Zophar Rebukes Job

1Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

2“Shall a multitude of words not be answered?

And should a talkative man [making such a long-winded defense] be acquitted?

3“Should your boasts and babble silence men?

And shall you scoff and no one put you to shame?

4“For you have said, ‘My teaching (doctrine) [that God knowingly afflicts the righteous] is pure,

And I am innocent in your eyes.’

5“But oh, that God would speak,

And open His lips [to speak] against you,

6And [that He would] show you the secrets of wisdom!

For sound wisdom [a]has two sides.

Know therefore that God forgets a part of your wickedness and guilt.

7“Can you discover the depths of God?

Can you [by searching] discover the limits of the Almighty [ascend to His heights, extend to His widths, and comprehend His infinite perfection]?

8“His wisdom is as high as the heights of heaven. What can you do?

It is deeper than Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead). What can you know?

9“It is longer in measure [and scope] than the earth,

And broader than the sea.

10“If God passes by or arrests,

Or calls an assembly [of judgment], who can restrain Him?

[If He is against a man, who can call Him to account for it?]

11“For He recognizes and knows false and worthless men,

And He sees wickedness, will He not consider it?

12“But a hollow (empty-headed) man will become intelligent and wise

[Only] when the [b]colt of a wild donkey is born as a man.

13“If you direct your heart [on the right path]

And stretch out your hands to Him,

14If sin is in your hand, put it far away [from you],

And do not let wrongdoing dwell in your tents;

15Then, indeed, you could lift up your face [to Him] without moral defect,

And you would be firmly established and secure and not fear.

16“For you would forget your trouble;

You would remember it as waters that have passed by.

17“And your [c]life would be brighter than the noonday;

Darkness [then] would be like the morning.

18“Then you would trust [with confidence], because there is hope;

You would look around you and rest securely.

19“You would lie down with no one to frighten you,

And many would entreat and seek your favor.

20“But the eyes of the wicked will fail,

And they will not escape [the justice of God];

And their hope is to breathe their last [and die].”