Job 11–13

CHAPTER 11

Zophar Asks, Can You Find the Depths of God?

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

²“Shall a multitude of words go unanswered,

And a ^aman of lips be in the right?

³“Shall your boasts silence men?

And shall you ^amock and none rebuke?

⁴“^aYou have said, ‘My learning is pure,

And ^bI am innocent in your eyes.’

⁵“But would that God might speak,

And open His lips against you,

⁶And tell you the secrets of wisdom!

For sound wisdom ^1ahas two sides.

Know then that God ²forgets a part of ^byour iniquity.

⁷“^aCan you find the depths of God?

Can you find the limits of the Almighty?

⁸“They are ^ahigh as ¹the heavens, what can you do?

Deeper than ^bSheol, what can you know?

⁹“Its measure is longer than the earth

And broader than the sea.

¹⁰“If He sweeps by or shuts up,

Or calls an assembly, ^awho can turn Him around?

¹¹“For ^aHe knows worthless men,

And He ^bsees wickedness, ¹so will He not carefully consider it?

¹²“^1aYet an empty headed man will obtain a heart of wisdom,

And the ²foal of a ^bwild donkey is born a man.

¹³“^aIf you would ^bset your heart right

And ^cspread out your hand to Him,

¹⁴If wickedness is in your hand, ^aput it far away,

And do not let unrighteousness dwell in your tents;

¹⁵Then, indeed, you could ^alift up your face without moral defect,

And you would be steadfast and ^bnot fear.

¹⁶“For you would ^aforget your trouble,

As ^bwaters that pass by, so you would remember it.

¹⁷“And your lifetime would ^aarise 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 ^alie down and none would make you tremble,

And many would ^bentreat your ¹favor.

²⁰“But the ^aeyes of the wicked will come to an end,

And escape will ^bperish from them;

And their ^chope is ^dthe expiring of their soul.”

CHAPTER 12

Job Answers

¹Then Job answered and said,

²“Truly then ^ayou are the people,

And with you wisdom will die!

³“But ^aI have a heart of wisdom as well as you;

I do not fall short of you.

And ¹who does not know such things as these?

⁴“I am a ^alaughingstock to ¹my friends,

The one who called on God and He answered him;

The righteous and ^bblameless man is a laughingstock.

⁵“¹As for upheaval, there is only contempt by the one who acts at ease,

But it is prepared for those whose feet slip.

⁶“The ^atents of the destroyers are complacent,

And those who provoke God ^bare secure,

¹Whom God brings ^cinto their power.

⁷“But now ask the beasts, and let them instruct you;

And the birds of the sky, and let them tell you.

⁸“Or muse to the earth, and let it instruct you;

And let the fish of the sea recount it to you.

⁹“Who among all these does not know

That ^athe hand of Yahweh has done this,

^10aIn whose hand is the life of every living thing,

And ^bthe breath of all the flesh of man?

¹¹“Does not ^athe ear test words,

As the palate ¹tastes its food?

¹²“Wisdom is with ^aaged men,

With ¹long life is discernment.

Job Speaks of God’s Strength

¹³“With Him are ^awisdom and ^bmight;

To Him belong counsel and ^cdiscernment.

¹⁴“Behold, He ^apulls down, and it cannot be rebuilt;

He ^bcloses a man in, and it cannot be opened.

¹⁵“Behold, He ^arestrains the waters, and they dry up;

And He ^bsends them out, and they overturn the earth.

¹⁶“With Him are strength and sound wisdom;

The ^amisled and the misleader belong to Him.

¹⁷“He makes ^acounselors walk ¹barefoot

And makes fools of ^bjudges.

¹⁸“He ^aopens the ¹bond of kings

And binds their loins with a belt.

¹⁹“He makes priests walk ¹barefoot

And subverts ^athe enduring ones.

²⁰“He removes speech from the faithful

And ^atakes away the discerning taste of the elders.

²¹“He ^apours contempt on nobles

And ^bloosens the belt of the strong.

²²“He ^areveals mysteries from the darkness

And brings out the shadows of death into light.

²³“He ^amakes the nations great, then makes them perish;

He ¹enlarges the nations, then leads them away.

²⁴“He ^aremoves the heart of wisdom from the heads of the earth’s people

And makes them wander in a pathless ¹waste.

²⁵“They ^agrope in darkness with no light,

And He makes them ^bwander about like a drunken man.

CHAPTER 13

I Will Be Declared Righteous

¹“^aBehold, my eye has seen all this;

My ear has heard and understood it.

²“^aWhat you know I also know;

I have not fallen short of you.

³“But ^aI would speak to ¹the Almighty,

And I desire to ^bargue with God.

⁴“But you ^acover me with lies;

You are all ^bworthless physicians.

⁵“O that you would ^abe completely silent,

And that it would become your wisdom!

⁶“Please hear my argument

And give heed to the contentions of my lips.

⁷“Will you ^aspeak what is unrighteous for God,

And speak what is deceitful for Him?

⁸“Will you ^ashow partiality for Him?

Will you contend for God?

⁹“Will it be well when He examines you?

Or ^awill you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

¹⁰“He will surely reprove you

If you secretly ^ashow partiality.

¹¹“Will not ^aHis exaltedness terrify you,

And the dread of Him fall on you?

¹²“Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes;

Your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³“^aBe silent before me so that I may speak;

Then let come on me what may.

¹⁴“Why should I take my flesh in my teeth

And ^aput my life in my ¹hands?

¹⁵“^1aThough He slay me,

I will hope in Him.

Nevertheless I ^bwill argue my ways ²before Him.

¹⁶“This also will be my ^asalvation,

For ^ba godless man may not come before His presence.

¹⁷“¹Listen carefully to my words,

And let my declaration fill your ears.

¹⁸“Behold now, I have ^aarranged my case for justice;

I know that ^bI will be declared righteous.

¹⁹“^aWho will contend with me?

For now I am silent and ^bwill breathe my last.

²⁰“Only two things do not do to me,

Then I will not hide from Your face:

^21aMove Your ¹hand far from me,

And let not the dread of You terrify me.

²²“Then call, and ^aI will answer;

Or let me speak, then respond to me.

²³“^aHow many are my iniquities and sins?

Make known to me my transgression and my sin.

²⁴“Why do You ^ahide Your face

And think of me as ^bYour enemy?

²⁵“Will You cause a ^adriven leaf to tremble?

Or will You pursue the dry ^bchaff?

²⁶“For You write ^abitter things against me

And ^bmake me to possess the iniquities of my youth.

²⁷“You ^aput my feet in the stocks

And kept watch over all my paths;

You ¹set a limit for the soles of my feet,

²⁸While ¹I am decaying like a ^arotten thing,

Like a garment that is moth-eaten.