Job 11-12
GOD’S WORD Translation
Zophar Speaks: Your Words Call for an Answer, Job
11 Then Zophar from Naama replied ⌞to Job⌟,
2 “Shouldn’t someone answer this flood of words?
Should a good public speaker be acquitted?
3 Should your empty talk silence others
so that you can make fun of us without any shame?
4 You say, ‘My teaching is morally correct,’
and, ‘As you can see, I’m innocent.’
5 I only wish God would speak
and open his mouth ⌞to talk⌟ to you.
6 He would tell you the secrets of wisdom,
because ⌞true⌟ wisdom is twice ⌞as great as your wisdom⌟,
and you would know that God forgets your sin.
God Can Do as He Pleases
7 “Can you discover God’s hidden secrets,
or are you able to find the Almighty’s limits?
8 ⌞God’s wisdom is⌟ higher than heaven.
What can you do?
It is deeper than ⌞the depths⌟ of hell.
What can you know?
9 It is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
10 If God comes along and imprisons ⌞someone⌟
and then calls a court into session, who can stop him?
11 He knows who the scoundrels are.
And when he sees sin, doesn’t he pay attention to it?
12 But an empty-headed person will gain understanding
when a wild donkey is born tame.
Confess Your Sin and Be Forgiven
13 “If you want to set your heart right,
then pray to him.
14 If you’re holding on to sin, put it far away,
and don’t let injustice live in your tent.
15 Then you will be able to show your face without being ashamed,
and you will be secure and unafraid.
16 ⌞Then⌟ you will forget your misery
and remember it like water that has flowed downstream.
17 Then your life will be brighter than the noonday sun.
The darkness in your life will become like morning.
18 You will feel confident because there’s hope,
and you will look around and rest in safety.
19 You will lie down with no one to frighten you,
and many people will try to gain your favor.
20 But the wicked will lose their eyesight.
Their escape route will be closed.
Their only hope is to take their last breath.”
Job Speaks: My Friends Have No Wisdom
12 Then Job replied ⌞to his friends⌟,
2 “You certainly are ⌞wise⌟ people,
and when you die, wisdom will die.
3 Like you, I have a mind.
I am not inferior to you.
But who doesn’t know these things?
4 I am a laughingstock to my neighbors.
I am one who calls on God and expects an answer.
A man of integrity, a man who is righteous, has become a laughingstock.
5 “A person who has an easy life has no appreciation for misfortune.
He thinks it is the fate of those who slip up.
6 ⌞But⌟ robbers’ tents are prosperous,
and there is security for those who provoke God,
for those whose god is their power.
7 “Instead, ask the animals, and they will teach you.
Ask the birds, and they will tell you.
8 Or speak with the earth, and it will teach you.
Even the fish will relate ⌞the story⌟ to you.
9 What creature doesn’t know that the Lord’s hands made it?
10 The life of every living creature
and the spirit in every human body are in his hands.
11 Doesn’t the ear distinguish sounds
and the tongue taste food?
Wisdom Comes from God
12 “Wisdom is with the ancient one.
The one who has had many days has insight.[a]
13 God has wisdom and strength.
Advice and insight are his.
14 When he tears ⌞something⌟ down, it cannot be rebuilt.
When he puts someone in prison, that person cannot be freed.
15 When he holds back the waters, there is a drought.
When he releases them, they flood the earth.
16 “God has power and priceless wisdom.
He owns ⌞both⌟ the deceiver and the person who is deceived.
17 He leads counselors away barefoot
and makes fools out of judges.
18 He loosens kings’ belts
and strips them of their pants.
19 He leads priests away barefoot
and misleads those who serve in a temple.
20 He makes trusted advisers unable to speak
and takes away the good judgment of respected leaders.
21 He pours contempt on influential people
and unbuckles the belt of the mighty.
22 He uncovers mysteries ⌞hidden⌟ in the darkness
and brings gloom into the light.
23 He makes nations important and then destroys them.
He makes nations large and leads them away.
24 He takes away the common sense of a country’s leaders
and makes them stumble about in a pathless wilderness.
25 They grope in the dark with no light,
and he makes them stumble like drunks.
Footnotes
- 12:12 Or “Wisdom is with the elderly, and understanding with those who have lived a long time.”
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