NET Bible

Job’s Reply to Eliphaz1

^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.

The Inaccessibility and Power of God

^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.