Bible Strands
Job 23:8
If I go east, He is not there, and if I go west, I cannot find Him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job addresses God directly while searching for a hearing from his Judge. He speaks these words during his prolonged suffering and desperate quest for vindication.
The words — The Hebrew קֶ֣דֶם (qederem) denotes "eastward" or "forward," paired with אָח֗וֹר (achor), meaning "westward" or "backward." Job uses these directional terms to express the totality of his futile search.
The thread — This motif of God's hiddenness across directions recurs in Job 9:11, where passing by leaves Him unseen, and in Psalm 10:1, which questions why God stands far off in trouble.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human effort cannot locate divine presence through spatial movement. It forces the reader to confront the limits of physical search when seeking God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
Cross-references
- Job 9:11 Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him.
- Psalms 10:1 Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?
- Job 35:14 How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him,
- 1 Timothy 6:16 He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
- Psalms 13:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
- Isaiah 45:15 Truly You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.