Job

Chapter 23

1 Then Job replied,

2 Today my complaint is harsh; my suffering is worse than my groans.

3 I wish I knew where to find God so I could go to where he is.

4 I would explain my case to God and give many reasons to support it.

5 I want to know the words he would reply with, and understand what he would tell me.

6 Would he argue with me using his great power? No; instead, he would give me strength.

7 There, good people could argue with God; so I would be saved forever from my judge.

8 I look ahead, but he’s not there; I look behind, but I can’t see him.

9 On the left side, where he works, I cannot see him; he hides on the right side so I cannot find him.

10 God knows the path I follow; when he has tested me, I will come out like gold.

11 I have followed his path without turning away.

12 I have not turned away from what God commands; I value his words more than my daily bread.

13 He has one plan, and no one can change it. Whatever he wants to do, he does.

14 He does what he has planned for me, and he has many more things like this.

15 So, when I feel God’s presence, I get disturbed; when I think about it, I become scared of Him.

16 God makes my heart gentle, and the Almighty disturbs me.

17 Because I was not taken away before the darkness, nor has he hidden the darkness from my face.