Job 23 — ULB

23Verse 1Then Job answered and said,^{Verse 2}“Even today my complaint is bitter;
my hand⁺is heavy because of my groaning.
^{Verse 3}Oh, that I knew where I might find him!
Oh, that I might come to his place!
^{Verse 4}I would lay my case in order before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
^{Verse 5}I would learn the words with which he would answer me
and would understand what he would say to me.
^{Verse 6}Would he argue against me in the greatness of his power?
No, he would pay attention to me.
^{Verse 7}There the upright person might argue with him.
In this way I would be acquitted forever by my judge.
^{Verse 8}See, I go eastward, but he is not there,
and westward, but I cannot perceive him.
^{Verse 9}To the north, where he is at work, but I cannot see him,
and to the south, where he hides himself so that I cannot see him.
^{Verse 10}But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come out like gold.
^{Verse 11}My foot has held fast to his steps;
I have kept to his way and turned not aside.
^{Verse 12}I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
^{Verse 13}But he is one of a kind, who can turn him back?
What he desires, he does.
^{Verse 14}For he carries out his decree against me;
there are many like them.
^{Verse 15}Therefore, I am terrified in his presence;
when I think about him, I am afraid of him.
^{Verse 16}For God has made my heart weak;
the Almighty has terrified me.
^{Verse 17}I have not been brought to an end by darkness,
because of the thick darkness that covers the gloom of my face.