| International Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Job's response was to say: | 1Then Job answered: |
| 2"I'm still complaining bitterly today; my hand is heavy because of groaning. | 2Today also my complaint is bitter. His hand is heavy despite my groaning. |
| 3If only I knew where to find him, I would visit him where he has taken his seat. | 3If only I knew how to find Him, so that I could go to His throne. |
| 4I would lay out my case before him; and fill my mouth with arguments. | 4I would plead my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments. |
| 5I know how he would answer me; I understand what he'll tell me. | 5I would learn how He would answer me; and understand what He would say to me. |
| 6"Would he use his great power to fight me? No, he'll pay attention to me. | 6Would He prosecute me forcefully? No, He will certainly pay attention to me. |
| 7In that place, the upright can reason with him; and I'll be acquitted once and for all by my judge." | 7Then an upright man could reason with Him, and I would escape from my Judge forever. |
| 8"Look! If I go east, he isn't there! If I go to the west, I don't perceive him. | 8If I go east, He is not there, and if I go west, I cannot perceive Him. |
| 9If he's working in the north, I can't observe him; If he turns south, I can't see him. | 9When He is at work to the north, I cannot see Him; when He turns south, I cannot find Him. |
| 10Because he knows the road on which I travel, when he had tested me, I'll come out like gold. | 10Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold. |
| 11My feet stay where his footsteps lead; I kept on his pathway and haven't turned aside. | 11My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept to His way and not turned aside. |
| 12I haven't wandered away from the commands that he has spoken; I've treasured what he has said more than my own meals." | 12I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily food. |
| 13"But he is One—who can change him? He does whatever he wants to do. | 13But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him? He does what He desires. |
| 14He'll complete what he has planned for me; he has many things in mind for me! | 14He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me, and He has many more things like these in mind. |
| 15That's why I'm terrified at his presence! When I think about it, I'm afraid of him. | 15Therefore I am terrified in His presence; when I consider this, I am afraid of Him. |
| 16God has caused me to faint; the Almighty makes me terrified! | 16God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. |
| 17Nevertheless, I haven't been silenced because of the darkness, even when thick darkness obscures my vision." | 17Yet I am not destroyed by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face. |
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