[1] Then Job answered and said:
[2] “Today also my complaint is bitter; my hand is heavy on account of my groaning.
[3] “Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat!
[4] “I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.
[5] “I would know what he would answer me and understand what he would say to me.
[6] “Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; he would pay attention to me.
[7] “There an upright man could argue with him, and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.
[8] “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him;
[9] “on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
[10] “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
[11] “My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
[12] “I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
[13] “But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does.
[14] “For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind.
[15] “Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him.
[16] “God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me;
[17] “yet I am not silenced because of the darkness, nor because thick darkness covers my face.