Job 23
Legacy Standard Bible
Where Is God?
23 Then Job answered and said,
2 “Even today my (A)musing is rebellion;
[a]His hand is (B)heavy despite my groaning.
3 Oh that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
4 I would (C)arrange my case for justice before Him
And fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which He would [b]answer,
And discern what He would say to me.
6 Would He contend with me by (D)the greatness of His power?
No, surely He would pay attention to me.
7 There the upright would (E)argue with Him;
And I [c]would have (F)escaped forever from my Judge.
8 “Behold, I go forward but He is not there,
And backward, but I (G)cannot discern Him;
9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;
He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.
10 But He knows the [d]way I take;
When He has (H)tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot has (I)held fast to His path;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the command of His lips;
I have treasured the (J)words of His mouth [e]more than my [f]portion of food.
13 But He is unique and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.
14 For He performs what is apportioned for me,
And many such decrees are with Him.
15 Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;
I carefully consider, and I am in dread of Him.
16 It is God who has made my (K)heart faint,
And the Almighty who has dismayed me,
17 But I (L)am not silenced by the darkness,
Nor (M)thick darkness which covers me.
Job 23
Common English Bible
Grant me a trial
23 Job answered:
2 Today my complaint is again bitter;[a]
my strength is weighed down because of my groaning.
3 Oh, that I could know how to find him—
come to his dwelling place;
4 I would lay out my case before him,
fill my mouth with arguments,
5 know the words with which he would answer,
understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he contend with me through brute force?
No, he would surely listen to me.
7 There those who do the right thing can argue with him;
I could escape from my judge forever.
God’s hiddenness
8 Look, I go east; he’s not there,
west, and don’t discover him;
9 north in his activity, and I don’t grasp him;
he turns south, and I don’t see.
10 Surely he knows my way;
when he tests me,
I will emerge as gold.
11 My feet have stayed right in his tracks.
I have kept his way and not left it,
12 kept the commandments from his lips and not departed,
valued the words from his mouth more than my food.
Dread
13 He is of one mind; who can reverse it?
What he desires, he does.
14 He carries out what is decreed for me
and can do many similar things with me.
15 Therefore, I am scared by his presence;
I think and become afraid of him.
16 God has weakened my mind;
the Almighty has frightened me.
17 Still I’m not annihilated by darkness;
he has hidden deep darkness from me.
Footnotes
- Job 23:2 Vulg, Syr, Tg; MT my complaint is rebellious.
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