1 Job answered and said:
2 Again today my complaint is rebellious;
I groan under his heavy hand.
3 If only I knew where to find him,
if only I could go to his dwelling,
4 I would bring my case before him
and lay out in full my arguments.
5 I would find out his answer
and understand what he would say.
6 Would he need great power to debate with me?
No! he needs only to listen!
7 He would know the complainant to be an upright man
and I would be free of my judge.
8 But if I go eastward, he is not there;
if I go westward, I still cannot see him.
9 Seeking him in the north, I do not find him;
looking for him in the south, he is not there.
10 But he knows my every step,
and I will come out as gold in his test.
11 I have always walked along his path;
I have kept his ways and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from his commands,
instead I have treasured his words.
13 But who can oppose once he has decided?
He does what he desires.
14 He will carry out his decree
and other plans laid out for me.
15 That is why I am terrified
when I think of all this.
16 God has made me lose courage;
the Almighty has made me afraid,
17 but I am not silenced by darkness,
by the thick gloom that covers my face.
Job comes back to what he had already said: there is something tormenting religious people: to know that God is always looking at us and yet never be able to find him. This was commented for chapter 7: Job personifies those who do not know Christ and have not felt "how good the Lord is towards those who serve him with love." The same rebellion is found in many atheists today: they reject the idea of a God who watches them only to punish their faults.
