Job 23
23
Job’s Eighth Speech: A Response to Eliphaz
1Then Job spoke again:
2“My complaint today is still a bitter one,
and I try hard not to groan aloud.
3If only I knew where to find God,
I would go to his court.
4I would lay out my case
and present my arguments.
5Then I would listen to his reply
and understand what he says to me.
6Would he use his great power to argue with me?
No, he would give me a fair hearing.
7Honest people can reason with him,
so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.
8I go east, but he is not there.
I go west, but I cannot find him.
9I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.
I look to the south, but he is concealed.
10“But he knows where I am going.
And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
11For I have stayed on God’s paths;
I have followed his ways and not turned aside.
12I have not departed from his commands,
but have treasured his words more than daily food.
13But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind?
Whatever he wants to do, he does.
14So he will do to me whatever he has planned.
He controls my destiny.
15No wonder I am so terrified in his presence.
When I think of it, terror grips me.
16God has made me sick at heart;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17Darkness is all around me;
thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.
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Job 23
23
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
1Then Job answered:
2Today also my complaint is bitter.#23:2 Syr, Tg, Vg; MT reads rebellion#Jb 7:11; 10:1; 21:4
His#23:2 LXX, Syr; MT reads My hand is heavy despite my groaning.
3If only I knew how to find him,
so that I could go to his throne.
4I would plead my case before him#Jb 5:8; 13:18; 35:14
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5I would learn how#23:5 Lit the words he would answer me;
and understand what he would say to me.
6Would he prosecute#Jb 13:19; 33:13; Is 45:9 me forcefully?
No, he would certainly pay attention to me.
7Then an upright man could reason#Jb 13:3,15; 15:3 with him,
and I would escape from my Judge#23:7 Or judgment#Gn 18:25; Is 33:22; Jr 11:20 forever.
8If I go east, he is not there,
and if I go west, I cannot perceive him.#Jb 9:11; 35:14
9When he is at work to the north, I cannot see him;
when he turns south, I cannot find him.
10Yet he knows the way I have taken;#23:10 Lit way with me
when he has tested me,#Ps 17:3; 66:10; 1Pt 1:7 I will emerge as pure gold.
11My feet have followed in his tracks;
I have kept to his way#Jb 17:9; Ps 17:5; 44:18 and not turned aside.
12I have not departed from the commands from his lips;
I have treasured#23:12 LXX, Vg read treasured in my bosom the words#Jb 6:10; 22:22; Ps 119:102–103,111 from his mouth
more than my daily food.
13But he is unchangeable; who can oppose him?
He does what he desires.#Ps 115:3; Is 14:27; Dn 4:35
14He will certainly accomplish what he has decreed for me,
and he has many more things like these in mind.#23:14 Lit these with him
15Therefore I am terrified#Jb 4:14; 22:10; 23:15 in his presence;
when I consider this, I am afraid of him.
16God has made my heart faint;#Dt 20:3; Is 7:4; Jr 51:46
the Almighty has terrified me.
17Yet I am not destroyed#23:17 Or silenced by the darkness,#Jb 19:8; 29:3; 30:26
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
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