NETtext - Job - 23

23:1  Then Job answered:

23:2  "Even today my complaint is still bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning.

23:3  O that I knew where I might find him, that I could come to his place of residence!

23:4  I would lay out my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.

23:5  I would know with what words he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me.

23:6  Would he contend with me with great power? No, he would only pay attention to me.

23:7  There an upright person could present his case before him, and I would be delivered forever from my judge.

23:8  "If I go to the east, he is not there, and to the west, yet I do not perceive him.

23:9  In the north when he is at work, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I see no trace of him.

23:10  But he knows the pathway that I take; if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.

23:11  My feet have followed his steps closely; I have kept to his way and have not turned aside.

23:12  I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion.

23:13  But he is unchangeable, and who can change him? Whatever he has desired, he does.

23:14  For he fulfills his decree against me, and many such things are his plans.

23:15  That is why I am terrified in his presence; when I consider, I am afraid because of him.

23:16  Indeed, God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me.

23:17  Yet I have not been silent because of the darkness, because of the thick darkness that covered my face.