1 | Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, |
2 | Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified? |
3 | Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? |
4 | For thou hast said, My doctrine [is] pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. |
5 | But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; |
6 | And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that [they are] double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee [less] than thine iniquity [deserveth]. |
7 | Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? |
8 | [It is] as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? |
9 | The measure thereof [is] longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. |
10 | If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? |
11 | For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider [it]? |
12 | For vain man would be wise, though man be born [like] a wild ass's colt. |
13 | If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; |
14 | If iniquity [be] in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. |
15 | For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: |
16 | Because thou shalt forget [thy] misery, [and] remember [it] as waters [that] pass away: |
17 | And [thine] age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. |
18 | And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig [about thee, and] thou shalt take thy rest in safety. |
19 | Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make [thee] afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee. |
20 | But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope [shall be as] the giving up of the ghost. |