Job 11–13

Chapter 11

Zophar’s First Response to Job

Then Zophar the Naamathite replied to Job:

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

Is a person proved innocent just by a lot of talking?

³Should I remain silent while you babble on?

When you mock God, shouldn’t someone make you ashamed?

⁴You claim, ‘My beliefs are pure,’

and ‘I am clean in the sight of God.’

⁵If only God would speak;

if only he would tell you what he thinks!

⁶If only he would tell you the secrets of wisdom,

for true wisdom is not a simple matter.

Listen! God is doubtless punishing you

far less than you deserve!

⁷“Can you solve the mysteries of God?

Can you discover everything about the Almighty?

⁸Such knowledge is higher than the heavens—

and who are you?

It is deeper than the underworld—

what do you know?

⁹It is broader than the earth

and wider than the sea.

¹⁰If God comes and puts a person in prison

or calls the court to order, who can stop him?

¹¹For he knows those who are false,

and he takes note of all their sins.

¹²An empty-headed person won’t become wise

any more than a wild donkey can bear a human child.

¹³“If only you would prepare your heart

and lift up your hands to him in prayer!

¹⁴Get rid of your sins,

and leave all iniquity behind you.

¹⁵Then your face will brighten with innocence.

You will be strong and free of fear.

¹⁶You will forget your misery;

it will be like water flowing away.

¹⁷Your life will be brighter than the noonday.

Even darkness will be as bright as morning.

¹⁸Having hope will give you courage.

You will be protected and will rest in safety.

¹⁹You will lie down unafraid,

and many will look to you for help.

²⁰But the wicked will be blinded.

They will have no escape.

Their only hope is death.”

Chapter 12

Job’s Fourth Speech: A Response to Zophar

Then Job spoke again:

²“You people really know everything, don’t you?

And when you die, wisdom will die with you!

³Well, I know a few things myself—

and you’re no better than I am.

Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying?

⁴Yet my friends laugh at me,

for I call on God and expect an answer.

I am a just and blameless man,

yet they laugh at me.

⁵People who are at ease mock those in trouble.

They give a push to people who are stumbling.

⁶But robbers are left in peace,

and those who provoke God live in safety—

though God keeps them in his power.

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

Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

⁸Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you.

Let the fish in the sea speak to you.

⁹For they all know

that my disaster has come from the hand of the Lord.

¹⁰For the life of every living thing is in his hand,

and the breath of every human being.

¹¹The ear tests the words it hears

just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.

¹²Wisdom belongs to the aged,

and understanding to the old.

¹³“But true wisdom and power are found in God;

counsel and understanding are his.

¹⁴What he destroys cannot be rebuilt.

When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.

¹⁵If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert.

If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.

¹⁶Yes, strength and wisdom are his;

deceivers and deceived are both in his power.

¹⁷He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment;

wise judges become fools.

¹⁸He removes the royal robe of kings.

They are led away with ropes around their waist.

¹⁹He leads priests away, stripped of status;

he overthrows those with long years in power.

²⁰He silences the trusted adviser

and removes the insight of the elders.

²¹He pours disgrace upon princes

and disarms the strong.

²²“He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness;

he brings light to the deepest gloom.

²³He builds up nations, and he destroys them.

He expands nations, and he abandons them.

²⁴He strips kings of understanding

and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.

²⁵They grope in the darkness without a light.

He makes them stagger like drunkards.

Chapter 13

Job Wants to Argue His Case with God

¹“Look, I have seen all this with my own eyes

and heard it with my own ears, and now I understand.

²I know as much as you do.

You are no better than I am.

³As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty.

I want to argue my case with God himself.

⁴As for you, you smear me with lies.

As physicians, you are worthless quacks.

⁵If only you could be silent!

That’s the wisest thing you could do.

⁶Listen to my charge;

pay attention to my arguments.

⁷“Are you defending God with lies?

Do you make your dishonest arguments for his sake?

⁸Will you slant your testimony in his favor?

Will you argue God’s case for him?

⁹What will happen when he finds out what you are doing?

Can you fool him as easily as you fool people?

¹⁰No, you will be in trouble with him

if you secretly slant your testimony in his favor.

¹¹Doesn’t his majesty terrify you?

Doesn’t your fear of him overwhelm you?

¹²Your platitudes are as valuable as ashes.

Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.

¹³“Be silent now and leave me alone.

Let me speak, and I will face the consequences.

¹⁴Why should I put myself in mortal danger

and take my life in my own hands?

¹⁵God might kill me, but I have no other hope.

I am going to argue my case with him.

¹⁶But this is what will save me—I am not godless.

If I were, I could not stand before him.

¹⁷“Listen closely to what I am about to say.

Hear me out.

¹⁸I have prepared my case;

I will be proved innocent.

¹⁹Who can argue with me over this?

And if you prove me wrong, I will remain silent and die.

Job Asks How He Has Sinned

²⁰“O God, grant me these two things,

and then I will be able to face you.

²¹Remove your heavy hand from me,

and don’t terrify me with your awesome presence.

²²Now summon me, and I will answer!

Or let me speak to you, and you reply.

²³Tell me, what have I done wrong?

Show me my rebellion and my sin.

²⁴Why do you turn away from me?

Why do you treat me as your enemy?

²⁵Would you terrify a leaf blown by the wind?

Would you chase dry straw?

²⁶“You write bitter accusations against me

and bring up all the sins of my youth.

²⁷You put my feet in stocks.

You examine all my paths.

You trace all my footprints.

²⁸I waste away like rotting wood,

like a moth-eaten coat.