Job 11
International Standard Version
Zophar Accuses Job
11 Zophar from Naamath had this to say:
2 “Shouldn’t a multitude of words be answered,
or a person who talks too much[a] be vindicated?
3 Will your irrational babble silence people,
and when you mock them,
will you escape without being shamed?[b]
4 You’ve said, ‘My teaching is flawless;
I’m clean[c] in God’s[d] sight.’
5 “But what if God were to speak?
What if he were[e] to talk[f] with you,
6 and disclose his wise secrets?
After all, there’s so much more[g] to understanding.
So be aware that God will exact from you
less than your sin deserves.”
God’s Wisdom is Unfathomable
7 “Can you search through God’s complex things?
Can you uncover the limits of the Almighty?
8 These things are higher than the heavens,
so what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol,[h]
so what can you know?
9 They are longer than the earth’s circumference,[i]
and broader than the ocean.
10 “If he bypasses, or imprisons, or convenes a court,[j]
who can stop[k] him?
11 For he knows mankind’s[l] deceitfulness;
when he sees iniquity, won’t he himself consider it?
12 An empty-headed person will gain understanding
when a wild donkey is born a human being!”
Zophar Counsels Job to Repent
13 “Now for you, if you will prepare your heart,
spread out your hands to him.
14 If you have any iniquity, throw it far away.
Don’t let evil[m] live in your residence.[n]
15 Then your confidence will be flawless,
and your security will keep you from terror.
16 You’ll forget your suffering;
you’ll remember it like water that has evaporated.[o]
17 Your life will be brighter than noonday.
Even its darkness will be like dawn.
18 You’ll be secure, because there is hope;
you’ll see that you’re at rest and safe.
19 When you sleep, there’ll be nothing to fear;
and many will court your favor.[p]
20 But what the wicked look for will fail;
their way of escape will be taken away[q] from them;
their only hope is to take their final breath.”[r]
Footnotes
- Job 11:2 Or a talker
- Job 11:3 MT has without being humiliated
- Job 11:4 Or pure
- Job 11:4 Lit. your
- Job 11:5 The Heb. lacks What if he were
- Job 11:5 Lit. open his lips against
- Job 11:6 Lit. double
- Job 11:8 I.e. the place where the dead are in the afterlife
- Job 11:9 Lit. measure
- Job 11:10 The Heb. lacks a court
- Job 11:10 Or repel
- Job 11:11 Lit. men
- Job 11:14 Or wrong
- Job 11:14 Lit. tents
- Job 11:16 Or has flowed past
- Job 11:19 Lit. face
- Job 11:20 Lit. destroyed
- Job 11:20 Lit. is to breathe out their soul
Job 11
King James Version
11 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.
5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;
6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?
11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?
12 For vain men would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt.
13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
16 Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away:
17 And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday: thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
18 And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.
20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
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