Zophar Speaks
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2 Should this abundance of words k go unanswered
and such a talker be acquitted?
3 Should your babbling put others to silence,
so that you can keep on ridiculing
with no one to humiliate you?
4 You have said, “My teaching l is sound,
and I am pure in your sight.”
5 But if only God would speak
and open his lips against you!
6 He would show you the secrets of wisdom, m
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your iniquity. n
7 Can you fathom the depths of God
or discover the limits of the Almighty? o
8 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know? p
9 Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
10 If he passes by and throws someone in prison
or convenes a court, who can stop him? q
11 Surely he knows which people are worthless.
If he sees iniquity, will he not take note of it? r
12 But a stupid person will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a human!
13 As for you, if you redirect your heart
and spread out your hands to him in prayer—
14 if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—
15 then you will hold your head high, free from fault.
You will be firmly established and unafraid. s
16 For you will forget your suffering,
recalling it only as water that has flowed by.
17 Your life will be brighter than noonday;
its darkness will be like the morning. t
18 You will be confident, because there is hope. u
You will look carefully about and lie down in safety. v
19 You will lie down with no one to frighten you,
and many will seek your favor. w
20 But the sight of the wicked x will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath. y
11:1–6. Zophar impatiently dismisses Job’s lengthy speeches as “this abundance of words” (11:2). In Wisdom literature, speaking many words is often connected with folly rather than with wisdom (Pr 10:19; 17:27; Ec 5:2). Thus, Zophar implies that Job is a fool who talks too much. Zophar rejects Job’s words as so much empty rhetoric rather than substantive argument. In his view, what Job says is mere babbling as Job tries to talk the others into silence (11:3). Zophar attempts to shame Job into accepting what the friends have alleged about him. Ironically, in the third cycle of speeches Zophar will be reduced to silence.
11:7–12. Zophar praises God’s unlimited wisdom, implying Job’s foolishness. In 10:13 Job suggested that he knew the thoughts that lie behind God’s actions toward him. Zophar exaggerates what Job said into a claim to know all that God knows (11:7–9). Zophar’s questions in 11:10–11 are an aggressive rhetorical attack against Job rather than genuine questions for Job to answer, unlike the questions God will ask in chapters 38–41. In 11:12 Zophar uses what is probably an ancient proverb to drive home his point that it is impossible for a stubborn person like Job to become wise. By this cheap rhetorical shot, Zophar implies that Job functions at below the human level.
11:13–20. Zophar turns from accusing Job to exhorting him with the tone of a prophet. Using strict cause-and-effect logic, Zophar says that if Job would repent (11:13–14), then God would restore blessing to him (11:15–19). This repentance would need to include both Job’s private life (heart, 11:13a) and his public life (hands, 11:13b–14). Since Job’s sin has caused him to lose his standing before God, Job needs to repent so that he can stand in God’s presence (11:15; in contrast with Job’s complaint in 10:15–16). Job previously reflected on his prospect of a dark and gloomy death (10:21–22). By contrast, Zophar declares that Job’s repentance will result in a life of brilliant light (11:17).