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Zophar Accuses Job

11 Zophar from Naamath had this to say:

“Shouldn’t a multitude of words be answered,
    or a person who talks too much[a] be vindicated?
Will your irrational babble silence people,
    and when you mock them,
        will you escape without being shamed?[b]
You’ve said, ‘My teaching is flawless;
    I’m clean[c] in God’s[d] sight.’

“But what if God were to speak?
    What if he were[e] to talk[f] with you,
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

“Can you search through God’s complex things?
    Can you uncover the limits of the Almighty?
These things are higher than the heavens,
    so what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol,[h]
    so what can you know?
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

  1. Job 11:2 Or a talker
  2. Job 11:3 MT has without being humiliated
  3. Job 11:4 Or pure
  4. Job 11:4 Lit. your
  5. Job 11:5 The Heb. lacks What if he were
  6. Job 11:5 Lit. open his lips against
  7. Job 11:6 Lit. double
  8. Job 11:8 I.e. the place where the dead are in the afterlife
  9. Job 11:9 Lit. measure
  10. Job 11:10 The Heb. lacks a court
  11. Job 11:10 Or repel
  12. Job 11:11 Lit. men
  13. Job 11:14 Or wrong
  14. Job 11:14 Lit. tents
  15. Job 11:16 Or has flowed past
  16. Job 11:19 Lit. face
  17. Job 11:20 Lit. destroyed
  18. Job 11:20 Lit. is to breathe out their soul

Zophar

11 Then Zophar the Naamathite(A) replied:

“Are all these words to go unanswered?(B)
    Is this talker to be vindicated?(C)
Will your idle talk(D) reduce others to silence?
    Will no one rebuke you when you mock?(E)
You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless(F)
    and I am pure(G) in your sight.’
Oh, how I wish that God would speak,(H)
    that he would open his lips against you
and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,(I)
    for true wisdom has two sides.
    Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.(J)

“Can you fathom(K) the mysteries of God?
    Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher(L) than the heavens(M) above—what can you do?
    They are deeper than the depths below(N)—what can you know?(O)
Their measure(P) is longer than the earth
    and wider than the sea.(Q)

10 “If he comes along and confines you in prison
    and convenes a court, who can oppose him?(R)
11 Surely he recognizes deceivers;
    and when he sees evil, does he not take note?(S)
12 But the witless can no more become wise
    than a wild donkey’s colt(T) can be born human.[a](U)

13 “Yet if you devote your heart(V) to him
    and stretch out your hands(W) to him,(X)
14 if you put away(Y) the sin that is in your hand
    and allow no evil(Z) to dwell in your tent,(AA)
15 then, free of fault, you will lift up your face;(AB)
    you will stand firm(AC) and without fear.(AD)
16 You will surely forget your trouble,(AE)
    recalling it only as waters gone by.(AF)
17 Life will be brighter than noonday,(AG)
    and darkness will become like morning.(AH)
18 You will be secure, because there is hope;
    you will look about you and take your rest(AI) in safety.(AJ)
19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,(AK)
    and many will court your favor.(AL)
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail,(AM)
    and escape will elude them;(AN)
    their hope will become a dying gasp.”(AO)

Footnotes

  1. Job 11:12 Or wild donkey can be born tame

琐法的回答

11 拿玛人琐法回答说:
“难道滔滔不绝就无人反驳?
难道唠唠叨叨就证明有理?
你喋喋不休,人们岂能缄默不言?
你嘲笑讥讽,岂不该有人使你羞愧?
你自以为信仰纯全,
在上帝眼中清白。
唯愿上帝发言,
开口驳斥你,
告诉你智慧的奥秘,
因为真智慧深奥难懂。
要知道,上帝对你的惩罚比你该受的还轻。

“你能测度上帝的深奥,
探索全能者的极限吗?
那可比诸天还高,你能做什么?
那可比阴间还深,你能知道什么?
那可比大地还宽广,
比海洋还辽阔。
10 祂若来囚禁你,
开庭审判,
谁能阻拦?
11 祂洞悉诡诈之人,
看见罪恶,
岂会不理?
12 愚蠢人若能变得聪明,
野驴驹也可生成人样。

13 “你若把心安正,
向祂举手祷告;
14 你若除去自己的罪恶,
不容帐篷里有任何不义,
15 就必能无愧地仰起脸,
站立得稳,无所畏惧。
16 你必忘记自己的苦楚,
它从你记忆中如流水逝去。
17 你的人生将比正午还光明,
生命中的黑暗也必像黎明。
18 你必充满盼望,感到安稳,
你必得到保护,安然入睡。
19 你睡觉时必无人惊扰,
许多人必求你施恩。
20 但恶人必眼目失明,无路可逃,
他们的指望只有死亡。”