Iyov 11

1 1 Then answered Tzophar the Na’amati, and said,

2 Should not the multitude of dvarim be answered? And should an ish full of talk yitzdak (be justified)?

3 Should thy vain talk silence men, so that thou mockest, v’ein machlim (without anyone putting thee to shame)?

4 For thou hast said, My lekach (doctrine, teaching, belief) is pure, and I am clean in Thine eyes.

5 But oh that Eloah would speak, and open His lips against thee,

6 And that He would show thee the secrets of chochmah, that tushiyyah (true wisdom) has two sides! Have da’as therefore that Eloah forgetteth much of thy avon.

7 Canst thou search out the cheker Eloah (depths of G-d)? Canst thou probe to the tachlis Shaddai (the end, completeness of Almighty)?

8 It is like the heights of Shomayim; what canst thou do? Deeper than Sheol; of what canst thou have da’as?

9 The measure thereof is longer than ha’aretz, and broader than the yam (sea).

10 When Eloah passes by and arrests and convenes for judgment, who then can constrain Him?

11 For He has da’as of deceitful men; He seeth wickedness also; will He not then take note of it?

12 But before a witless ish can become wise, a colt of a pereh (wild donkey) would be born an adam!

13 If thou direct thine lev, and stretch out thine hands to Him,

14 If iniquity be in thine yad, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy ohalim.

15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without mum; yea, thou shalt be firm, and shalt not fear,

16 Because thou shalt forget thy amal (grief), and remember it as waters that flow by,

17 And thine cheled (duration of life) shall be brighter than the tzohorayim (noonday); thou shalt shine forth; thou shalt be as the boker.

18 And thou shalt be secure, because now there is tikveh; yea, thou shalt search, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.

19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, rabbim (many) shall court thy favor.

20 But the eyes of the resha’im faileth, and they shall not escape, and their tikveh shall be as the last gasp of the nefesh.

Iyov 11 Commentary

Chapter 11

Zophar reproves Job. (1-6) God's perfections and almighty power. (7-12) Zophar assures Job of blessings if he repented. (13-20)

Verses 1-6 Zophar attacked Job with great vehemence. He represented him as a man that loved to hear himself speak, though he could say nothing to the purpose, and as a man that maintained falsehoods. He desired God would show Job that less punishment was exacted than he deserved. We are ready, with much assurance, to call God to act in our quarrels, and to think that if he would but speak, he would take our part. We ought to leave all disputes to the judgment of God, which we are sure is according to truth; but those are not always right who are most forward to appeal to the Divine judgment.

Verses 7-12 Zophar speaks well concerning God and his greatness and glory, concerning man and his vanity and folly. See here what man is; and let him be humbled. God sees this concerning vain man, that he would be wise, would be thought so, though he is born like a wild ass's colt, so unteachable and untameable. Man is a vain creature; empty, so the word is. Yet he is a proud creature, and self-conceited. He would be wise, would be thought so, though he will not submit to the laws of wisdom. He would be wise, he reaches after forbidden wisdom, and, like his first parents, aiming to be wise above what is written, loses the tree of life for the tree of knowledge. Is such a creature as this fit to contend with God?

Verses 13-20 Zophar exhorts Job to repentance, and gives him encouragement, yet mixed with hard thoughts of him. He thought that worldly prosperity was always the lot of the righteous, and that Job was to be deemed a hypocrite unless his prosperity was restored. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; that is, thou mayst come boldly to the throne of grace, and not with the terror and amazement expressed in ch. 9:34 . If we are looked upon in the face of the Anointed, our faces that were cast down may be lifted up; though polluted, being now washed with the blood of Christ, they may be lifted up without spot. We may draw near in full assurance of faith, when we are sprinkled from an evil conscience, ( Hebrews 10:22 ) .

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 11

In this chapter Zophar the Naamathite, Job's third friend, attacks him, and the with great acrimony and severity, and with much indecency; he charges him not only with loquacity, and vain babbling, but with lying, and with scoffing at God, and good men, Job 11:1-3; which he attempts to support by some things Job had said, misrepresented by him, Job 11:4; and wishes that God would take him in hand, and convince him of the wisdom of the divine proceedings with him, and of his lenity and mercy to him, Job 11:5,6; and then discourses of the unsearchableness of God in his counsels, and conduct; of his sovereignty, and of his power, and of the vanity and folly of men, Job 11:7-19; and as his friends before him, having insinuated that Job was guilty of some heinous sin, or sins, and especially of hypocrisy, advises him to repentance and reformation, and then it would be well with him; and he should enjoy much comfort, peace, and safety, even to old age, Job 11:13-19; and concludes it should go ill with the wicked man and the hypocrite, such as he suggests Job was, Job 11:20.