Job Says He Longs for God

1Then Job responded,

2“Even today my complaint is rebellion;

[a]His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

3“Oh that I knew how to find Him,

That I might come to His home!

4“I would present my case before Him

And fill my mouth with arguments.

5“I would learn the words which He would [b]answer,

And perceive what He would tell me.

6“Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power?

No, surely He would pay attention to me.

7“There the upright would argue with Him;

And I [c]would be free of my Judge forever.

8“Behold, I go forward but He is not there,

And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

9When He acts on the left, I cannot see Him;

He turns to the right, but I cannot see Him.

10“But He knows the [d]way I take;

When He has put me to the test, I will come out as gold.

11“My foot has held on to His path;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

12“I have not [e]failed the command of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth [f]more than my [g]necessary food.

13“But He is unique, and who can [h]make Him turn?

Whatever His soul desires, He does it.

14“For He carries out what is destined for me,

And many such destinies are with Him.

15“Therefore, I would be terrified at His presence;

When I consider this, I am frightened of Him.

16“It is God who has made my heart faint,

And the Almighty who has terrified me,

17But I am not destroyed by darkness,

Nor by deep gloom which covers me.