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]?
“They pass by like the [swift] boats made of reeds,
Like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.
“If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad appearance, and be cheerful and brighten up,’
I am afraid of all my pains and worries [yet to come];
I know that You will not acquit me and leave me unpunished.
“I am accounted wicked and held guilty;
Why then should I labor in vain [to appear innocent]?
You would still plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would hate me [and refuse to cover my foul body].
“For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him,
That we may go to court and judgment together.
“There is no arbitrator between us,
Who could lay his hand upon us both [would that there were].
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