1 THEN answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.
5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;
6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?
11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?
12 For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.
13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
16 Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away:
17 And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
18 And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.
20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.

1Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,

2Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should man ful of talke be iustified?

3Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?

4For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am cleane in thine eyes.

5But, O that God would speake, and open his lippes against thee,

6And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisedome, that they are double to that which is: know therefore that God exacteth of thee lesse then thine iniquitie deserueth.

7Canst thou by searching finde out God? canst thou finde out the Almightie vnto perfection?

8It is as high as heauen, what canst thou doe? deeper then hell, what canst thou know?

9The measure therof is longer then the earth, and broader then the sea.

10If he cut off, and shut vp, or gather together, then who can hinder him?

11For, he knoweth vaine men: hee seeth wickednesse also, will he not then consider it?

12For vaine man would be wise; though man be borne like a wilde asses coult.

13If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him:

14If iniquitie be in thine hand, put it farre away, and let not wickednes dwell in thy tabernacles.

15For then shalt thou lift vp thy face without spot, yea thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not feare:

16Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that passe away:

17And thine age shalbe clearer then the noone day; thou shalt shine foorth, thou shalt be as the morning.

18And thou shalt be secure because there is hope, yea thou shalt digge about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.

19Also thou shalt lye downe, and none shall make thee afraid; yea many shall make suite vnto thee.

20But the eyes of the wicked shall faile, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giuing vp of the ghost.

 

 

 

IV == Job 6:10 ; 10:7

 

 

 

 

VI == Ezra 9:13

 

 

VII == Eccl 3:11 ; Rom 11:33

 

 

 

 

X == Job 9:12 ; 12:14 ; Rev 3:7

XI == Ps 10:11 , 14 ; 35:22 ; 94:11

XII == Ps 73:22 ; 92:6 ; Eccl 3:18

XIII == 1st Sam 7:3 ; Job 5:8 ; 22:21 ; Ps 78:8 ; 88:9 ; 143:6

XIV == Ps 101:3

XV == JOb 22:26 ; Ps 119:6

XVI == Isa 65:16

 

XVII == Ps 37:6 ; 112:4 ; Isa 58:8 , 10

XVIII == Lev 26:5 ; 4:8 ; Prov 3:24

 

 

 

XX == Lev 26:16 ; Deut 28:65 ; Job 8:14 ; 18:14 ; Prov 11:7

1 And Zophar the Naamathite spoke out and said:

2 Should not the man of many words be answered, or must the garrulous man necessarily be right?

3 Shall your babblings keep men silent, and shall you deride and no one give rebuke?

4 Shall you say: "My teaching is pure, and I am clean in your sight"?

5 But oh, that God would speak, and open his lips against you,

6 And tell you that the secrets of wisdom are twice as effective: So you might learn that God will make you answer for your guilt.

7 Can you penetrate the designs of God? Dare you vie with the perfection of the Almighty?

8 It is higher than the heavens; what can you do? It is deeper than the nether world; what can you know?

9 It is longer than the earth in measure, and broader than the sea.

10 If he seize and imprison or call to judgment, who then can say him nay?

11 For he knows the worthlessness of men and sees iniquity; will he then ignore it?

12 Will empty man then gain understanding, and the wild jackass be made docile?

13 If you set your heart aright and stretch out your hands toward him,

14 If you remove all iniquity from your conduct, and let not injustice dwell in your tent,

15 Surely then you may lift up your face in innocence; you may stand firm and unafraid.

16 For then you shall forget your misery, or recall it like waters that have ebbed away.

17 Then your life shall be brighter than the noonday; its gloom shall become as the morning,

18 And you shall be secure, because there is hope; you shall look round you and lie down in safety,

19 and you shall take your rest with none to disturb. Many shall entreat your favor,

20 but the wicked, looking on, shall be consumed with envy. Escape shall be cut off from them, they shall wait to expire.

v 1-6. Zophar retorts to Job in a cruel, rude and insensitive manner. He accuses Job of a lot of idle talk, blaming God and boasting that he is blameless. If Job had true insight, it is claimed he would see that God is letting him off easy, giving him less punishment than he deserves.  Zophar was being very judgmental.

 

 

 

 

v 7-10. Job made reference to God’s wisdom, 9:4, so Zophar out does him by emphasizing the height, depth, length, breadth and immeasurable quality of God’s wisdom. His purpose in this seems to be to put Job down even more.

 

 

v 11,12. Zophar infers that God is so wise he can see the deceitfulness of Job. Then refers to Job as so stupid he could only gain wisdom if a donkey would give birth to a man. (Some friend!)

 

v 13-20. Like the other two, Zophar tells Job to repent and receive restoration,      v 13, 14, and God will take away his shame, v 15. Then he could forget his trouble and have rest, peace and security. People would again look up to him, but if Job continued in wickedness, his eyes would fail and he could not escape God’s judgment.
The things the three friends have said are true in many respects, but they do not apply it correctly to Job, thinking he has hidden sin or he wouldn’t be suffering. We all should consider sin if we have suffering in our own lives, but remember there are other reasons why God permits a person to suffer.