Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
The verse belongs to the book of Job, which is the oldest book in the Bible and the oldest of all poetical books that have come down, conjectured to have been written by Moses in the land of Midian. The book is in four parts: the prose prologue in chapters 1 and 2, the debate between Job and his three friends on the subject of his afflictions in chapters 4 to 31 in three circles of speeches on the part of each, the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37, and the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud, with the prose epilogue in chapter 42:7-17. Within that structure the verse stands in the debate between Job and his three friends on his afflictions.
Its meaning is that God does not leave a person but stays right by him, even when the person does not see Him and does not recognize His presence.
The verse belongs to the book of Job, which is the oldest book in the Bible and the oldest of all poetical books that have come down, conjectured to have been written by Moses in the land of Midian. The book is in four parts: the prose prologue in chapters 1 and 2, the debate between Job and his three friends on the subject of his afflictions in chapters 4 to 31 in three circles of speeches on the part of each, the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37, and the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud, with the prose epilogue in chapter 42:7-17. Within that structure the verse stands in the debate between Job and his three friends on his afflictions.
Its meaning is that God does not leave a person but stays right by him, even when the person does not see Him and does not recognize His presence.