Job 23:8–17

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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.

^23:9In 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.

^23:10But he knows the pathway that I take;¹⁸

if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.¹⁹

^23:11My feet²⁰ have followed²¹ his steps closely;

I have kept to his way and have not turned aside.²²

^23:12I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion.²³

^23:13But he is unchangeable,²⁴ and who can change²⁵ him?

Whatever he²⁶ has desired, he does.

^23:14For he fulfills his decree against me,²⁷

and many such things are his plans.²⁸

^23:15That is why I am terrified in his presence;

when I consider, I am afraid because of him.

^23:16Indeed, God has made my heart faint;²⁹

the Almighty has terrified me.

^23:17Yet I have not been silent because of the darkness,

because of the thick darkness

that covered my face.³⁰

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Footnotes

14 The text has “the left hand,” the Semitic idiom for directions. One faces the rising sun, and so left is north, right is south.
15 The form בַּעֲשֹׂתוֹ (ba’asoto) would be the temporal clause using the infinitive construct with a pronoun (subject genitive). This would be “when he works.” Several follow the with “I seek him.” The has “[when] he turns.” R. Gordis (Job, 261) notes that there is no need to emend the text; he shows a link to the Arabic cognate ghasa, “to cover.” To him this is a perfect parallel to יַעְטֹף (ya’tof, “covers himself”).
16 The verb is the apocopated form of the imperfect. The object is supplied.
17 The has “he turns,” but the and have “I turn.”
18 The expression דֶּרֶךְ עִמָּדִי (derekh ’immadi) means “the way with me,” i.e., “the way that I take.” The has “my way and my standing.” Several commentators prefer “the way of my standing,” meaning where to look for me. J. Reider offers “the way of my life” (“Some notes to the text of the scriptures,” 3 [1926]: 115). Whatever the precise wording, Job knows that God can always find him.
19 There is a perfect verb followed by an imperfect in this clause with the protasis and apodosis relationship (see §159.b).
20 Heb “my foot.”
21 Heb “held fast.”
22 The last clause, “and I have not turned aside,” functions adverbially in the sentence. The form אָט (’at) is a pausal form of אַתֶּה (’atteh), the Hiphil of נָטָה (natah, “stretch out”).
23 The form in the (מֵחֻקִּי, mekhuqqi) means “more than my portion” or “more than my law.” An expanded meaning results in “more than my necessary food” (see Ps 119:11; cf. , , ESV). חֹק 1 indicates that חֹק (khoq) has the meaning of “portion” and is here a reference to “what is appointed for me.” The and the Latin versions, along with many commentators, have בְּחֵקִי (békheqi, “in my bosom”).
24 The has “But he [is] in one.” Many add the word “mind” to capture the point that God is resolute and unchanging. Some commentators find this too difficult, and so change the text from בְאֶחָד (bé’ekhad, here “unchangeable”) to בָחָר (bakhar, “he has chosen”). The wording in the text is idiomatic and should be retained. R. Gordis (Job, 262) translates it “he is one, i.e., unchangeable, fixed, determined.” The preposition בּ (bet) is a bet essentiae—“and he [is] as one,” or “he is one” (see §119.i).
25 Heb “cause him to return.”
26 Or “his soul.”
27 The text has “my decree,” which means “the decree [plan] for/against me.” The suffix is objective, equivalent to a dative of disadvantage. The and the actually have “his decree.” R. Gordis (Job, 262) suggests taking it in the same sense as in Job 14:5: “my limit.”.
28 Heb “and many such [things] are with him.” The text is saying that many similar situations are under God’s rule of the world—his plans are infinite.
29 The verb הֵרַךְ (kherakh) means “to be tender”; in the Piel it would have the meaning “to soften.” The word is used in parallel constructions with the verbs for “fear.” The implication is that God has made Job fearful.
30 This is a very difficult verse. The Hebrew text literally says: “for I have not been destroyed because of darkness, and because of my face [which] gloom has covered.” Most commentators omit the negative adverb, which gives the meaning that Job is enveloped in darkness and reduced to terror. The verb נִצְמַתִּי (nitsmatti) means “I have been silent” (as in Arabic and Aramaic), and so obviously the negative must be retained—he has not been silent.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,

and backward, but I do not perceive him;

on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;

he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.

But he knows the way that I take;

when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

My foot has held fast to his steps;

I have kept his way and have not turned aside.

I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.

But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?

What he desires, that he does.

For he will complete what he appoints for me,

and many such things are in his mind.

Therefore I am terrified at his presence;

when I consider, I am in dread of him.

God has made my heart faint;

the Almighty has terrified me;

yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,

nor because thick darkness covers my face.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“But if I go to the east, he is not there;

if I go to the west, I do not find him.

When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;

when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.

But he knows the way that I take;

when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

My feet have closely followed his steps;

I have kept to his way without turning aside.

I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

“But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?

He does whatever he pleases.

He carries out his decree against me,

and many such plans he still has in store.

That is why I am terrified before him;

when I think of all this, I fear him.

God has made my heart faint;

the Almighty has terrified me.

Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,

by the thick darkness that covers my face.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

If I go east, he is not there,

and if I go west, I cannot perceive him.

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

when he turns south, I cannot find him.

Yet he knows the way I have taken;

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

My feet have followed in his tracks;

I have kept to his way and not turned aside.

I have not departed from the commands from his lips;

I have treasured the words from his mouth

more than my daily food.

But he is unchangeable; who can oppose him?

He does what he desires.

He will certainly accomplish what he has decreed for me,

and he has many more things like these in mind.

Therefore I am terrified in his presence;

when I consider this, I am afraid of him.

God has made my heart faint;

the Almighty has terrified me.

Yet I am not destroyed by the darkness,

by the thick darkness that covers my face.

NLTNew Living Translation

I go east, but he is not there.

I go west, but I cannot find him.

I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.

I look to the south, but he is concealed.

“But he knows where I am going.

And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.

For I have stayed on God’s paths;

I have followed his ways and not turned aside.

I have not departed from his commands,

but have treasured his words more than daily food.

But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind?

Whatever he wants to do, he does.

So he will do to me whatever he has planned.

He controls my destiny.

No wonder I am so terrified in his presence.

When I think of it, terror grips me.

God has made me sick at heart;

the Almighty has terrified me.

Darkness is all around me;

thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“When I go forward, he is not there,

or backward, I cannot see him.

When he works on the left, I cannot perceive him;

he turns to the right, but I cannot see him.

But he knows the way that I take;

he tests me—I shall come out like gold.

My foot has held on to his steps;

I have kept his way, and I have not turned aside.

From the commandment of his lips, indeed I have not departed;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily food.

“But he is alone, and who can dissuade him?

And whatever he desires, indeed, he does it.

For he will carry out what he appoints for me,

and many things like these are with him.

Therefore, I am horrified because of his presence;

when I consider, I tremble because of him.

Indeed, God has made my heart faint,

and Shaddai has terrified me.

Indeed, I have not been silenced because of darkness,

and because of me he conceals thick darkness.

KJV 1900King James Version

Behold, I go forward, but he is not there;

And backward, but I cannot perceive him:

On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him:

He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:

But he knoweth the way that I take:

When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

My foot hath held his steps,

His way have I kept, and not declined.

Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips;

I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

But he is in one mind, and who can turn him?

And what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me:

And many such things are with him.

Therefore am I troubled at his presence:

When I consider, I am afraid of him.

For God maketh my heart soft,

And the Almighty troubleth me:

Because I was not cut off before the darkness,

Neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.

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