Job

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Job’s Eighth Speech: A Response to Eliphaz

23 
Then[a] Job answered and said,
2 “Even today my complaint is bitter;

my hand is heavy in addition to my groaning.

3 O that[b] I knew and that I might find him;

O that I might come to his dwelling.

4 I would lay my case before him,[c]

and I would fill my mouth with arguments.

5 I want to know the words with which he would answer me,

and I want to understand what he would say to me.

6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his strength?

No, but he himself[d] would give heed to me.

7 There an upright person could reason with him,

and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.

8 “When I go forward, he is not there,[e]

or[f] backward, I cannot see him.[g]

9 When he works[h] on the left, I cannot perceive[i] him;

he turns to the right, but[j] I cannot see him.

10 But he knows the way that I take;[k]

he tests me—I shall come out like gold.

11 My foot has held on to his steps;

I have kept his way, and I have not turned aside.

12 From the commandment of his lips, indeed[l] I have not departed;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily food.

13 “But[m] he is alone,[n] and who can dissuade him?

And whatever he desires,[o] indeed,[p] he does it.

14 For he will carry out what he appoints for me,[q]

and many things like these are with him.

15 Therefore, I am horrified because of his presence;

when I consider, I tremble[r] because of him.

16 Indeed,[s] God has made my heart faint,

and Shaddai has terrified me.

17 Indeed, I have not been silenced because of darkness,[t]

and because of me he[u] conceals thick darkness.

Footnotes

  1. Job 23:1 Hebrew “And”
  2. Job 23:3 Literally “Who shall give”
  3. Job 23:4 Literally “to his face”
  4. Job 23:6 Emphatic personal pronoun
  5. Job 23:8 Literally “and there is not he,” or “and he is not”
  6. Job 23:8 Hebrew “and”
  7. Job 23:8 Hebrew “and I cannot see him”
  8. Job 23:9 Literally “At his working”
  9. Job 23:9 Literally “and I cannot see”
  10. Job 23:9 Hebrew “and”
  11. Job 23:10 Literally “way with me”
  12. Job 23:12 Hebrew “and”
  13. Job 23:13 Hebrew “And”
  14. Job 23:13 Literally “as one”
  15. Job 23:13 Literally “his inner self desires,” or “his soul desires”
  16. Job 23:13 Hebrew “and”
  17. Job 23:14 Literally “my portion,” or “my allotment”
  18. Job 23:15 Hebrew “and I tremble,” or “then I tremble”
  19. Job 23:16 Hebrew “And”
  20. Job 23:17 Literally “from the face of darkness”
  21. Job 23:17 Or “it”