1 A nd Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

2 S hould not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man of much talk be justified?

3 S hould thy fictions make men hold their peace? and shouldest thou mock, and no one make ashamed?

4 F or thou sayest, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.

5 B ut oh that +God would speak, and open his lips against thee;

6 A nd that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, how that they are the double of what is realised; and know that +God passeth by of thine iniquity!

7 C anst thou by searching find out +God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?

8 t he heights of heaven; what wilt thou do? deeper than Sheol; what canst thou know?

9 T he measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

10 I f he pass by, and shut up, and call to judgment, who can hinder him?

11 F or he knoweth vain men, and seeth wickedness when doth not consider it;

12 Y et a senseless man will make bold, though man be born the foal of a wild ass.

13 I f thou prepare thy heart and stretch out thy hands toward him,

14 I f thou put far away the iniquity which is in thy hand, and let not wrong dwell in thy tents;

15 S urely then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot, and thou shalt be stedfast and shalt not fear:

16 F or thou shalt forget misery; as waters that are passed away shalt thou remember it;

17 A nd life shall arise brighter than noonday; though thou be enshrouded in darkness, thou shalt be as the morning,

18 A nd thou shalt have confidence, because there shall be hope; and having searched about, thou shalt take rest in safety.

19 Y ea, thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; and many shall seek thy favour.

20 B ut the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and refuge shall vanish from them, and their hope the breathing out of life.