Job 23

Evangelical Heritage Version

² Even today my complaint is bitter.^[a]
His^[b] hand weighs heavily on me despite my groaning.^[c]
3 I wish I knew where I could find him,
so that I could come to his place for judgment.
⁴ Then I would lay out my case before him,
and I would fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ I would know what words he would use to respond to me,
and I would consider what he would say to me.
⁶ Would he use his great power to press charges against me?
No, he will certainly give me a hearing.
⁷ There, an upright man could argue with him,
and I would be delivered from my judge forever.
⁸ But if I walk to the east, he is not there.
If I go back to the west, I find no sign of him.
⁹ When he is at work in the north, I do not detect him.
When he turns to the south, I do not see him.
¹⁰ But I am sure he knows the way I take.
When he has tested me, I will come out like gold.
¹¹ My feet have followed his footsteps closely.
I have kept to his way, and I have not turned aside.
¹² I have not departed from the command from his lips.
I have treasured the sayings from his mouth in my heart.^[d]

¹³ He stands alone.
Who can make him change?
Whatever his soul desires, he will do.
¹⁴ He carries out his decrees against me,
and he has so many of them!
¹⁵ That is why I am in a panic in his presence.
When I think about this, I dread him.
¹⁶ God has made me lose heart.
The Almighty has terrified me.
¹⁷ Nevertheless, I am not silenced by the darkness,
by the dark cloud that covers my face.