Job 11

1 Then Sophar the Minaean answered and said,

2 He that speaks much, should also hear on the other side: or does the fluent speaker think himself to be righteous? blessed the short lived offspring of woman.

3 Be not a speaker of many words; for is there none to answer thee?

4 For say not, I am pure in my works, and blameless before him.

5 But oh that the Lord would speak to thee, and open his lips to thee!

6 Then shall he declare to thee the power of wisdom; for it shall be double of that which is with thee: and then shalt thou know, that a just recompence of thy sins has come to thee from the Lord.

7 Wilt thou find out the traces of the Lord? or hast thou come to the end which the Almighty has made?

8 Heaven high; and what wilt thou do? and there are deeper things than those in hell; what dost thou know?

9 Or longer than the measure of the earth, or the breadth of the sea.

10 And if he should overthrow all things, who will say to him, What hast thou done?

11 For he knows the works of transgressors; and when he sees wickedness, he will not overlook .

12 But man vainly buoys himself up with words; and a mortal born of woman like an ass in the desert.

13 For if thou hast made thine heart pure, and liftest up hands towards him;

14 if there is any iniquity in thy hands, put if far from thee, and let not unrighteousness lodge in thy habitation.

15 For thus shall thy countenance shine again, as pure water; and thou shalt divest thyself of uncleanness, and shalt not fear.

16 And thou shalt forget trouble, as a wave that has passed by; and thou shalt not be scared.

17 And thy prayer as the morning star, and life shall arise to thee from the noonday.

18 And thou shalt be confident, because thou hast hope; and peace shall dawn to thee from out of anxiety and care.

19 For thou shalt be at ease, and there shall be no one to fight against thee; and many shall charge, and make supplication to thee.

20 But safety shall fail them; for their hope is destruction, and the eyes of the ungodly shall waste away.

Job 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.