1 Then Job answered and said,
2 Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.
3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!
4 I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.
6 Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.
7 There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.
8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
9 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:
10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.
12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
14 For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.
15 Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him.
16 For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me:
17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.
Study Job 23
Read the complete chapter before isolating one sentence, and note the reference and edition beside anything you quote. Then take a focused next step: a passage-note method or a memory practice method .
Edition and source notes
King James Version, standardized 1769 text, protocanon only. Public domain outside the United Kingdom (printing within the UK remains subject to letters patent). Imported from the checksum-pinned eBible.org USFX source. This page shows 17 verses of Job 23 in the edition’s own numbering, with punctuation and line breaks as published. Source notes are labelled separately; the publisher’s headings and cross references are not part of the text. KJV edition notes.
Read Job 23 in the World English Bible or the Berean Standard Bible .
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