Job 11–13

Zophar Speaks: You Deserve Worse

11Then ^dZophar the Naamathite answered and said:

²“Should ^ea multitude of words go unanswered,

and a man full of talk be judged right?

³Should your babble silence men,

and when you mock, shall no one shame you?

⁴For ^fyou say, ‘My ^gdoctrine is pure,

and I am clean in God’s¹ eyes.’

⁵But oh, that God would speak

and open his lips to you,

⁶and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!

For he is manifold in ^hunderstanding.²

Know then that God ⁱexacts of you less than your guilt deserves.

^7j“Can you find out the deep things of God?

Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?

⁸It is ^khigher than heaven³—what can you do?

Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

⁹Its measure is longer than the earth

and broader than the sea.

¹⁰If he ^lpasses through and ^mimprisons

and summons the court, who can ⁿturn him back?

¹¹For he knows ^oworthless men;

when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?

¹²But a stupid man will get understanding

when ^pa wild donkey’s colt is ^qborn a man!

¹³“If you ^rprepare your heart,

you will ^sstretch out your hands toward him.

¹⁴If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,

and let not injustice dwell in your tents.

¹⁵Surely then you will ^tlift up your face without ^ublemish;

you will be secure and will not fear.

¹⁶You will ^vforget your misery;

you will remember it as waters that have passed away.

¹⁷And your life will be ^wbrighter than the noonday;

its darkness will be like the morning.

¹⁸And you will feel secure, because there is hope;

you will look around and ^xtake your rest in security.

¹⁹You will ^xlie down, and none will make you afraid;

many will ^ycourt your favor.

²⁰But ^zthe eyes of the wicked will fail;

all way of escape will be lost to them,

and their hope is ^ato breathe their last.”

Job Replies: The Lord Has Done This

12Then Job answered and said:

²“No doubt you are the people,

and wisdom will die with you.

³But I have ^bunderstanding as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

Who does not know ^csuch things as these?

⁴I am ^da laughingstock to my friends;

I, who ^ecalled to God and he answered me,

a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.

⁵In the thought of one who is ^fat ease there is contempt for misfortune;

it is ready for those whose feet slip.

^6gThe tents of robbers are at peace,

and those who provoke God are secure,

who bring their god in their hand.¹

⁷“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;

the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;

⁸or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;²

and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

⁹Who among all these does not know

that ^hthe hand of the Lord has done this?

¹⁰In ⁱhis hand is the life of every living thing

and the breath of all mankind.

¹¹Does not ^jthe ear test words

as the palate tastes food?

¹²Wisdom is with ^kthe aged,

and understanding in length of days.

^13l“With God³ are wisdom and might;

he has counsel and understanding.

¹⁴If he tears down, none can rebuild;

if he ^mshuts a man in, none can open.

¹⁵If he ⁿwithholds the waters, they dry up;

if he ^osends them out, they overwhelm the land.

¹⁶With him are strength and ^psound wisdom;

the deceived and the deceiver are his.

¹⁷He leads ^qcounselors away stripped,

and ^rjudges he makes fools.

¹⁸He ^slooses the bonds of kings

and binds a waistcloth on their hips.

¹⁹He leads priests away stripped

and overthrows the mighty.

²⁰He deprives of speech those who are trusted

^tand takes away the discernment of the elders.

²¹He ^upours contempt on princes

and loosens the belt of the strong.

²²He ^vuncovers the deeps out of darkness

and brings ^wdeep darkness to light.

²³He ^xmakes nations great, and he destroys them;

he enlarges nations, and ^yleads them away.

²⁴He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth

and ^zmakes them wander in a trackless waste.

²⁵They ^agrope in the dark without light,

and he makes them ^bstagger like a drunken man.

Job Continues: Still I Will Hope in God

13“Behold, my eye has seen all this,

my ear has heard and understood it.

^2cWhat you know, I also know;

I am not inferior to you.

^3dBut I would speak to the Almighty,

and I desire to ^eargue my case with God.

⁴As for you, ^fyou whitewash with lies;

^gworthless physicians are you all.

⁵Oh that you would ^hkeep silent,

and it would be your wisdom!

⁶Hear now my argument

and listen to the pleadings of my lips.

⁷Will you ⁱspeak falsely for God

and speak ⁱdeceitfully for him?

⁸Will you show partiality toward him?

Will you ^jplead the case for God?

⁹Will it be well with you when he ^ksearches you out?

Or ^lcan you deceive him, as one deceives a man?

¹⁰He will surely rebuke you

if in secret you show partiality.

¹¹Will not his ^mmajesty terrify you,

and the dread of him fall upon you?

¹²Your maxims are proverbs of ⁿashes;

your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³“Let me have silence, and I will speak,

and let come on me what may.

¹⁴Why should I take my flesh in my teeth

and ^oput my life in my hand?

^15pThough he slay me, I will ^qhope in him;¹

yet I will ^rargue my ways to his face.

¹⁶This will be my salvation,

that the godless shall not come before him.

^17sKeep listening to my words,

and let my declaration be in your ears.

¹⁸Behold, I have ^tprepared my case;

I know that I shall be in the right.

^19uWho is there who will contend with me?

For then I would be silent and die.

²⁰Only grant me two things,

then I will not ^vhide myself from your face:

^21wwithdraw your hand far from me,

and let not ^xdread of you terrify me.

^22yThen call, and I will answer;

or let me speak, and you reply to me.

²³How many are my iniquities and my sins?

^zMake me know my transgression and my sin.

²⁴Why ^ado you hide your face

and ^bcount me as your enemy?

²⁵Will you frighten ^ca driven leaf

and pursue dry ^dchaff?

²⁶For you ^ewrite bitter things against me

and make me inherit ^fthe iniquities of my youth.

²⁷You put my feet in ^gthe stocks

and ^hwatch all my paths;

you set a limit for² the soles of my feet.

²⁸Man³ wastes away like ⁱa rotten thing,

like a garment that is ^jmoth-eaten.