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Zophar's First Speech

So Much Foolish Talk

11 Zophar from Naamah[a] said:
So much foolish talk
    cannot go unanswered.
Your words have silenced others
    and made them ashamed;
now it is only right for you
    to be put to shame.
You claim to be innocent
and argue that your beliefs
    are acceptable to God.
But I wish God would speak
and let you know that wisdom
    has many different sides.
You would then discover
that God has punished you
    less than you deserve.

Can you understand the mysteries
    surrounding God All-Powerful?
They are higher than the heavens
    and deeper than the grave.
So what can you do
    when you know so little,
and these mysteries outreach
    the earth and the ocean?

10 If God puts you in prison
or drags you to court,
    what can you do?
11 God has the wisdom to know
when someone is worthless
    and sinful,
12 but it's easier to tame
a wild donkey
    than to make a fool wise.[b]

Surrender Your Heart to God

13 Surrender your heart to God,
    turn to him in prayer,
14 and give up your sins—
    even those you do in secret.
15 Then you won't be ashamed;
you will be confident
    and fearless.
16 Your troubles will go away
    like water beneath a bridge,
17 and your darkest night
    will be brighter than noon.
18 You will rest safe and secure,
filled with hope
    and emptied of worry.
19 You will sleep without fear
    and be greatly respected.
20 But those who are evil
will go blind and lose their way.
    Their only escape is death!

Job's Reply to Zophar

You Think You Are So Great

* 12 Job said to his friends:
You think you are so great,
    with all the answers.
But I know as much as you do,
    and so does everyone else.
I have always lived right,
and God answered my prayers;
    now friends make fun of me.
It's easy to condemn
those who are suffering,
    when you have no troubles.
Robbers and other godless people
live safely at home and say,
    “God is in our hands!”[c]

If You Want To Learn

If you want to learn,
    then go and ask
the wild animals and the birds,
    the flowers and the fish.
Any of them can tell you
    what the Lord has done.[d]
10 Every living creature
    is in the hands of God.

11 We hear with our ears,
    taste with our tongues,
12 and gain some wisdom from those
    who have lived a long time.
13 But God is the real source
    of wisdom and strength.
14 No one can rebuild
what he destroys, or release
    those he has imprisoned.
15 God can hold back the rain
    or send a flood,
16 just as he rules over liars
    and those they lie to.

17 God shames counselors,
turns judges into fools,
18     and makes slaves of kings.
19 God removes priests and others
    who have great power—
20 he confuses wise,
    experienced advisors,
21 puts mighty kings to shame,
    and takes away their power.
22 God turns darkness to light;
23 he makes nations strong,
    then shatters their strength.
24 God strikes their rulers senseless,
then leaves them to roam
    through barren deserts,
25 lost in the dark, staggering
    like someone drunk.

Job Continues

I Know and Understand

13 I know and understand
    every bit of this.
None of you are smarter
    than I am;
there's nothing you know
    that I don't.
But I prefer to argue my case
    with God All-Powerful—
you are merely useless doctors,
    who treat me with lies.
The wisest thing you can do
is to keep quiet and listen
    to my argument.
Are you telling lies for God
and not telling the whole truth
    when you argue his case?
If he took you to court,
could you fool him,
    just as you fool others?
10 If you were secretly unfair,
    he would correct you,
11 and his glorious splendor
    would make you terrified.
12 Your wisdom and arguments
    will blow away like dust.

Be Quiet While I Speak

13 Be quiet while I speak,
    and we'll see what happens.
14 I will be responsible
    for what happens to me.
15 God may kill me, but still
I will trust him[e]
    and offer my defense.
16 This may be what saves me,
because no guilty person
    would come to his court.
17 Listen carefully to my words!
18 I have prepared my case well,
    and I am certain to win.
19 If you can prove me guilty,
    I will give up and die.

Job Prays

I Ask Only Two Things

20 I ask only two things
    of you, my God,
and I will no longer
    hide from you—
21 stop punishing
    and terrifying me!

22 Then speak, and I will reply;
or else let me speak,
    and you reply.
23 Please point out my sins,
    so I will know them.
24 Why have you turned your back
    and count me your enemy?
25 Do you really enjoy
    frightening a fallen leaf?
26 Why do you accuse me
    of horrible crimes
and make me pay for sins
    I did in my youth?
27 (A) You have tied my feet down
    and keep me surrounded;
28 I am rotting away like cloth
    eaten by worms.

Footnotes

  1. 11.1 Naamah: See the note at 2.11.
  2. 11.12 it's … wise: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 12.6 God is in our hands: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 12.9 Any … done: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  5. 13.15 God … trust him: Or “God will surely kill me; I have lost all hope.”

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