Job 11:1–20 Zophar's Opening Rebuke of Job

 ¹Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

²“Should not the multitude of words be answered?

And should a man full of talk be vindicated?

³Should your empty talk make men hold their peace?

And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?

⁴For you have said,

‘My doctrine is pure,

And I am clean in your eyes.’

⁵But oh, that God would speak,

And open His lips against you,

⁶That He would show you the secrets of wisdom!

For they would double your prudence.

Know therefore that God exacts from you

Less than your iniquity deserves.

⁷“Can you search out the deep things of God?

Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?

⁸They are higher than heaven—what can you do?

Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

⁹Their measure is longer than the earth

And broader than the sea.

¹⁰“If He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment,

Then who can hinder Him?

¹¹For He knows deceitful men;

He sees wickedness also.

Will He not then consider it?

¹²For an empty-headed man will be wise,

When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.

¹³“If you would prepare your heart,

And stretch out your hands toward Him;

¹⁴If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away,

And would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;

¹⁵Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;

Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear;

¹⁶Because you would forget your misery,

And remember it as waters that have passed away,

¹⁷And your life would be brighter than noonday.

Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.

¹⁸And you would be secure, because there is hope;

Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety.

¹⁹You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;

Yes, many would court your favor.

²⁰But the eyes of the wicked will fail,

And they shall not escape,

And their hope—loss of life!”

Preamble: Unlike the previous two men who spoke before him; Zophar who is believed to be youngest, (because he speaks lasts); is clearly the most zealous of the three friends.

Commentary

Vs. 1-2 ¹Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

²“Should not the multitude of words be answered?

And should a man full of talk be vindicated?

³Should your empty talk make men hold their peace?

And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?

Zophar from the get go holds back nothing but comes at Job with both guns blazing, saying that Job’s words demand a rebuke, that such speech cannot be vindicated, (God will later though), reducing Job’s at times very moving words to being nothing more then empty talk, talk which must be rebuked, for in Zophar eyes Job has  not only challenged their “theology”, but he has by his reasonings even mocked it and them. Therefore in Zophar’s eyes Job must now be most sternly rebuked. Now Job has said some things about God that need to be rebuked, (and they will be later), but Zophar’s zeal here is so misinformed, misapplied and cruel it takes away any possible good that could come through him to Job.

Vs. 4-6 ⁴For you have said,

‘My doctrine is pure,

And I am clean in your eyes.’

⁵But oh, that God would speak,

And open His lips against you,

⁶That He would show you the secrets of wisdom!

For they would double your prudence.

Know therefore that God exacts from you

Less than your iniquity deserves.

Zophar begins his case against Job, accusing Job of elevating his wisdom and reasonings above theirs, of claiming his doctrine to be pure and his life to be clean. Now as to the first that is debatable, as to the second Job was once regarded by them as a just and blameless man before these things happened to him. But now Zophar and his friends only deny him that he was ever even righteous. How quickly then men forget all that you once were when you fall into trouble, trouble that is not even of his own making. And so because Job has questioned some of their long held ideas, Zophar now wishes that God would speak and open His lips against him and show Job the secrets of wisdom; basically, Zophar believes that if God did  He would side with them; (something that He does not do in the end); for then Zophar believes that God’s rebuke of Job would double his prudence, basically Zophar feels then Job would be more careful with his words and not challenge any of theirs. Zophar then immediately reverts back to his wrath and tells Job that God exacts from him less than his iniquity deserves. Which is an incredibly cold and heartless statement to make to make to him given all of Job's looses. Therefore Zophar’s unrelenting zealous words against Job (an upright and blameless man) only say much about him, (and those like him), not Job.

Vs. 7-12 ⁷“Can you search out the deep things of God?

Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?

⁸They are higher than heaven—what can you do?

Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

⁹Their measure is longer than the earth

And broader than the sea.

¹⁰“If He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment,

Then who can hinder Him?

¹¹For He knows deceitful men;

He sees wickedness also.

Will He not then consider it?

¹²For an empty-headed man will be wise,

When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.

Zophar now questions Job's understanding and picks up on some themes of the themes of God’s Sovereignty that Job in searching for answers previously expounded upon; saying to Job that the deep things of God he cannot search out, same with the limits of the Almighty, saying that they are higher than the heavens and deeper than Sheol, (the place of the dead), thus God’s Wisdom is infinitely far out of the reaches of man, for its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. Thus, Job has no grounds for questioning God, much less of complaining to Him about what is happening to him (vs. 7-9). Zophar then gives his justification for this in verses ten and eleven by picking up on Job’s previous themes of God’s imperceivably by us as well as His Absolute Sovereignty in Judgment (Job 9:11-13), in his condemning Job, saying:

“If He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment,

Then who can hinder Him?

¹¹For He knows deceitful men;

He sees wickedness also.

Will He not then consider it?

Thus, Zophar only sees Job’s troubles as God’s direct judgment on him, that a mediator wouldn’t help him, (as Job previously pleaded for) because Zophar believes that God has now rendered His verdict against Job as being only a deceitful and wicked man. Therefore, in a mocking and scathing insult of Job, Zophar now says before their friends that “an empty-headed man will be wise, when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.” ^{Vs. 12} One can only imagine how infuriating such words must have made Job feel; and these only coming from a self-deceived, self righteous arrogant youth. Nonetheless even then Job holds his peace, and keeps to the decorum of granting each person their say.

Vs. 13-20 ¹³“If you would prepare your heart,

And stretch out your hands toward Him;

¹⁴If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away,

And would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;

¹⁵Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;

Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear;

¹⁶Because you would forget your misery,

And remember it as waters that have passed away,

¹⁷And your life would be brighter than noonday.

Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.

¹⁸And you would be secure, because there is hope;

Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety.

¹⁹You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;

Yes, many would court your favor.

²⁰But the eyes of the wicked will fail,

And they shall not escape,

And their hope—loss of life!”

Zophar having judged Job as living as a wicked man; like Eliphaz and Bildad before him; now calls upon Job to repent. Telling Job to prepare his heart (that is get rid of all of his “foolish” questions to God and stretch out his hands towards Him, putting iniquity far away from himself, and not let wickedness dwell anymore in his tents; even implying that Job and children’s lives were wicked (thus their demise); then says Zophar, Job could lift his face without spot (meaning Job would be healed of his painful boils), yes says Zophar, Job would be steadfast in his faith again, and he would be able to live without any fear (vs. 15); for then says Zophar Job would forget all his misery and remember it as waters that have passed away (vs. 16). Zophar continues telling Job that his life would be brighter than the noonday, that darkness would never overtake him (vs. 17), that he would be secure, that then Job could take his rest in safety (vs. 18); remember Job had previously complained that changes and war are ever with him (Job 10:17); yes Zophar promises Job that then he could lie down in peace and safety and that many would court his favor (vs. 19). Now all of the things Zophar promises Job here have a basis in truth, but his use of them is not to declare the truth to Job, but only to get Job to align himself with their false and wicked judgment of him, something the righteous Job will not do. Zophar in concluding though will only turn back from his relatively positive speech to a dark condemnation and warning to Job if he doesn’t, saying: “But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And they shall not escape, And their hope—loss of life!” ^{Vs. 20} Zophar than in concluding his discourse to Job now sinks so low as to even seize upon Jobs previous desire to die rather than carry on in his tormented state as another justification for their finding Job guilty and thus condemning him as under the judgment of God.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.