Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!
Parallel translations
- WEB Oh that I knew where I might find him! That I might come even to his seat!
- BSB If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go 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 16:21O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!
- Job 31:35–37Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.
- Job 13:3Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.
- Heb 4:6Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
- Jer 14:7O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
- Job 40:1–5Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
- Isa 26:8Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
- 2 Cor 5:19–20To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
- Isa 55:6–7Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
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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.