11:1 Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,
11:2 “Shall a multitude of words go unanswered,
And a talkative man be acquitted?
11:3 Shall your boasts silence people?
And will you scoff, and no one rebuke?
11:4 For you have said, ‘My teaching is pure,
And I am innocent in your eyes.’
11:5 But if only God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
11:6 And show you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom ①has two sides.
Know then that God ②forgets part of your guilt.
▷ ①Lit causes to be forgotten for you ②Lit is double
11:7 “Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
11:8 They are as high as ①the heavens; what can you do?
Deeper than ②Sheol; what can you know?
▷ ①Lit the heights of heaven ②I.e., the netherworld
11:9 Its measurement is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.
11:10 If He passes by or apprehends people,
Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?
11:11 For He knows false people,
And He sees injustice ①without investigating.
▷ ①Or and does not investigate
11:12 ①An idiot will become intelligent
When a wild donkey is born a human.
▷ ①Lit A hollow man
11:13 “If you would direct your heart rightly
And spread out your hands to Him,
11:14 If wrongdoing is in your hand, put it far away,
And do not let malice dwell in your tents;
11:15 Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral blemish,
And you would be firmly established and not fear.
11:16 For you would forget your trouble;
Like waters that have passed by, you would remember it.
11:17 Your ①life would ②be brighter than noonday;
Darkness would be like the morning.
▷ ①Lit lifespan ②Lit rise above noonday
11:18 Then you would trust, because there is hope;
And you would look around and rest securely.
11:19 You would lie down and none would disturb you,
And many would ①flatter you.
▷ ①Lit soften your face
11:20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And ①there will be no escape for them;
And their hope is ②to breathe their last.”
▷ ①Lit escape has perished from them ②Lit the expiring of the soul