1 My eyes have seen all this,
my ears have heard and understood.
2 What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
3 But I would like to speak to the Almighty,
I want to plead my case with God.
4 You are glossing over the problem
and offering false remedies.
5 If only you would keep silent,
that would at least be wisdom.
6 Hear now my argument;
listen to my defense.
7 Will you speak falsely for God?
Will you defend him with false inventions?
8 Will you side with him
and advocate on his behalf?
9 What if he examines you?
Could he be deceived as people are?
10 He will rebuke you for sure
if in secret you show partiality.
11 You will be terrified by his majesty,
and you will be in dread of him.
12 Heaps of ashes are your maxims;
mounds of clay are your defenses.
13 So keep silent and let me speak;
this will be at my own risk.
14 I am putting myself in jeopardy
and gambling for my life.
15 Though he may slay me,
I will still argue with him;
16 and this boldness might even save me
for godless do not dare draw near him.
17 Carefully listen to my words,
give my case a hearing.
18 I will proceed in due form
believing that I am guiltless.
19 If anyone makes good his charges,
I am ready to be silenced and die.
20 Only grant me these two things, O God,
and from you I will not hide:
21 Withdraw your hand far from me,
and do not frighten me with your terrors.
22 Summon me and I will respond;
or let me speak and then have your reply.
23 What are my faults, what are my sins?
Make them all known to me.
24 Why hide your face from me
and consider me your enemy?
25 Why torment a wind-blown leaf
or pursue a withered straw?
26 But you search for accusations
and you recall the sins of my youth.
27 You shackle my feet,
keep watch on all my paths
and mark out my footsteps.
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Comments Job, Chapter 13
• 13.1 Faced with a meaningless life, human wisdom does not have an adequate answer. So Job accuses these wise men who pretend to justify God while forgetting reality (13:1-6). Will you defend God with false inventions (v. 7)? It is better to keep quiet and admit our own ignorance.
This boldness might even save me (v. 16). Job is so convinced that God is just that he wants to force him to break his silence. Perhaps God will make him die because of his boldness but, at least, Job will have had an answer and he will know why he dies (13:13-20).
Job’s bold attitude corrects the widespread image of a believer as one who accepts with resignation without trying to understand. Job does not fall down before God like a slave, but rather, being conscious of his dignity in the eyes of his Maker, he asks for an explanation.