Job 11

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Zophar of Naamath spoke next. He said:	1 But Zophar the Naamathite, responding, said:
2 Is babbling to go without an answer? Is wordiness a proof of uprightness?	2 Will he who speaks much, not also listen? Or will a talkative man be justified?
3 Do you think your talking strikes people dumb, will you jeer with no one to refute you?	3 Will men be silent only for you? And when you have mocked others, will no one refute you?
4 These were your words, 'My conduct is pure, in your eyes I am free of blame!'	4 For you said: “My word is pure, and I am clean in your sight.”
5 Wil no one let God speak, open his lips and give you answer,	5 Yet I wish that God would speak with you, and would open his lips to you,
6 show you the secrets of wisdom which put all cleverness to shame? Then you would realise that Godis cal ing you to account for your sin.	6 so that he might reveal to you the secrets of wisdom, and how intricate his law is, and that you would understand how much less he requires of you than your iniquity deserves.
7 Can you claim to fathom the depth of God, can you reach the limit of Shaddai?	7 By chance, will you comprehend the footsteps of God and reach all the way to the perfection of the Almighty?
8 It is higher than the heavens: what can you do? It is deeper than Sheol: what can you know?	8 He is higher than heaven, and what will you do? He is deeper than hell, but how will you know?
9 It would be longer to measure than the earth and broader than the sea.	9 His measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.
10 If he intervenes to close or convoke the assembly, who is to prevent him?	10 If he overturns all things, or packs them together, who will contradict him?
11 He knows how deceptive human beings are, and he sees their misdeeds too, and marks them wel .	11 For he knows the vanity of men, and when he sees iniquity, does he not evaluate it?
12 Hence empty-headed people would do wel to study sense and people who behave like wild donkeysto let themselves be tamed.	12 A vain man is lifted up in arrogance, and he thinks that he is born free like a wild ass’s colt.
13 Come, reconsider your attitude, stretch out your hands towards him!	13 But you have fortified your heart and extended your hands to him.
14 If you repudiate the sin which you have doubtless committed and do not al ow wickedness to live onin your tents,	14 If you would send away from you the iniquity that is in your hand, and not let injustice remain in your tabernacle,
15 you wil be able to raise an unsullied face, unwavering and free from fear,	15 then you would be able to lift up your face without blemish, and you would be steadfast and unafraid.
16 for you wil forget about your misery, thinking of it only as a flood that passed long ago.	16 Misery, likewise, you would forget, or would remember only like waters that have passed by.
17 Then begins an existence more radiant than noon, and the very darkness wil be bright as morning.	17 And brightness, like that of midday, will rise upon you until evening, and when you would think yourself consumed, you will rise up like the morning star.
18 Confident because there is hope; after your troubles, you wil sleep secure.	18 And, when hope has been set before you, you will have faith, and, when buried, you will sleep secure.
19 When you lie down to rest, no one will trouble you, and many wil seek your favour.	19 You will rest, and there will be nothing to make you afraid, and many will make requests before your face.
20 But as for the wicked, their eyes are weary, there is no refuge for them; their only hope is to breathetheir last.	20 But the eyes of the impious will fade away, and the path to escape will perish before them, for the abomination of the soul is their hope.