111 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 [1] 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 [2] 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 [3] man 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 [4] 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.
111 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: 2 "Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? 3 Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? 4 You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.' 5 Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you 6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
7 "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? 8 They are higher than the heavens above-what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below-what can you know? 9 Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. 10 "If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him? 11 Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? 12 But the witless can no more become wise than a wild donkey's colt can be born human.
13 "Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, 14 if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, 15 then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. 16 You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. 17 Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. 18 You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. 19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. 20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp."
111 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2 "Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and a man full of talk be judged right? 3 Should your babble silence men, and when you mock, shall no one shame you? 4 For you say, 'My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God's
7 "Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? 8 It is higher than heaven
13 "If you prepare your heart, you will stretch out your hands toward him. 14 If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents. 15 Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure and will not fear. 16 You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away. 17 And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning. 18 And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security. 19 You will lie down, and none will make you afraid; many will court your favor. 20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last."
111 Now it was the turn of Zophar from Naamath: 2 "What a flood of words! Shouldn't we put a stop to it? Should this kind of loose talk be permitted? 3 Job, do you think you can carry on like this and we'll say nothing? That we'll let you rail and mock and not step in? 4 You claim, 'My doctrine is sound and my conduct impeccable.' 5 How I wish God would give you a piece of his mind, tell you what's what! 6 I wish he'd show you how wisdom looks from the inside, for true wisdom is mostly 'inside.' But you can be sure of this, you haven't gotten half of what you deserve.
7 "Do you think you can explain the mystery of God? Do you think you can diagram God Almighty? 8 God is far higher than you can imagine, far deeper than you can comprehend, 9 Stretching farther than earth's horizons, far wider than the endless ocean. 10 If he happens along, throws you in jail then hauls you into court, can you do anything about it? 11 He sees through vain pretensions, spots evil a long way off - no one pulls the wool over his eyes! 12 Hollow men, hollow women, will wise up about the same time mules learn to talk. Reach Out to God
13 "Still, if you set your heart on God and reach out to him, 14 If you scrub your hands of sin and refuse to entertain evil in your home, 15 You'll be able to face the world unashamed and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless. 16 You'll forget your troubles; they'll be like old, faded photographs. 17 Your world will be washed in sunshine, every shadow dispersed by dayspring. 18 Full of hope, you'll relax, confident again; you'll look around, sit back, and take it easy. 19 Expansive, without a care in the world, you'll be hunted out by many for your blessing. 20 But the wicked will see none of this. They're headed down a dead-end road with nothing to look forward to - nothing."
111 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2 "Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be vindicated? 3 Should your empty talk make men hold their peace? And when you mock, should no one rebuke you? 4 For you have said, 'My doctrine is pure, And I am clean in your eyes.' 5 But oh, that God would speak, And open His lips against you, 6 That He would show you the secrets of wisdom! For they would double your prudence. Know therefore that God exacts from you Less than your iniquity deserves.
7 "Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? 8 They are higher than heaven--what can you do? Deeper than Sheol--what can you know? 9 Their measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea. 10 "If He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment, Then who can hinder Him? 11 For He knows deceitful men; He sees wickedness also. Will He not then consider it? 12 For an empty-headed man will be wise, When a wild donkey's colt is born a man.
13 "If you would prepare your heart, And stretch out your hands toward Him; 14 If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away, And would not let wickedness dwell in your tents; 15 Then surely you could lift up your face without spot; Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear; 16 Because you would forget your misery, And remember it as waters that have passed away, 17 And your life would be brighter than noonday. Though you were dark, you would be like the morning. 18 And you would be secure, because there is hope; Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety. 19 You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid; Yes, many would court your favor. 20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And they shall not escape, And their hope--loss of life!"
111 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied to Job: 2 "Shouldn't someone answer this torrent of words? Is a person proved innocent just by a lot of talking? 3 Should I remain silent while you babble on? When you mock God, shouldn't someone make you ashamed? 4 You claim, 'My beliefs are pure,' and 'I am clean in the sight of God.' 5 If only God would speak; if only he would tell you what he thinks! 6 If only he would tell you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom is not a simple matter. Listen! God is doubtless punishing you far less than you deserve!
7 "Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the Almighty? 8 Such knowledge is higher than the heavens- and who are you? It is deeper than the underworld - what do you know? 9 It is broader than the earth and wider than the sea. 10 If God comes and puts a person in prison or calls the court to order, who can stop him? 11 For he knows those who are false, and he takes note of all their sins. 12 An empty-headed person won't become wise any more than a wild donkey can bear a human child.
13 "If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer! 14 Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you. 15 Then your face will brighten with innocence. You will be strong and free of fear. 16 You will forget your misery; it will be like water flowing away. 17 Your life will be brighter than the noonday. Even darkness will be as bright as morning. 18 Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety. 19 You will lie down unafraid, and many will look to you for help. 20 But the wicked will be blinded. They will have no escape. Their only hope is death."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 11:1-21
Commentary on Job 11:1-6
(Read Job 11:1-6)
Zophar attacked Job with great vehemence. He represented him as a man that loved to hear himself speak, though he could say nothing to the purpose, and as a man that maintained falsehoods. He desired God would show Job that less punishment was exacted than he deserved. We are ready, with much assurance, to call God to act in our quarrels, and to think that if he would but speak, he would take our part. We ought to leave all disputes to the judgment of God, which we are sure is according to truth; but those are not always right who are most forward to appeal to the Divine judgment.
Commentary on Job 11:7-12
(Read Job 11:7-12)
Zophar speaks well concerning God and his greatness and glory, concerning man and his vanity and folly. See here what man is; and let him be humbled. God sees this concerning vain man, that he would be wise, would be thought so, though he is born like a wild ass's colt, so unteachable and untameable. Man is a vain creature; empty, so the word is. Yet he is a proud creature, and self-conceited. He would be wise, would be thought so, though he will not submit to the laws of wisdom. He would be wise, he reaches after forbidden wisdom, and, like his first parents, aiming to be wise above what is written, loses the tree of life for the tree of knowledge. Is such a creature as this fit to contend with God?
Commentary on Job 11:13-20
(Read Job 11:13-20)
Zophar exhorts Job to repentance, and gives him encouragement, yet mixed with hard thoughts of him. He thought that worldly prosperity was always the lot of the righteous, and that Job was to be deemed a hypocrite unless his prosperity was restored. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; that is, thou mayst come boldly to the throne of grace, and not with the terror and amazement expressed in Hebrews 10:22.