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.
Job 23
Complete Jewish Bible
23 Then Iyov answered:
2 “Today too my complaint is bitter;
my hand is weighed down because of my groaning.
3 I wish I knew where I could find him;
then I would go to where he is.
4 I would state my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know his answering words
and grasp what he would tell me.
6 Would he browbeat me with his great power?
No, he would pay attention to me.
7 There an upright person could reason with him;
thus I might be forever acquitted by my judge.
8 “If I head east, he isn’t there;
if I head west, I don’t detect him,
9 if I turn north, I don’t spot him;
in the south he is veiled, and I still don’t see him.
10 Yet he knows the way I take;
when he has tested me, I will come out like gold.
11 My feet have stayed in his footsteps;
I keep to his way without turning aside.
12 I don’t withdraw from his lips’ command;
I treasure his words more than my daily food.
13 “But he has no equal, so who can change him?
What he desires, he does.
14 He will accomplish what is decreed for me,
and he has many plans like this.
15 This is why I am terrified of him;
the more I think about it, the more afraid I am —
16 God has undermined my courage;
Shaddai frightens me.
17 Yet I am not cut off by the darkness;
he has protected me from the deepest gloom.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.