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Job chapter 23

English Standard Version

1Then Job answered and said:
2"Today also my complaint is bitter; my hand is heavy on account of my groaning. 3Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! 4I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. 5I would know what he would answer me and understand what he would say to me. 6Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; he would pay attention to me. 7There an upright man could argue with him, and I would be acquitted forever by my judge. 8"Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; 9on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. 10But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. 11My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. 12I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food. 13But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. 14For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind. 15Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him. 16God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; 17yet I am not silenced because of the darkness, nor because thick darkness covers my face.
New International Version

1Then Job replied:
2"Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. 3If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! 4I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. 5I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say to me. 6Would he vigorously oppose me? No, he would not press charges against me.
7There the upright can establish their innocence before him, and there I would be delivered forever from my judge. 8"But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. 9When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. 10But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. 11My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside.
12I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. 13"But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases. 14He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store. 15That is why I am terrified before him; when I think of all this, I fear him. 16God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. 17Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.
New American Standard Bible

1Then Job responded,
2'Even today my complaint is rebellion; His hand is heavy despite my groaning. 3Oh that I knew how to find Him, That I might come to His home! 4I would present my case before Him And fill my mouth with arguments. 5I would learn the words which He would answer, And perceive what He would tell me. 6Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power? No, surely He would pay attention to me. 7There the upright would argue with Him; And I would be free of my Judge forever. 8'Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; 9When He acts on the left, I cannot see Him; He turns to the right, but I cannot see Him. 10But He knows the way I take; When He has put me to the test, I will come out as gold. 11My foot has held on to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. 12I have not failed the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. 13But He is unique, and who can make Him turn? Whatever His soul desires, He does it. 14For He carries out what is destined for me, And many such destinies are with Him. 15Therefore, I would be terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am frightened of Him. 16 It is God who has made my heart faint, And the Almighty who has terrified me, 17But I am not destroyed by darkness, Nor by deep gloom which covers me.
Christian Standard Bible

1Then Job answered:
2Today also my complaint is bitter. His hand is heavy despite my groaning. 3If only I knew how to find him, so that I could go to his throne. 4I would plead my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. 5I would learn how he would answer me; and understand what he would say to me. 6Would he prosecute me forcefully? No, he would certainly pay attention to me.
7Then an upright man could reason with him, and I would escape from my Judge forever. 8If I go east, he is not there, and if I go west, I cannot perceive him. 9When he is at work to the north, I cannot see him; when he turns south, I cannot find him. 10Yet he knows the way I have taken; when he has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold. 11My feet have followed in his tracks; I have kept to his way and not turned aside.
12I have not departed from the commands from his lips; I have treasured the words from his mouth more than my daily food. 13But he is unchangeable; who can oppose him? He does what he desires. 14He will certainly accomplish what he has decreed for me, and he has many more things like these in mind. 15Therefore I am terrified in his presence; when I consider this, I am afraid of him. 16God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. 17Yet I am not destroyed by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.
New Living Translation

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.
King James Version

1Then Job answered and said, 2Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.
3Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!
4I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.
5I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.
6Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.
7There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge. 8Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
9On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
10But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
11My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.
12Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
13But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
14For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.
15Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him.
16For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me:
17Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.
New King James Version

1Then Job answered and said:
2“Even today my complaint is bitter; My hand is listless because of my groaning. 3 Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! 4I would present my case before Him, And fill my mouth with arguments. 5I would know the words which He would answer me, And understand what He would say to me. 6 Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me. 7There the upright could reason with Him, And I would be delivered forever from my Judge. 8“Look, I go forward, but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; 9When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him. 10But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. 11 My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. 12I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food. 13“But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that He does. 14For He performs what is appointed for me, And many such things are with Him. 15Therefore I am terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am afraid of Him. 16For God made my heart weak, And the Almighty terrifies me; 17Because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness, And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.

What does Job chapter 23 mean?

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