Job11
New American Standard
1Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,
2“Shall a multitude of words go unanswered, And a talkative man be acquitted?
3Shall your boasts silence people? And will you scoff, and no one rebuke?
4For you have said, ‘My teaching is pure, And I am innocent in your eyes.’
5But if only God would speak, And open His lips against you,
6And show you the secrets of wisdom! For sound wisdom has two sides. Know then that God forgets part of your guilt.
7“Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
8They are as high as the heavens; what can you do? Deeper than Sheol; what can you know?
9Its measurement is longer than the earth And broader than the sea.
10If He passes by or apprehends people, Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?
11For He knows false people, And He sees injustice without investigating.
12An idiot will become intelligent When a wild donkey is born a human.
13“If you would direct your heart rightly And spread out your hands to Him,
14If wrongdoing is in your hand, put it far away, And do not let malice dwell in your tents;
15Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral blemish, And you would be firmly established and not fear.
16For you would forget your trouble; Like waters that have passed by, you would remember it.
17Your life would be brighter than noonday; Darkness would be like the morning.
18Then you would trust, because there is hope; And you would look around and rest securely.
19You would lie down and none would disturb you, And many would flatter you.
20But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And there will be no escape for them; And their hope is to breathe their last.”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Job 11.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Zophar reproves Job. (1–6). God's perfections and almighty power. (7–12). Zophar assures Job of blessings if he repented. (13–20).
vv1-6
Zophar attacked Job with great vehemence. He represented him as a man that loved to hear himself speak, though he could say nothing to the purpose, and as a man that maintained falsehoods. He desired God would show Job that less punishment was exacted than he deserved. We are ready, with much assurance, to call God to act in our quarrels, and to think that if he would but speak, he would take our part. We ought to leave all disputes to the judgment of God, which we are sure is according to truth; but those are not always right who are most forward to appeal to the Divine judgment.
vv7-12
Zophar speaks well concerning God and his greatness and glory, concerning man and his vanity and folly. See here what man is; and let him be humbled. God sees this concerning vain man, that he would be wise, would be thought so, though he is born like a wild ass's colt, so unteachable and untameable. Man is a vain creature; empty, so the word is. Yet he is a proud creature, and self-conceited. He would be wise, would be thought so, though he will not submit to the laws of wisdom. He would be wise, he reaches after forbidden wisdom, and, like his first parents, aiming to be wise above what is written, loses the tree of life for the tree of knowledge. Is such a creature as this fit to contend with God?
vv13-20
Zophar exhorts Job to repentance, and gives him encouragement, yet mixed with hard thoughts of him. He thought that worldly prosperity was always the lot of the righteous, and that Job was to be deemed a hypocrite unless his prosperity was restored. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; that is, thou mayst come boldly to the throne of grace, and not with the terror and amazement expressed in ch. 9:34. If we are looked upon in the face of the Anointed, our faces that were cast down may be lifted up; though polluted, being now washed with the blood of Christ, they may be lifted up without spot. We may draw near in full assurance of faith, when we are sprinkled from an evil conscience, Heb 10:22.
Key Words
עָנָה: properly, to eye or (generally) to heed, i.e. pay attention; by implication, to respond; by extension to begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify, announce
צוֹפַר: Tsophar, a friend of Job
נַעֲמָתִי: a Naamathite, or inhabitant of Naamah
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
רֹב: abundance (in any respect)
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
אִישׁ: a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)
שָׂפָה: the lip (as a natural boundary); by implication, language; by analogy, a margin (of a vessel, water, cloth, etc.)
צָדַק: to be (causatively, make) right (in a moral or forensic sense)
בַּד: a brag or lie; also a liar
Cross References
Job 11Job frequently asserts his purity, which Elihu later directly echoes and rebukes using similar language.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
God knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity; directly matches 'he knoweth vain men'.
Supported by JFB
Zophar contrasts Job's despair ('not lift up my head') with promise to 'lift up thy face'.
Supported by JFB
Paul's doxology on the unsearchable depth of God's wisdom echoes Zophar's challenge on finding out God.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The psalmist confesses that divine knowledge is too wonderful and high to attain.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Ascending to heaven or making a bed in Sheol demonstrates the inescapable heights and depths.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The Hebrew 'wild-ass man' is the proverbial expression for untamed human nature born wild.
Supported by JFB
The former troubles are forgotten, passing away from memory like waters, as Zophar promises.
Supported by JFB
The path of the just shining brighter unto the perfect day parallels Zophar's 'clearer than noonday'.
Supported by JFB
In the multitude of words sin is not lacking; Zophar's critique of Job's talkativeness.
Supported by JFB
Ezra acknowledges that God has punished them far less than their iniquities deserved.
Supported by Matthew Poole
God's discourse later depicts the untameable wild ass, highlighting man's foolish attempts to seem wise.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Many make suit or entreat the favor of a liberal or prosperous person.
Supported by JFB
The expectation of the wicked perishes at death, paralleling 'hope as the giving up of ghost'.
Supported by JFB
The failing of the eyes in futile expectation of relief under judgment.
Supported by JFB
Eliphaz repeats Zophar's condition of removing iniquity far from one's tabernacle for restoration.
Supported by Matthew Poole