If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat.
Parallel translations
- WEB Oh that I knew where I might find him! That I might come even to his seat!
- KJV Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!
- NKJV Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat!
- NASB “Oh that I knew how to find Him, That I might come to His home!
- NLT If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his court.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Job cries out with longing to know where he could find God and come before His throne. He desperately wants direct access to God to plead his case.
Overview
Job's deepest desire is not relief from pain but encounter with God Himself. He wishes he could journey to God's 'seat,' His judgment throne, and present his cause. This yearning expresses a profound faith and anticipates the gospel reality that through Christ, the believer may now draw near to God's throne of grace with confidence (Heb 4:16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Job 16:21Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!
- Job 31:35–37(Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment.
- Job 13:3Yet I desire to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God.
- Heb 4:6Since, then, it remains for some to enter His rest, and since those who formerly heard the good news did not enter because of their disobedience,
- Jer 14:7Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.
- Job 40:1–5And the LORD said to Job:
- Isa 26:8Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.
- 2 Cor 5:19–20that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
- Isa 55:6–7Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 23:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.