Job 23
Evangelical Heritage Version
Round Three: Job’s First Speech
23 Then Job responded:
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.
Footnotes
- Job 23:2 The translation bitter follows the ancient versions. The Hebrew reads rebellious.
- Job 23:2 The translation his follows the ancient versions. The Hebrew reads my.
- Job 23:2 Or my hand is weighed down by my groaning
- Job 23:12 Or I have treasured the sayings from his mouth more than my allotted inheritance
Job 23
King James Version
23 Then Job answered and said,
2 Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.
3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!
4 I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.
6 Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.
7 There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.
8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.
12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
14 For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.
15 Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him.
16 For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me:
17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.