< Job 11 >
1 Then Sophar the Minaean answered and said,
Then answered Zophar the Na'amathite, and said.
2 He that speaks much, should also hear on the other side: or does the fluent speaker think himself to be righteous? blessed [is] the short lived offspring of woman.
Shall a multitude of words not be answered? and is it so that a man full of talk shall be deemed in the right?
3 Be not a speaker of many words; for is there none to answer thee?
Thy inventions are to bring men to silence; and when thou utterest thy mocking no one is to cause thee to feel abashed!
4 For say not, I am pure in my works, and blameless before him.
For thou hast said [to God], My doctrine is pure, and I am become clean in thy eyes.
5 But oh that the Lord would speak to thee, and open his lips to thee!
But oh that God would but speak, and open his lips against thee;
6 Then shall he declare to thee the power of wisdom; for it shall be double of that which is with thee: and then shalt thou know, that a just recompence of thy sins has come to thee from the Lord.
And that he would declare unto thee the secrets of wisdom; for it is double to that which is really in our possession: and thou wouldst experience that God overlooketh unto thee much of thy iniquity.
7 Wilt thou find out the traces of the Lord? or hast thou come to the end [of that] which the Almighty has made?
Canst thou find out the experience of God? or canst thou find [the way] unto the utmost limit of the Almighty?
8 Heaven [is] high; and what wilt thou do? and there are deeper things than those in hell; what dost thou know? (Sheol )
It is as high as heaven; what canst thou effect? it is deeper than the nether world; what canst thou know? (Sheol )
9 Or longer than the measure of the earth, or the breadth of the sea.
Longer than the earth is its measure, and broader than the sea.
10 And if he should overthrow all things, who will say to him, What hast thou done?
If he pass by, and surrender [one to suffering], and call together an assembly, who can hinder him?
11 For he knows the works of transgressors; and when he sees wickedness, he will not overlook [it].
For he knoweth the men of vanity: he seeth the wrong-doer and him who considereth not;
12 But man vainly buoys himself up with words; and a mortal born of woman [is] like an ass in the desert.
And the heartless who acquireth intelligence, and him who is [like] the colt of the wild ass who is transformed into a man.
13 For if thou hast made thine heart pure, and liftest up [thine] hands towards him;
If thou truly direct [aright] thy heart, and spread out thy hands toward him: —
14 if there is any iniquity in thy hands, put if far from thee, and let not unrighteousness lodge in thy habitation.
If wrong be in thy hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tents.
15 For thus shall thy countenance shine again, as pure water; and thou shalt divest thyself of uncleanness, and shalt not fear.
For then canst thou lift up thy face free from blemish: yea, thou wilt stand steadfast, and needest not to fear;
16 And thou shalt forget trouble, as a wave that has passed by; and thou shalt not be scared.
Because thou wilt truly forget thy trouble, and as a waterflood that is passed away wilt thou remember it;
17 And thy prayer [shall be] as the morning star, and life shall arise to thee [as] from the noonday.
And brighter than the noon of day will thy earthly existence arise; and thy obscurity will be like thy morning.
18 And thou shalt be confident, because thou hast hope; and peace shall dawn to thee from out of anxiety and care.
And thou wilt feel trust, because there is hope: yea, thou wilt search about carefully, and thou wilt lie down in safety.
19 For thou shalt be at ease, and there shall be no one to fight against thee; and many shall charge, and make supplication to thee.
Also thou wilt stretch thyself out [to rest], with none to make thee afraid; and many will entreat thy favor.
20 But safety shall fail them; for their hope is destruction, and the eyes of the ungodly shall waste away.
But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and the means of escape will vanish from them, and their [sole] hope shall be the breathing out of their soul.