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Job Says He Longs for God

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² "Even today my ^(C1)complaint is contentious;
His hand is ^(C2)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 ^(C1)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 ^(C1)His great power?
No, surely He would give attention to me. ^(VR1)

⁷ "There the righteous and upright could ^(C1)reason with Him;
So I would be ^(C2)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 ^(C1)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 ^(C1)tried me, I will come forth as refined gold pure and luminous. ^(VR1)

¹¹ "My feet have ^(C1)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 ^(C1)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 ^(C1)heart faint,
And the Almighty has terrified me,

¹⁷ But I ^(C1)am not silenced by the darkness of these woes that fell on me,
Nor by the ^(C2)thick darkness which covers my face.