Job 11

1And Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

1Then Sophar the Naamathite answered, and said:

2Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man of much talk be justified?

2Shall not he that speaketh much, hear also? or shall a man full of talk be justified?

3Should thy fictions make men hold their peace? and shouldest thou mock, and no one make [thee] ashamed?

3Shall men hold their peace to thee only? and when thou hast mocked others, shall no man confute thee?

4For thou sayest, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.

4For thou hast said: My word is pure, and I am clean in thy sight.

5But oh thatGod would speak, and open his lips against thee;

5And I wish that God would speak with thee, and would open his lips to thee,

6And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, how that they are the double of what is realised; and know thatGod passeth by [much] of thine iniquity!

6That he might shew thee the secrets of wisdom, and that his law is manifold, and thou mightest understand that he exacteth much less of thee, than thy iniquity deserveth.

7Canst thou by searching find outGod? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?

7Peradventure thou wilt comprehend the steps of God, and wilt find out the Almighty perfectly?

8[It is as] the heights of heaven; what wilt thou do? deeper than Sheol; what canst thou know?

8He is higher than heaven, and what wilt thou do? he is deeper than hell, and how wilt thou know?

9The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

9The measure of him is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

10If he pass by, and shut up, and call to judgment, who can hinder him?

10If he shall overturn all things, or shall press them together, who shall contradict him?

11For he knoweth vain men, and seeth wickedness when [man] doth not consider it;

11For he knoweth the vanity of men, and when he seeth iniquity, doth he not consider it?

12Yet a senseless man will make bold, though man be born [like] the foal of a wild ass.

12A vain man is lifted up into pride, and thinketh himself born free like a wild ass's colt.

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

13But thou hast hardened thy heart, and hast spread thy hands to him.

14If thou put far away the iniquity which is in thy hand, and let not wrong dwell in thy tents;

14If thou wilt put away from thee the iniquity that is in thy hand, and let not injustice remain in thy tabernacle:

15Surely then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot, and thou shalt be stedfast and shalt not fear:

15Then mayst thou lift up thy face without spot, and thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear.

16For thou shalt forget misery; as waters that are passed away shalt thou remember it;

16Thou shalt also forget misery, and remember it only as waters that are passed away.

17And life shall arise brighter than noonday; though thou be enshrouded in darkness, thou shalt be as the morning,

17And brightness like that of the noonday, shall arise to thee at evening: and when thou shalt think thyself consumed, thou shalt rise as the day star.

18And thou shalt have confidence, because there shall be hope; and having searched about [thee], thou shalt take rest in safety.

18And thou shalt have confidence, hope being set before thee, and being buried thou shalt sleep secure.

19Yea, thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; and many shall seek thy favour.

19Thou shalt rest, and there shall be none to make thee afraid: and many shall entreat thy face.

20But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and [all] refuge shall vanish from them, and their hope [shall be] the breathing out of life.

20But the eyes of the wicked shall decay, and the way to escape shall fail them, and their hope the abomination of the soul.