11:1 | Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: |
11:2 | "Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? |
11:3 | Will your idle talk reduce men to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? |
11:4 | You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.' |
11:5 | Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you |
11:6 | and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin. |
11:7 | "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? |
11:8 | They are higher than the heavens--what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave--what can you know? |
11:9 | Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. |
11:10 | "If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him? |
11:11 | Surely he recognizes deceitful men; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? |
11:12 | But a witless man can no more become wise than a wild donkey's colt can be born a man. |
11:13 | "Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, |
11:14 | if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, |
11:15 | then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear. |
11:16 | You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. |
11:17 | Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. |
11:18 | You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. |
11:19 | You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. |
11:20 | But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp." |
| |