Zophar Rebukes Job

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite 1answered,

2 “Shall a multitude of words go unanswered,

And a atalkative man be acquitted?

3 “Shall your boasts silence men?

And shall you ascoff and none rebuke?

4 “For ayou have said, ‘My teaching is pure,

And bI am innocent in your eyes.’

5 “But would that God might speak,

And open His lips against you,

6 And show you the secrets of wisdom!

For sound wisdom 1ahas two sides.

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

7 “aCan you discover the depths of God?

Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?

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

Deeper than 2bSheol, what can you know?

9 “Its measure is longer than the earth

And broader than the sea.

10 “If He passes by or shuts up,

Or calls an assembly, awho can restrain Him?

11 “For aHe knows false men,

And He bsees iniquity 1without investigating.

12 “1aAn idiot will become intelligent

When the 2foal of a bwild donkey is born a man.

13 “aIf you would bdirect your heart right

And cspread out your hand to Him,

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

And do not let wickedness dwell in your tents;

15 “Then, 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 have passed by, you would remember it.

17 “Your 1life would be 2abrighter than noonday;

Darkness would be like the morning.

18 “Then you would trust, because there is hope;

And you would look around and rest securely.

19 “You would alie down and none would disturb you,

And many would bentreat your 1favor.

20 “But the aeyes of the wicked will fail,

And 1there will bbe no escape for them;

And their chope is 2dto breathe their last.”

Chapter 12

Job Chides His Accusers

1 Then Job 1responded,

2 “Truly then ayou are the people,

And with you wisdom will die!

3 “But aI have intelligence as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

And 1who does not know such things as these?

4 “I am a ajoke to 1my friends,

The one who called on God and He answered him;

The just and bblameless man is a joke.

5 “1He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,

As prepared for those whose feet slip.

6 “The atents of the destroyers prosper,

And those who provoke God bare secure,

1Whom God brings cinto their power.

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

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

8 “Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;

And let the fish of the sea declare to you.

9 “Who among all these does not know

That athe hand of the Lord has done this,

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

And bthe breath of all mankind?

11 “Does not athe ear test words,

As the palate 1tastes its food?

12 “Wisdom is with aaged men,

With 1long life is understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

13 “With Him are awisdom and amight;

To Him belong counsel and bunderstanding.

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

He 1bimprisons a man, and 2there can be no release.

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

And He bsends them out, and they 1inundate 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 aloosens the 1bond of kings

And binds their loins with a girdle.

19 “He makes priests walk 1barefoot

And overthrows athe secure ones.

20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speech

And atakes away the discernment 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 the deep darkness into light.

23 “He amakes the nations great, then destroys them;

He 1enlarges the nations, then leads them away.

24 “He adeprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people

And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

25 “They agrope in darkness with no light,

And He makes them bstagger like a drunken man.