¹Then Zophar the Naamathite began speaking and said,

²“So many words should be answered, shouldn't they? Or is a person proved right by doing a lot of talking?

³Should all your babbling force people to keep quiet? When you mock, shouldn't someone make you feel ashamed?

⁴You said, ‘What I teach is the pure truth,’ and ‘in God's eyes I am clean.’

⁵If only God would speak up and tell you directly,

⁶because then he would explain to you the secrets of wisdom. True wisdom has many sides to it. God's treatment of you is far better than your guilt deserves.

⁷Can you find out the mysteries of God? Can you discover all the wisdom of the Almighty?[#11:7. Literally, “Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?”]

⁸It is greater than the heavens—what can you do? It is deeper than Sheol—what can you know?[#11:8. Sheol: the underworld, the place of the dead.]

⁹It extends farther than the earth, and wider than the sea.

¹⁰If God comes and imprisons someone, or assembles the court for judgment, who can stop him?

¹¹For God knows who are deceivers—when he sees someone sin, he pays attention to it.

¹²Stupid people will become wise when wild donkeys are born tame![#11:12. Wild donkeys, like horses, are not naturally born tame, so the statement is saying that stupid people becoming wise is very unlikely.]

¹³But if you repent and spread out your hands to pray to him,[#11:13. Literally, “set right your heart.”]

¹⁴if you get rid of your sins and don't let wickedness continue in your life,[#11:14. Literally, “do not let unrighteousness reside in your tents.”]

¹⁵then you would be able to hold your head high in innocence, you will be firm and unafraid.

¹⁶You will forget your misery, remembering it only as water under the bridge.

¹⁷Your life will shine brighter than the noonday sun; even darkness will be like the morning.

¹⁸You will have confidence because there is hope; you will be protected and rest in safety.

¹⁹You will lie down to sleep with no one to frighten you, and many will come asking for your favor.

²⁰But the eyes of the wicked will fail, they will not be able to escape, and their only hope is in death.”