Zophar Accuses Job of Iniquity

111 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered , 2 "Shall a multitude of words go unanswered , And a talkative man be acquitted ? 3 "Shall your boasts silence men ? And shall you scoff and none rebuke ? 4 "For you have said , 'My teaching is pure , And I am innocent in your eyes .' 5 "But would e that God might speak , And open His lips against you, 6 And show you the secrets of wisdom ! For sound wisdom has two sides . Know then that God forgets a part of your iniquity .

7 " Can you discover the depths of God ? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty ? 8 "They are high as the heavens , what can you do ? Deeper than Sheol , what can you know ? 9 "Its measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea . 10 "If He passes by or shuts up, Or calls an assembly , who can restrain Him? 11 "For He knows false men , And He sees iniquity without investigating . 12 " An idiot e will become intelligent When the foal of a wild donkey is born a man .

13 " If you would direct your heart right And spread out your hand to Him, 14 If iniquity is in your hand , put it far away , And do not let wickedness dwell in your tents ; 15 "Then , indeed , you could lift up your face without moral defect , And you would be steadfast and not fear . 16 "For you would forget your trouble , As waters that have passed by, you would remember it. 17 "Your life would be brighter than noonday ; Darkness would be like the morning . 18 "Then you would trust , because there is hope ; And you would look around and rest securely . 19 "You would lie down and none would disturb you, And many would entreat your favor . 20 "But the eyes of the wicked will fail , And there will be no escape for them; And their hope is to breathe their last ."

Job Bewails His Birth

31 Afterward e Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said e , 3 " Let the day perish on which I was to be born , And the night which said , 'A boy is conceived .' 4 "May that day be darkness ; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it. 5 "Let darkness and black gloom claim it; Let a cloud settle on it; Let the blackness of the day terrify it. 6 "As for that night , let darkness seize it; Let it not rejoice among the days of the year ; Let it not come into the number of the months . 7 "Behold , let that night be barren ; Let no joyful shout enter it. 8 "Let those curse it who curse the day , Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan . 9 "Let the stars of its twilight be darkened ; Let it wait for light but have none , And let it not see the breaking dawn ; 10 Because it did not shut the opening of my mother's womb , Or hide trouble from my eyes .

11 " Why did I not die at birth , Come forth from the womb and expire ? 12 "Why did the knees receive me, And why the breasts , that I should suck ? 13 "For now I would have lain down and been quiet ; I would have slept then , I would have been at rest , 14 With kings and with counselors of the earth , Who rebuilt ruins for themselves; 15 Or with princes who had gold , Who were filling their houses with silver . 16 "Or like a miscarriage which is discarded , I would not be, As infants that never saw light . 17 "There the wicked cease from raging , And there the weary are at rest . 18 "The prisoners are at ease together ; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster . 19 "The small and the great are there , And the slave is free from his master .

20 "Why is light given to him who suffers , And life to the bitter of soul , 21 Who long for death , but there is none , And dig for it more than for hidden treasures , 22 Who rejoice greatly , And exult when they find the grave ? 23 "Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden , And whom God has hedged in? 24 "For my groaning comes at the sight of my food , And my cries pour out like water . 25 "For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me. 26 "I am not at ease , nor am I quiet , And I am not at rest , but turmoil comes ."