Job 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.