Job 23

² 
“Even today my complaint is contentious;
His hand is heavy despite my groaning.
³ 
“Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might [even] come to His seat!
⁴ 
“I would present my cause before Him
And fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ 
“I would learn the words which He would answer,
And understand what He would say to me.
⁶ 
“Would He contend against me with His great power?
No, surely He would give attention to me.
⁷ 
“There the righteous and upright could reason with Him;
So I would be acquitted forever by my Judge.

⁸ 
“Behold, I go forward (to the east), but He is not there;
I go backward (to the west), but I cannot perceive Him;
⁹ 
To the left (north) He turns, but I cannot behold Him;
He turns to the right hand (south), but I cannot see Him.
¹⁰ 
“But He knows the way that I take [and He pays attention to it].
When He has tried me, I will come forth as [refined] gold [pure and luminous].
¹¹ 
“My feet have carefully followed His steps;
I have kept His ways and not turned aside.
¹² 
“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
I have kept the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
¹³ 
“But He is unique and unchangeable, and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.
¹⁴ 
“For He performs what is planned (appointed) for me,
And He is mindful of many such things.
¹⁵ 
“Therefore I would be terrified at His presence;
When I consider [all of this], I tremble in dread of Him.
¹⁶ 
“For God has made my heart faint,
And the Almighty has terrified me,
¹⁷ 
But I am not silenced by the darkness [of these woes that fell on me],
Nor by the thick darkness which covers my face.