3. Zophar’s Argument

ch11 ¹Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, ²Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified? ³Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? ⁴For thou hast said, My doctrine [is] pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. ⁵But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; ⁶And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that [they are] double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee [less] than thine iniquity [deserveth].

⁷Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? ⁸It is] as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? ⁹The measure thereof [is] longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. ¹⁰If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? ¹¹For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider [it]? ¹²For vain man would be wise, though man be born [like] a wild ass's colt. ¹³If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; ¹⁴If iniquity [be] in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. ¹⁵For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: ¹⁶Because thou shalt forget [thy] misery, [and] remember [it] as waters [that] pass away: ¹⁷And [thine] age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. ¹⁸And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig [about thee, and] thou shalt take thy rest in safety. ¹⁹Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make [thee] afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee. ²⁰But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope [shall be as] the giving up of the ghost.

ch12 ¹And Job answered and said, ²No doubt but ye [are] the people, and wisdom shall die with you. ³But I have understanding as well as you; I [am] not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these? ⁴I am [as] one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright [man is] laughed to scorn. ⁵He that is ready to slip with [his] feet [is as] a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. ⁶The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth [abundantly]. ⁷But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: ⁸Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. ⁹Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? ¹⁰In whose hand [is] the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. ¹¹Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat? ¹²With the ancient [is] wisdom; and in length of days understanding.

¹³With him [is] wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. ¹⁴Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. ¹⁵Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. ¹⁶With him [is] strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver [are] his. ¹⁷He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. ¹⁸He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. ¹⁹He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. ²⁰He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. ²¹He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. ²²He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. ²³He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them [again]. ²⁴He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness [where there is] no way. ²⁵They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like [a] drunken [man].

ch13 ¹Lo, mine eye hath seen all [this], mine ear hath heard and understood it. ²What ye know, [the same] do I know also: I [am] not inferior unto you. ³Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. ⁴But ye [are] forgers of lies, ye [are] all physicians of no value. ⁵O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom. ⁶Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. ⁷Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? ⁸Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? ⁹Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye [so] mock him? ¹⁰He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. ¹¹Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you? ¹²Your remembrances [are] like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. ¹³Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what [will]. ¹⁴Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand? ¹⁵Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. ¹⁶He also [shall be] my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him. ¹⁷Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears. ¹⁸Behold now, I have ordered [my] cause; I know that I shall be justified. ¹⁹Who [is] he [that] will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.

²⁰Only do not two [things] unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee. ²¹Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid. ²²Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me. ²³How many [are] mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin. ²⁴Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy? ²⁵Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble? ²⁶For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. ²⁷Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet. ²⁸And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.

ch14 ¹Man [that is] born of a woman [is] of few days, and full of trouble. ²He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. ³And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? ⁴Who can bring a clean [thing] out of an unclean? not one. ⁵Seeing his days [are] determined, the number of his months [are] with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; ⁶Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.

⁷For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. ⁸Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; ⁹[Yet] through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. ¹⁰But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where [is] he? ¹¹As] the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: ¹²So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens [be] no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. ¹³O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! ¹⁴If a man die, shall he live [again]? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. ¹⁵Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands. ¹⁶For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? ¹⁷My transgression [is] sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.

¹⁸And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. ¹⁹The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow [out] of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. ²⁰Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. ²¹His sons come to honour, and he knoweth [it] not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth [it] not of them. ²²But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.