Job 11
11
Zophar’s Counsel
How Wisdom Looks from the Inside
1-6Now it was the turn of Zophar from Naamath:
“What a flood of words! Shouldn’t we put a stop to it?
Should this kind of loose talk be permitted?
Job, do you think you can carry on like this and we’ll say nothing?
That we’ll let you rail and mock and not step in?
You claim, ‘My doctrine is sound
and my conduct impeccable.’
How I wish God would give you a piece of his mind,
tell you what’s what!
I wish he’d show you how wisdom looks from the inside,
for true wisdom is mostly ‘inside.’
But you can be sure of this,
you haven’t gotten half of what you deserve.
7-12“Do you think you can explain the mystery of God?
Do you think you can diagram God Almighty?
God is far higher than you can imagine,
far deeper than you can comprehend,
Stretching farther than earth’s horizons,
far wider than the endless ocean.
If he happens along, throws you in jail
then hauls you into court, can you do anything about it?
He sees through vain pretensions,
spots evil a long way off—
no one pulls the wool over his eyes!
Hollow men, hollow women, will wise up
about the same time mules learn to talk.
Reach Out to God
13-20“Still, if you set your heart on God
and reach out to him,
If you scrub your hands of sin
and refuse to entertain evil in your home,
You’ll be able to face the world unashamed
and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless.
You’ll forget your troubles;
they’ll be like old, faded photographs.
Your world will be washed in sunshine,
every shadow dispersed by dawn.
Full of hope, you’ll relax, confident again;
you’ll look around, sit back, and take it easy.
Expansive, without a care in the world,
you’ll be hunted out by many for your blessing.
But the wicked will see none of this.
They’re headed down a dead-end road
with nothing to look forward to—nothing.”
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Job 11: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Job 11
11
Zophar Accuses Job of Iniquity
1Then answered Zophar the Na´amathite, and said,
2Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should a man full of talk be justified?
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 clean in thine eyes.
5But oh that God would speak,
and open his lips against thee;
6and that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom,
that they are double to that which is!#11.6 that they are double to that which is! or How manifold is understanding!
Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
7Canst 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;#11.8 hell, Hebrew Sheol. what canst thou know?
9The measure thereof is longer than the earth,
and broader than the sea.
10If he cut off, and shut up,
or gather together, then who can hinder him?
11For he knoweth vain men:
he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?
12For vain man would be wise,
though man be born like a wild ass's colt.#11.12 For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt. or Shall an empty man get a mind, or a wild ass's colt be born a man?
13If thou prepare thine heart,
and stretch out thine hands toward him;
14if iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away,
and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
15For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot;
yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear:
16because thou shalt forget thy misery,
and remember it as waters that pass away:
17and thine age shall be clearer than the noonday;
thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
18And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope;
yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
19Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid;
yea, many shall make suit unto thee.
20But the eyes of the wicked shall fail,
and they shall not escape,
and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.