Job 23 HCSB NLT Parallel

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◄ Job 23 ►

Holman Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

1Then Job answered:

1Then Job spoke again:

2Today also my complaint is bitter. His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

2“My complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard not to groan aloud.

3If only I knew how to find Him, so that I could go to His throne.

3If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his court.

4I would plead my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.

4I would lay out my case and present my arguments.

5I would learn how He would answer me; and understand what He would say to me.

5Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me.

6Would He prosecute me forcefully? No, He will certainly pay attention to me.

6Would he use his great power to argue with me? No, he would give me a fair hearing.

7Then an upright man could reason with Him, and I would escape from my Judge forever.

7Honest people can reason with him, so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.

8If I go east, He is not there, and if I go west, I cannot perceive Him.

8I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him.

9When He is at work to the north, I cannot see Him; when He turns south, I cannot find Him.

9I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed.

10Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold.

10“But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.

11My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept to His way and not turned aside.

11For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside.

12I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily food.

12I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food.

13But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him? He does what He desires.

13But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind? Whatever he wants to do, he does.

14He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me, and He has many more things like these in mind.

14So he will do to me whatever he has planned. He controls my destiny.

15Therefore I am terrified in His presence; when I consider this, I am afraid of Him.

15No wonder I am so terrified in his presence. When I think of it, terror grips me.

16God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me.

16God has made me sick at heart; the Almighty has terrified me.

17Yet I am not destroyed by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.

17Darkness is all around me; thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.