Job 23

¹“I loathe my own life; I will express my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul.

¹¹Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

⁴For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah

²“If only my grief could be weighed and placed with my calamity on the scales.

³For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas—no wonder my words have been rash.

²In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.

³I remembered You, O God, and I groaned; I mused and my spirit grew faint. Selah

¹⁹Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.

²⁰Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me.

²¹Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!

³⁵(Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment.

³⁶Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown.

⁶Since, then, it remains for some to enter His rest, and since those who formerly heard the good news did not enter because of their disobedience,

⁷Although our iniquities testify against us, O Lord, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.

³Yet I desire to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God.

⁸Yes, we wait for You, O Lord; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.

¹⁸See now, I have prepared my case; I know that I will be vindicated.

¹⁸Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You because of our righteous acts, but because of Your great compassion.

¹⁹O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your name.”

¹⁹Teach us what we should say to Him; we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness.

²⁵Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

²⁶So the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.”

⁸O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?

⁹When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”

¹²But You have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to count.’”

³I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

⁴My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.

²²Then call me, and I will answer, or let me speak, and You can reply.

²³How many are my iniquities and sins? Reveal to me my transgression and sin.

²I will say to God: Do not condemn me! Let me know why You prosecute me.

²“I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

³You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

⁹But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.

¹⁰That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

²¹Withdraw Your hand from me, and do not let Your terror frighten me.

³³Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both.

³⁴Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me.

³⁵And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, where I will enter into judgment with you face to face.

¹⁹If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

³³As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath I will rule over you.

³Yet I desire to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God.

¹⁸“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

¹Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

⁵Will He be angry forever? Will He be indignant to the end?’ This you have spoken, but you keep doing all the evil you can.”

¹⁵For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

¹Why, O Lord, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?

¹¹Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him.

¹⁴How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him,

¹⁶He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

²How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me?

¹⁵Truly You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

¹⁷I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.

⁴⁶How long, O Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath keep burning like fire?

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

⁷so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,

³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

²You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.

⁹This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”

³A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the Lord is the tester of hearts.

¹⁸Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from Your path.

²⁰If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.

²¹It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them.

⁵My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.

⁵But those who turn to crooked ways the Lord will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.

⁷To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.

⁹Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

¹⁶Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O Lord God of Hosts.

¹¹I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.

¹⁰³How sweet are Your words to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth!

³⁴Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

⁹The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, being altogether righteous.

¹⁰They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

²²Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.

³Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.

²¹Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the Lord will prevail.

¹⁰I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

³⁵All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”

¹⁴What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released.

¹⁴I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.

³so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this.

⁹For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

²Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.

³³O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

²⁷Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my claim is ignored by my God”?

²⁸Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.

⁸and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.

¹²⁰My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.

²³For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower.

³I remembered You, O God, and I groaned; I mused and my spirit grew faint. Selah

¹⁵If I am guilty, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head. I am full of shame and aware of my affliction.

³If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat.

¹⁶I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the people who invade us.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.

²“As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—the Almighty, who has embittered my soul—

⁵Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.”

¹⁶Your wrath has swept over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.

³saying to them, “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be alarmed or terrified because of them.

¹⁵Alas for the day! For the Day of the Lord is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

⁸He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; He has veiled my paths with darkness.

¹The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous are taken away from the presence of evil.

²⁰‘Therefore I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place.’” So they brought her answer back to the king.

⁶The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him goes out.

¹¹it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.

⁹that God would be willing to crush me, to unleash His hand and cut me off!