Job 23:9 (GNV)

Passage

If to the North where he worketh, yet I cannot see him: he wil hide himselfe in the South, and I cannot beholde him.

Nearby Context

Job 23:7 There the righteous might reason with him, so I shoulde be deliuered for euer from my Iudge.

Job 23:8 Behold, if I go to the East, he is not there: if to the West, yet I can not perceiue him:

Job 23:9 If to the North where he worketh, yet I cannot see him: he wil hide himselfe in the South, and I cannot beholde him.

Job 23:10 But he knoweth my way, and trieth mee, and I shall come forth like the gold.

Job 23:11 My foote hath followed his steps: his way haue I kept, and haue not declined.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "north", "where", "worketh", "hide", "himselfe", "south", and "beholde". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "north" and "where", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Behold if I go to the East..." into verse 10's "But he knoweth my way and trieth...", so "north" and "where" belong inside that flow. In Job context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "north" and "where" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.