Job 23
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
23 Then Job answered:
2 Today also my complaint is bitter.[a](A)
His[b] hand is heavy despite my groaning.
3 If only I knew how to find Him,
so that I could go to His throne.
4 I would plead my case before Him(B)
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would learn how[c] He would answer me;
and understand what He would say to me.
6 Would He prosecute(C) me forcefully?
No, He will certainly pay attention to me.
7 Then an upright man could reason(D) with Him,
and I would escape from my Judge(E) forever.
8 If I go east, He is not there,
and if I go west, I cannot perceive Him.(F)
9 When He is at work to the north, I cannot see Him;
when He turns south, I cannot find Him.
10 Yet He knows the way I have taken;[d]
when He has tested me,(G) I will emerge as pure gold.
11 My feet have followed in His tracks;
I have kept to His way(H) and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commands of His lips;
I have treasured[e] the words(I) of His mouth
more than my daily food.
13 But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him?
He does what He desires.(J)
14 He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me,
and He has many more things like these in mind.[f]
15 Therefore I am terrified(K) in His presence;
when I consider this, I am afraid of Him.
16 God has made my heart faint;(L)
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Yet I am not destroyed[g] by the darkness,(M)
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
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