Job 11–13

11TH CHAPTER

Zophar Speaks:

Your Words Call for an Answer, Job

¹Then Zophar from Naama replied ⸤to Job⸥, 

²“Shouldn’t someone answer this flood of words? 

Should a good public speaker be acquitted? 

³Should your empty talk silence others 

so that you can make fun of us without any shame? 

⁴You say, ‘My teaching is morally correct,’ 

and, ‘As you can see, I’m innocent.’ 

⁵I only wish God would speak 

and open his mouth ⸤to talk⸥ to you. 

⁶He would tell you the secrets of wisdom, 

because ⸤true⸥ wisdom is twice ⸤as great as your wisdom⸥, 

and you would know that God forgets your sin. 

God Can Do as He Pleases

⁷“Can you discover God’s hidden secrets, 

or are you able to find the Almighty’s limits? 

⁸⸤God’s wisdom is⸥ higher than heaven. 

What can you do? 

It is deeper than ⸤the depths⸥ of hell. 

What can you know? 

⁹It is longer than the earth 

and wider than the sea. 

¹⁰If God comes along and imprisons ⸤someone⸥ 

and then calls a court into session, who can stop him? 

¹¹He knows who the scoundrels are. 

And when he sees sin, doesn’t he pay attention to it? 

¹²But an empty-headed person will gain understanding 

when a wild donkey is born tame. 

Confess Your Sin and Be Forgiven

¹³“If you want to set your heart right, 

then pray to him. 

¹⁴If you’re holding on to sin, put it far away, 

and don’t let injustice live in your tent. 

¹⁵Then you will be able to show your face without being ashamed, 

and you will be secure and unafraid. 

¹⁶⸤Then⸥ you will forget your misery 

and remember it like water that has flowed downstream. 

¹⁷Then your life will be brighter than the noonday sun. 

The darkness in your life will become like morning. 

¹⁸You will feel confident because there’s hope, 

and you will look around and rest in safety. 

¹⁹You will lie down with no one to frighten you, 

and many people will try to gain your favor. 

²⁰But the wicked will lose their eyesight. 

Their escape route will be closed. 

Their only hope is to take their last breath.” 

12TH CHAPTER

Job Speaks:

My Friends Have No Wisdom

¹Then Job replied ⸤to his friends⸥, 

²“You certainly are ⸤wise⸥ people, 

and when you die, wisdom will die. 

³Like you, I have a mind. 

I am not inferior to you. 

But who doesn’t know these things? 

⁴I am a laughingstock to my neighbors. 

I am one who calls on God and expects an answer. 

A man of integrity, a man who is righteous, has become a laughingstock. 

⁵“A person who has an easy life has no appreciation for misfortune. 

He thinks it is the fate of those who slip up. 

⁶⸤But⸥ robbers’ tents are prosperous, 

and there is security for those who provoke God, 

for those whose god is their power. 

⁷“Instead, ask the animals, and they will teach you. 

Ask the birds, and they will tell you. 

⁸Or speak with the earth, and it will teach you. 

Even the fish will relate ⸤the story⸥ to you. 

⁹What creature doesn’t know that the Lord’s hands made it? 

¹⁰The life of every living creature 

and the spirit in every human body are in his hands. 

¹¹Doesn’t the ear distinguish sounds 

and the tongue taste food? 

Wisdom Comes from God

¹²“Wisdom is with the ancient one. 

The one who has had many days has insight.^b

¹³God has wisdom and strength. 

Advice and insight are his. 

¹⁴When he tears ⸤something⸥ down, it cannot be rebuilt. 

When he puts someone in prison, that person cannot be freed. 

¹⁵When he holds back the waters, there is a drought. 

When he releases them, they flood the earth. 

¹⁶“God has power and priceless wisdom. 

He owns ⸤both⸥ the deceiver and the person who is deceived. 

¹⁷He leads counselors away barefoot 

and makes fools out of judges. 

¹⁸He loosens kings’ belts 

and strips them of their pants. 

¹⁹He leads priests away barefoot 

and misleads those who serve in a temple. 

²⁰He makes trusted advisers unable to speak 

and takes away the good judgment of respected leaders. 

²¹He pours contempt on influential people 

and unbuckles the belt of the mighty. 

²²He uncovers mysteries ⸤hidden⸥ in the darkness 

and brings gloom into the light. 

²³He makes nations important and then destroys them. 

He makes nations large and leads them away. 

²⁴He takes away the common sense of a country’s leaders 

and makes them stumble about in a pathless wilderness. 

²⁵They grope in the dark with no light, 

and he makes them stumble like drunks. 

13TH CHAPTER

Job Continues: You Are Not Listening to Me

¹“My eye has certainly seen all of this! 

My ear has heard and understood it. 

²After all, I know it as well as you do. 

I am not inferior to you. 

³However, I want to speak to the Almighty, 

and I wish to argue my case in front of God. 

⁴But you are smearing me with lies. 

All of you are worthless physicians. 

⁵I wish you would keep silent. 

For you, that would be wisdom. 

⁶Please listen to my argument, 

and pay attention to my plea. 

Your Wisdom Misrepresents God

⁷“Will you talk wickedly for God 

and talk deceitfully on his behalf? 

⁸Will you favor him 

⸤as⸥ if you were arguing in court on God’s behalf? 

⁹Will it go well when he cross-examines you? 

Will you try to trick him as one mortal tricks another? 

¹⁰Will he really defend you 

if you secretly favor ⸤him⸥? 

¹¹Doesn’t his majesty terrify you? 

Doesn’t the fear of him fall upon you? 

¹²“Your recollections are worthless proverbs.^a

Your answers are absolutely useless.^b

¹³Be quiet, because I want to speak. 

Let whatever may happen to me ⸤happen⸥! 

¹⁴I am biting off more than I can chew 

and taking my life in my own hands. 

¹⁵If God would kill me, I would have no hope ⸤left⸥.^c

Nevertheless, I will defend my behavior to his face. 

¹⁶This also will be my salvation 

because no godless person could face him. 

Job Speaks to God

¹⁷“Listen carefully to my words. 

Hear my declaration. 

¹⁸I have prepared my case. 

I know that I will be declared righteous. 

¹⁹Who can make a case against me? 

If someone could, I’d be silent and die. 

²⁰“Please don’t do two things to me 

so that I won’t have to hide from you: 

²¹Stop oppressing me. 

Don’t let your terror frighten me. 

²²Then call, and I’ll answer. 

Otherwise, I’ll speak, and you’ll answer me. 

²³How many crimes and sins have I committed? 

Make me aware of my disobedience and my sin. 

²⁴Why do you hide your face ⸤from me⸥ and consider me your enemy? 

²⁵Are you trying to make a fluttering leaf tremble 

or trying to chase dry husks? 

²⁶You write down bitter accusations against me. 

You make me suffer for the sins of my youth. 

²⁷You put my feet in shackles. 

You follow my trail by engraving marks on the soles of my feet. 

²⁸I am like worn-out wineskins, 

like moth-eaten clothes.