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Zophar Asks, Can You Find the Depths of God?

11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

“Shall a multitude of words go unanswered,
And a (A)man of lips be in the right?
Shall your boasts silence men?
And shall you (B)mock and none rebuke?
(C)You have said, ‘My learning is pure,
And (D)I am innocent in your eyes.’
But would that God might speak,
And open His lips against you,
And tell you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom [a](E)has two sides.
Know then that God [b]forgets a part of (F)your iniquity.

(G)Can you find the depths of God?
Can you find the limits of the Almighty?
They are (H)high as [c]the heavens, what can you do?
Deeper than (I)Sheol, what can you know?
Its measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.
10 If He sweeps by or shuts up,
Or calls an assembly, (J)who can turn Him around?
11 For (K)He knows worthless men,
And He (L)sees wickedness, [d]so will He not carefully consider it?
12 [e](M)Yet an empty headed man will obtain a heart of wisdom,
And the [f]foal of a (N)wild donkey is born a man.

13 (O)If you would (P)set your heart right
And (Q)spread out your hand to Him,
14 If wickedness is in your hand, (R)put it far away,
And do not let unrighteousness dwell in your tents;
15 Then, indeed, you could (S)lift up your face without moral defect,
And you would be steadfast and (T)not fear.
16 For you would (U)forget your trouble,
As (V)waters that pass by, so you would remember it.
17 And your lifetime would (W)arise brighter than noonday;
Darkness would be like the morning.
18 Then you would trust, because there is hope;
And you would search around and rest securely.
19 You would (X)lie down and none would make you tremble,
And many would (Y)entreat your [g]favor.
20 But the (Z)eyes of the wicked will come to an end,
And escape will (AA)perish from them;
And their (AB)hope is (AC)the expiring of their soul.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 11:6 Lit is double
  2. Job 11:6 Lit causes to be forgotten for you
  3. Job 11:8 Lit the heights of heaven
  4. Job 11:11 Or even He does not consider
  5. Job 11:12 Lit A hollow man
  6. Job 11:12 Lit donkey
  7. Job 11:19 Lit face

Zophar Speaks

11 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

Should this abundance of words(A) go unanswered
and such a talker[a] be acquitted?
Should your babbling put others to silence,
so that you can keep on ridiculing
with no one to humiliate you?
You have said, “My teaching(B) is sound,
and I am pure in your sight.”
But if only God would speak
and open his lips against you!
He would show you the secrets of wisdom,(C)
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your iniquity.(D)

Can you fathom the depths of God
or discover the limits of the Almighty?(E)
They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?(F)
Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.

10 If he passes by and throws someone in prison
or convenes a court, who can stop him?(G)
11 Surely he knows which people are worthless.
If he sees iniquity, will he not take note of it?(H)
12 But a stupid person will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a human!

13 As for you, if you redirect your heart
and spread out your hands to him in prayer—
14 if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—
15 then you will hold your head high, free from fault.
You will be firmly established and unafraid.(I)
16 For you will forget your suffering,
recalling it only as water that has flowed by.
17 Your life will be brighter than noonday;
its darkness[b] will be like the morning.(J)
18 You will be confident, because there is hope.(K)
You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.(L)

19 You will lie down with no one to frighten you,
and many will seek your favor.(M)
20 But the sight of the wicked(N) will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath.(O)

Footnotes

  1. 11:2 Lit a man of lips
  2. 11:17 Text emended; MT reads noonday; you are dark, you