23
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 “Even today my complaint is bitter;
my hand * is heavy because of my groaning.
3 Oh, that I knew where I might find him!
Oh, that I might come to his place!
4 I would lay my case in order before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would learn the words with which he would answer me
and would understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he argue against me in the greatness of his power?
No, he would pay attention to me.
7 There the upright person might argue with him.
In this way I would be acquitted forever by my judge.
8 See, I go eastward, but he is not there,
and westward, but I cannot perceive him.
9 To the north, where he is at work, but I cannot see him,
and to the south, where he hides himself so that I cannot see him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come out like gold.
11 My foot has held fast to his steps;
I have kept to his way and turned not aside.
12 I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
13 But he is one of a kind, who can turn him back?
What he desires, he does.
14 For he carries out his decree against me;
there are many like them.
15 Therefore, I am terrified in his presence;
when I think about him, I am afraid of him.
16 For God has made my heart weak;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 I have not been brought to an end by darkness,
because of the thick darkness that covers the gloom of my face.
* 23:2 Some copies have: his hand