Job 23
The full text of Job 23 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 Even today my complaint is bitter;
his hand is heavy despite my groaning.
3 Oh, that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come to his seat!
4 I would lay my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would learn 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 If I go forward, he is not there;
and backward, but I cannot perceive him;
9 on the left hand when he is working, I cannot behold him;
he turns to the right hand, but I cannot see him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested 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; who can turn him back?
What he desires, that he does.
14 For he will complete what he has appointed 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 by the darkness,
nor by the thick darkness that covers my face.
Translation notes (6)
- Job 23:2a The Masoretic Text reads yadi (ידי), 'my hand', literally 'my hand is heavy upon my groaning'. The rendering 'his hand' follows the Septuagint and the Syriac Peshitta, which fit the context of God's oppressive weight upon Job. Similarly, 'bitter' reflects the versions; the Masoretic meri means 'rebellion', giving the sense 'today my complaint is rebellion'.
- Job 23:6a Some Hebrew manuscripts read lō', 'no', which is followed here, rather than lô, 'to him'.
- Job 23:9a Hebrew orientation faced the sunrise, so semol, 'left hand', can denote the north and yamin, 'right hand', the south, just as the forward and backward of the previous verse can denote east and west. Job's complaint thus surveys all four points of the compass: God is undiscoverable in every direction.
- Job 23:12a The Hebrew word chuqqi (חֻקִּי) rendered here as 'my portion of food' can also be translated as 'my statute' or 'my prescribed due', often referring to an allotted portion of food or sustenance.
- Job 23:13a The Hebrew reads ve-hu be-echad (וְהוּא בְאֶחָד), literally 'he is in one', an obscure phrase usually taken to mean God is of one mind and therefore unalterable in purpose, hence 'unchangeable'. Some scholars propose emending to bachar, 'he has chosen', but the Masoretic Text is retained here, since the following clause about God's undeterred desire supports the sense of fixed resolve.
- Job 23:17a The particle ki often means 'for' but is taken adversatively here ('yet') to suit the context. The verb nitsmati derives from tsamath, 'be cut off', a sense that can also convey 'be silenced', which is followed here. In the second colon, ophel, 'deep gloom', is read as the subject of kissah, 'cover', giving 'that covers my face' rather than supplying God as the subject.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is a new translation of the Bible prepared by Trinity Bible — rendered from the original Hebrew and faithful to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. Finished in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation you can read today, and it is available only through Trinity Bible. All 66 books, including Job, are free to read on this site.
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