JOB’S REPLY TO ELIPHAZ

23 Then Job answered:

2 Today also my complaint is bitter.C,h

HisD hand is heavy despite my groaning.

3 If only I knew how to find him,

so that I could go to his throne.

4 I would plead my case before himi

and fill my mouth with arguments.

5 I would learn howE he would answer me;

and understand what he would say to me.

6 Would he prosecutej me forcefully?

No, he would certainly pay attention to me.

7 Then an upright man could reasonk with him,

and I would escape from my JudgeF,l forever.

8 If I go east, he is not there,

and if I go west, I cannot perceive him.m

9 When he is at work to the north, I cannot see him;

when he turns south, I cannot find him.

10 Yet he knows the way I have taken;G

when he has tested me,n I will emerge as pure gold.

11 My feet have followed in his tracks;

I have kept to his wayo and not turned aside.

12 I have not departed from the commands from his lips;

I have treasuredH the wordsp from his mouth

more than my daily food.

13 But he is unchangeable; who can oppose him?

He does what he desires.q

14 He will certainly accomplish what he has decreed for me,

and he has many more things like these in mind.I

15 Therefore I am terrifiedr in his presence;

when I consider this, I am afraid of him.

16 God has made my heart faint;s

the Almighty has terrified me.

17 Yet I am not destroyedJ by the darkness,t

by the thick darkness that covers my face.