23:1 Then Job answered:
23:2 “Even today my complaint is still bitter;1
his2 hand is heavy despite3 my groaning.
23:3 O that I knew4 where I might find him,5
that I could come6 to his place of residence!7
23:4 I would lay out my case8 before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
23:5 I would know with what words9 he would answer me,
and understand what he would say to me.
23:6 Would he contend10 with me with great power?
No, he would only pay attention to me.11
23:7 There12 an upright person
could present his case13 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 north14 when he is at work,15
I do not see him;16
when he turns17 to the south,
I see no trace of him.
23:10 But he knows the pathway that I take;18
if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.19
23:11 My feet20 have followed21 his steps closely;
I have kept to his way and have not turned aside.22
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
23:13 But he is unchangeable,24 and who can change25 him?
Whatever he26 has desired, he does.
23:14 For he fulfills his decree against me,27
and many such things are his plans.28
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;29
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.30
The Apparent Indifference of God