1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: |
2 "Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? |
3 Will your idle talk reduce men to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? |
4 You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.' |
5 Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you |
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. |
7 "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? |
8 They are higher than the heavens--what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave--what can you know? |
9 Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. |
10 "If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him? |
11 Surely he recognizes deceitful men; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? |
12 But a witless man can no more become wise than a wild donkey's colt can be born a man. |
13 "Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, |
14 if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, |
15 then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear. |
16 You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. |
17 Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. |
18 You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. |
19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. |
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp." |