| English Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then Job answered and said: | 1Then Job answered: |
| 2“Today also my complaint is bitter; my hand is heavy on account of my groaning. | 2Today also my complaint is bitter. His hand is heavy despite my groaning. |
| 3Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! | 3If only I knew how to find Him, so that I could go to His throne. |
| 4I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. | 4I would plead my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments. |
| 5I would know what he would answer me and understand what he would say to me. | 5I would learn how He would answer me; and understand what He would say to me. |
| 6Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; he would pay attention to me. | 6Would He prosecute me forcefully? No, He will certainly pay attention to me. |
| 7There an upright man could argue with him, and I would be acquitted forever by my judge. | 7Then an upright man could reason with Him, and I would escape from my Judge forever. |
| 8“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; | 8If I go east, He is not there, and if I go west, I cannot perceive Him. |
| 9on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. | 9When He is at work to the north, I cannot see Him; when He turns south, I cannot find Him. |
| 10But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. | 10Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold. |
| 11My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. | 11My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept to His way and not turned aside. |
| 12I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food. | 12I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily food. |
| 13But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. | 13But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him? He does what He desires. |
| 14For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind. | 14He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me, and He has many more things like these in mind. |
| 15Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him. | 15Therefore I am terrified in His presence; when I consider this, I am afraid of Him. |
| 16God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; | 16God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. |
| 17yet I am not silenced because of the darkness, nor because thick darkness covers my face. | 17Yet I am not destroyed by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face. |
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