Job 11–13

Zophar Speaks to Job

11Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:

²“Should these words go unanswered?

Is this talker in the right?

³Your lies do not make people quiet;

people should correct you when you make fun of God.

⁴You say, ‘My teachings are right,

and I am clean in God’s sight.’

⁵I wish God would speak

and open his lips against you

⁶and tell you the secrets of wisdom,

because wisdom has two sides.

Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.

⁷“Can you understand the secrets of God?

Can you search the limits of the Almighty?

⁸His limits are higher than the heavens; you cannot reach them!

They are deeper than the grave; you cannot understand them!

⁹His limits are longer than the earth

and wider than the sea.

¹⁰“If God comes along and puts you in prison

or calls you into court, no one can stop him.

¹¹God knows who is evil,

and when he sees evil, he takes note of it.

¹²A fool cannot become wise

any more than a wild donkey can be born tame.

¹³“You must give your whole heart to him

and hold out your hands to him for help.

¹⁴Put away the sin that is in your hand;

let no evil remain in your tent.

¹⁵Then you can lift up your face without shame,

and you can stand strong without fear.

¹⁶You will forget your trouble

and remember it only as water gone by.

¹⁷Your life will be as bright as the noonday sun,

and darkness will seem like morning.

¹⁸You will feel safe because there is hope;

you will look around and rest in safety.

¹⁹You will lie down, and no one will scare you.

Many people will want favors from you.

²⁰But the wicked will not be able to see,

so they will not escape.

Their only hope will be to die.”

Job Answers Zophar

12Then Job answered:

²“You really think you are the only wise people

and that when you die, wisdom will die with you!

³But my mind is as good as yours;

you are not better than I am.

Everyone knows all these things.

⁴My friends all laugh at me

when I call on God and expect him to answer me;

they laugh at me even though I am right and innocent!

⁵Those who are comfortable don’t care that others have trouble;

they think it right that those people should have troubles.

⁶The tents of robbers are not bothered,

and those who make God angry are safe.

They have their god in their pocket.

⁷“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,

or ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.

⁸Speak to the earth, and it will teach you,

or let the fish of the sea tell you.

⁹Every one of these knows

that the hand of the Lord has done this.

¹⁰The life of every creature

and the breath of all people are in God’s hand.

¹¹The ear tests words

as the tongue tastes food.

¹²Older people are wise,

and long life brings understanding.

¹³“But only God has wisdom and power,

good advice and understanding.

¹⁴What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;

anyone he puts in prison cannot be let out.

¹⁵If God holds back the waters, there is no rain;

if he lets the waters go, they flood the land.

¹⁶He is strong and victorious;

both the one who fools others and the one who is fooled belong to him.

¹⁷God leads the wise away as captives

and turns judges into fools.

¹⁸He takes off chains that kings put on

and puts a garment on their bodies.

¹⁹He leads priests away naked

and destroys the powerful.

²⁰He makes trusted people be silent

and takes away the wisdom of elders.

²¹He brings disgrace on important people

and takes away the weapons of the strong.

²²He uncovers the deep things of darkness

and brings dark shadows into the light.

²³He makes nations great and then destroys them;

he makes nations large and then scatters them.

²⁴He takes understanding away from the leaders of the earth

and makes them wander through a pathless desert.

²⁵They feel around in darkness with no light;

he makes them stumble like drunks.

13“Now my eyes have seen all this;

my ears have heard and understood it.

²What you know, I also know.

You are not better than I am.

³But I want to speak to the Almighty

and to argue my case with God.

⁴But you smear me with lies.

You are worthless doctors, all of you!

⁵I wish you would just stop talking;

then you would really be wise!

⁶Listen to my argument,

and hear the pleading of my lips.

⁷You should not speak evil in the name of God;

you cannot speak God’s truth by telling lies.

⁸You should not unfairly choose his side against mine;

you should not argue the case for God.

⁹You will not do well if he examines you;

you cannot fool God as you might fool humans.

¹⁰God would surely scold you

if you unfairly took one person’s side.

¹¹His bright glory would scare you,

and you would be very much afraid of him.

¹²Your wise sayings are worth no more than ashes,

and your arguments are as weak as clay.

¹³“Be quiet and let me speak.

Let things happen to me as they will.

¹⁴Why should I put myself in danger

and take my life in my own hands?

¹⁵Even if God kills me, I have hope in him;

I will still defend my ways to his face.

¹⁶This is my salvation.

The wicked cannot come before him.

¹⁷Listen carefully to my words;

let your ears hear what I say.

¹⁸See, I have prepared my case,

and I know I will be proved right.

¹⁹No one can accuse me of doing wrong.

If someone can, I will be quiet and die.

²⁰“God, please just give me these two things,

and then I will not hide from you:

²¹Take your punishment away from me,

and stop frightening me with your terrors.

²²Then call me, and I will answer,

or let me speak, and you answer.

²³How many evil things and sins have I done?

Show me my wrong and my sin.

²⁴Don’t hide your face from me;

don’t think of me as your enemy.

²⁵Don’t punish a leaf that is blown by the wind;

don’t chase after straw.

²⁶You write down cruel things against me

and make me suffer for my boyhood sins.

²⁷You put my feet in chains

and keep close watch wherever I go.

You even mark the soles of my feet.

²⁸“Everyone wears out like something rotten,

like clothing eaten by moths.