< Job 11 >
1 Forsothe Sophar Naamathites answeride, and seide,
Then Zophar, from [the] Naamah [area], said this to Job:
2 Whether he, that spekith many thingis, schal not also here? ether whethir a man ful of wordis schal be maad iust?
“(Should no one answer all that you have said?/Someone should certainly answer all that you have said.) [RHQ] Just because you talk a lot, (should that cause us to declare that you (are innocent/have done nothing wrong)?/that should not cause us to declare that you (are innocent/have done nothing wrong).) [RHQ]
3 Schulen men be stille to thee aloone? whanne thou hast scorned othere men, schalt thou not be ouercomun of ony man?
Job, (should your babbling cause us to be silent?/your babbling should certainly not cause us to be silent.) [RHQ] When you make fun of us, shall no one [rebuke you and] cause you to be ashamed?
4 For thou seidist, My word is cleene, and Y am cleene in thi siyt.
You say, ‘What I say is true; God knows that I am (innocent/without guilt).’
5 And `Y wolde, that God spak with thee, and openyde hise lippis to thee;
But I wish/desire that God would talk and say something [MTY] to answer you!
6 to schewe to thee the priuetees of wisdom, and that his lawe is manyfold, and thou schuldist vndurstonde, that thou art requirid of hym to paie myche lesse thingis, than thi wickidnesse disserueth.
God knows everything about everything, so I wish/desire that he would tell you the secrets that he knows because he is wise. But you need to know that God is punishing you less than you deserve!
7 In hap thou schalt comprehende the steppis of God, and thou schalt fynde Almyyti God `til to perfeccioun.
[“Tell me], will you ever be able to find out the things about God that are very difficult to understand? Will you be able to find out everything that there is to know about Almighty God?
8 He is hiyere than heuene, and what schalt thou do? he is deppere than helle, and wherof schalt thou knowe? (Sheol )
[What there is to know about God] is greater than [the distance from earth to] heaven; so there is no way [RHQ] that you can [understand it all]. It is greater than [the distance from here to] the place of the dead; so it is impossible for you [RHQ] to know it all. (Sheol )
9 His mesure is lengere than erthe, and brodere than the see.
What there is to know about God is wider than the earth and wider than the ocean.
10 If he distrieth alle thingis, ethir dryueth streitli `in to oon, who schal ayenseie hym? Ethir who may seie to hym, Whi doest thou so?
“If God comes to you and puts you in prison and then brings you to a court, (who can stop him?/no one can stop him.) [RHQ]
11 For he knowith the vanyte of men; and whether he seynge byholdith not wickidnesse?
He knows which people are worthless; and when he sees people doing wicked things, (will he ignore it?/he will certainly not ignore it!) [RHQ]
12 A veyn man is reisid in to pride; and gessith hym silf borun fre, as the colt of a wilde asse.
Stupid people [like you] will start to become wise [SAR] when wild donkeys [stop giving birth to wild donkeys and] start giving birth to tame donkeys.
13 But thou hast maad stidefast thin herte, and hast spred abrood thin hondis to hym.
“Job, repent [IDM]; reach out your hands to seek God’s help.
14 If thou doest awei `fro thee the wickidnesse, which is in thin hond, and vnriytfulnesse dwellith not in thi tabernacle,
If you have done evil things, stop doing them; and do not allow any people in your house to do wicked things.
15 thanne thou schalt mowe reise thi face with out wem, and thou schalt be stidefast, and thou schalt not drede.
If you do what I have said, surely you will lift up your head because you will not be ashamed; you will be strong, and not afraid [of anything].
16 And thou schalt foryete wretchidnesse, and thou schalt not thenke of it, as of watris that han passid.
You will forget all your troubles; they will be like [the] water [of a flood] that has all disappeared.
17 And as myddai schynynge it schal reise to thee at euentid; and whanne thou gessist thee wastid, thou schalt rise vp as the dai sterre.
[Your troubles will be ended, like the darkness ends] at the dawn; [it will be as though] [MET] the sun is shining brightly on you, like [it shines] at noon.
18 And thou schalt haue trist, while hope schal be set forth to thee; and thou biried schalt slepe sikurli.
You will feel safe/secure, because you will confidently expect [that good things will happen to you]; God will protect you and enable you to rest safely [each night].
19 Thou schalt reste, and `noon schal be that schal make thee aferd; and ful many men schulen biseche thi face.
You will lie down, and no one will cause you to be afraid. And many people will come and request you to do things for them.
20 But the iyen of wickid men schulen faile; and socour schal perische fro hem, and the hope of hem schal be abhominacyioun of soule.
But wicked people [SYN] will not be able to understand [why bad things are happening to them]; they will not have any way to escape [from their troubles]. The only thing that they will want to do is to die. [EUP]”