Job 23
Job: I can’t find God
Angry with God
1Job said:2Okay, I’m livid.
God is punching up the pain,
And I’m groaning now.
3I wish I could catch up with him somewhere.
I wish I knew where he lived.
4I’d pay him a visit about my case,
And give him a full mouth of words.
5Then I’d finally learn
What he has to say for himself.
And I could hear and understand him.
6Would he use his superpower to crush me?
No. He would listen to me. [1]
7Good and righteous people can reason with him.
He’s my judge, and he should acquit me,
And then seal the case forever.
Hunting God
8But I can’t find him.I go north. He’s not there.
South. No.
9East. Not there.
West. He’s not there, either.
Job, Golden righteous
10But he already knows me.And when he’s done testing me,
He’s going to find I’m like pure gold,
Golden righteous.
11I have followed him religiously.
I stayed on his path
And didn’t slip away for sightseeing.
12I live by the laws he gave us,
By the words he spoke. [2]
I cherish them.
Who can talk God out of anything?
13But when God makes up his mind, who can change it?When he decides to do something, he does it.
14Whatever he has in mind for me,
That’s what I’ll get.
He’s got the plans,
And he’s going to bring them to life.
15That terrifies me.
Standing in front of him will terrify me.
When I think about that
I don’t want to think about that.
16When it comes to God,
I’ve got a weak heart
And a tendency to faint and drop.
The Almighty frightens me.
17If only I could sneak in
Under the cover of darkness.
Then I could hide
In the dark black of blindness.
Footnotes
123:6
Job can hope. But given the crushing he has already experienced with the loss of all his children and grandchildren along with his flocks and herds, this verse could sound optimistic.
223:12
God reportedly spoke the 10 Commandments to the Hebrew refugees, terrifying them as they left Egypt for the homeland of their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 20:1-17).
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