1 | Then Zophar the Na'amathite answered: |
2 | "Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and a man full of talk be vindicated? |
3 | Should your babble silence men, and when you mock, shall no one shame you? |
4 | For you say, `My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God's eyes.' |
5 | But oh, that God would speak, and open his lips to you, |
6 | and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold in understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves. |
7 | "Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? |
8 | It is higher than heaven -- what can you do? Deeper than Sheol -- what can you know? |
9 | Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. |
10 | If he passes through, and imprisons, and calls to judgment, who can hinder him? |
11 | For he knows worthless men; when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it? |
12 | But a stupid man will get understanding, when a wild ass's colt is born a man. |
13 | "If you set your heart aright, you will stretch out your hands toward him. |
14 | If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in your tents. |
15 | Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure, and will not fear. |
16 | You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away. |
17 | And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning. |
18 | And you will have confidence, because there is hope; you will be protected and take your rest in safety. |
19 | You will lie down, and none will make you afraid; many will entreat your favor. |
20 | But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last." |
1 | Then Job answered: |
2 | "No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. |
3 | But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? |
4 | I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called upon God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock. |
5 | In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip. |
6 | The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their hand. |
7 | "But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; |
8 | or the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. |
9 | Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? |
10 | In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. |
11 | Does not the ear try words as the palate tastes food? |
12 | Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days. |
13 | "With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. |
14 | If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. |
15 | If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. |
16 | With him are strength and wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his. |
17 | He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools. |
18 | He looses the bonds of kings, and binds a waistcloth on their loins. |
19 | He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty. |
20 | He deprives of speech those who are trusted, and takes away the discernment of the elders. |
21 | He pours contempt on princes, and looses the belt of the strong. |
22 | He uncovers the deeps out of darkness, and brings deep darkness to light. |
23 | He makes nations great, and he destroys them: he enlarges nations, and leads them away. |
24 | He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless waste. |
25 | They grope in the dark without light; and he makes them stagger like a drunken man. |