| 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." |
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