Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should a man full of talk be justified?
Should thy boastings make men hold their peace?
And when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
For thou sayest, My doctrine is pure,
And I am clean in thine eyes.
But oh that God would speak,
And open his lips against thee,
And that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom!
For he is manifold in understanding.
Know therefore that God {Or, remitteth (Hebrew: causeth to be forgotten) unto thee of thine iniquity}exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
{Or, Canst thou find out the deep things of God?}Canst thou by searching find out God?
Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
{Hebrew: The heights of heaven.}It is high as heaven; what canst thou do?
Deeper than Sheol; what canst thou know?
The measure thereof is longer than the earth,
And broader than the sea.
If he pass through, and shut up,
And {Hebrew: call an assembly.}call unto judgment, then who can hinder him?
For he knoweth false men:
He seeth iniquity also, {Or, and him that considereth not}even though he consider it not.
{Or, But an empty man will get understanding, when a wild ass's colt is born a man}But vain man is void of understanding,
Yea, man is born as a wild ass's colt.
If thou set thy heart aright,
And stretch out thy hands toward him;
If iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away,
And let not unrighteousness dwell in thy tents.
Surely then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot;
Yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
For thou shalt forget thy misery;
Thou shalt remember it as waters that are passed away,
And thy life shall {Or, rise above}be clearer than the noonday;
Though there be darkness, it shall be as the morning.
And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope;
Yea, thou shalt search about thee, and shalt take thy rest in safety.
Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid;
Yea, many shall make suit unto thee.
But the eyes of the wicked shall fail,
And {Hebrew: refuge is perished from them.}they shall have no way to flee;
And their hope shall be the giving up of the ghost.
Querverweise zu Hiob 11,3 Hiob 11,3
But ye are forgers of lies;Ye are all physicians of no value.
I am as one that is a laughing-stock to his neighbor,I who called upon God, and he answered:The just, the perfect man is a laughing-stock.
Fill their faces with confusion,That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah.
Should a wise man make answer with {Hebrew: knowledge of wind.}vain knowledge,And fill himself with the east wind?
Is it good that he should search you out?Or as one {Or, mocketh}deceiveth a man, will ye {Or, mock}deceive him?
And if any man obeyeth not our word by this epistle, note that man, that ye have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed.
Should he reason with unprofitable talk,Or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?
Surely there are {Hebrew: mockery.}mockers with me,And mine eye dwelleth upon their provocation.
sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of us.
And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar,And make my speech nothing worth?
What man is like Job,Who drinketh up scoffing like water,
{Or, Among}Like the profane mockers in feasts,They gnashed upon me with their teeth.
I sat not in the assembly of them that make merry, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation.
that they said to you, In the last time there shall be mockers, walking after {Greek: their own lusts of ungodlinesses.}their own ungodly lusts.