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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Job 23: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Job 23
23
Job’s Defense
I’m Completely in the Dark
1-7Job replied:
“I’m not letting up—I’m standing my ground.
My complaint is legitimate.
God has no right to treat me like this—
it isn’t fair!
If I knew where on earth to find him,
I’d go straight to him.
I’d lay my case before him face-to-face,
give him all my arguments firsthand.
I’d find out exactly what he’s thinking,
discover what’s going on in his head.
Do you think he’d dismiss me or bully me?
No, he’d take me seriously.
He’d see a straight-living man standing before him;
my Judge would acquit me for good of all charges.
8-9“I travel East looking for him—I find no one;
then West, but not a trace;
I go North, but he’s hidden his tracks;
then South, but not even a glimpse.
10-12“But he knows where I am and what I’ve done.
He can cross-examine me all he wants, and I’ll pass the test with honors.
I’ve followed him closely, my feet in his footprints,
not once swerving from his way.
I’ve obeyed every word he’s spoken,
and not just obeyed his advice—I’ve treasured it.
13-17“But he is singular and sovereign. Who can argue with him?
He does what he wants, when he wants to.
He’ll complete in detail what he’s decided about me,
and whatever else he determines to do.
Is it any wonder that I dread meeting him?
Whenever I think about it, I get scared all over again.
God makes my heart sink!
God Almighty gives me the shudders!
I’m completely in the dark,
I can’t see my hand in front of my face.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.