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.
Footnotes
- Job 23:2 Syr, Tg, Vg; MT reads rebellion
- Job 23:2 LXX, Syr; MT reads My
- Job 23:5 Lit the words
- Job 23:10 Lit way with me
- Job 23:12 LXX, Vg read treasured in my bosom
- Job 23:14 Lit these with Him
- Job 23:17 Or silenced
Cross references
- 23:2 : Jb 7:11; 10:1; 21:4
- 23:4 : Jb 5:8; 13:18; 35:14
- 23:6 : Jb 13:19; 33:13; Is 45:9
- 23:7 : Jb 13:3, 15; 15:3
- 23:7 : Gn 18:25; Is 33:22; Jr 11:20
- 23:8 : Jb 9:11; 35:14
- 23:10 : Ps 17:3; 66:10; 1Pt 1:7
- 23:11 : Jb 17:9; Ps 17:5; 44:18
- 23:12 : Jb 6:10; 22:22; Ps 119:102-103, 111
- 23:13 : Ps 115:3; Is 14:27; Dn 4:35
- 23:15 : Jb 4:14; 22:10; 23:15
- 23:16 : Dt 20:3; Is 7:4; Jr 51:46
- 23:17 : Jb 19:8; 29:3; 30:26