Job 23

n Jb 6:10; 22:22; Ps 119:102-3,111

Job’s Reply to Eliphaz

1 Then Job answered:

2 Today also my complaint is bitter. ^{▼▼Syr, Tg, Vg; MT reads rebellion
,} ^b
His ^{▼▼LXX, Syr; MT reads My} 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 ^d
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would learn how ^{▼▼Lit the words} He would answer me;
and understand what He would say to me.
6 Would He prosecute ^f me forcefully?
No, He will certainly pay attention to me.
7 Then an upright man could reason ^g with Him,
and I would escape from my Judge ^h forever.

8 If I go east, He is not there,
and if I go west, I cannot perceive Him. ⁱ
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; ^{▼▼Lit way with me}
when He has tested me, ^k I will emerge as pure gold.
11 My feet have followed in His tracks;
I have kept to His way ^l and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commands of His lips;
I have treasured ^{▼▼LXX, Vg read treasured in my bosom} the words ⁿ of His mouth
more than my daily food.

13 But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him?
He does what He desires. ^o
14 He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me,
and He has many more things like these in mind. ^{▼▼Lit these with Him}
15 Therefore I am terrified ^q in His presence;
when I consider this, I am afraid of Him.
16 God has made my heart faint; ^r
the ^{▼▼God Almighty: The Hebrew word is El Shaddai; El = "God," but the meaning of Shaddai is disputed; traditionally it is translated "Almighty".}Almighty has terrified me.
17 Yet I am not destroyed ^{▼▼Or silenced} by the darkness, ^u
by the thick darkness that covers my face.