1 Then Zophar{tsofar: Job's friend} the Naamathite{na'amati: from Naamath} answered and said:
2 Will a multitude{many words; harov: sheer quantity} of words not be answered, and will a man of lips{lips; sefatayim: talkativeness} be justified?
3 Will your empty boasts {baddekha: boastful talk} make men keep silent, and will you mock with no one to shame {makhlim: public shamer} you?
4 For you have said, “My doctrine{lekach: received teaching} is pure, and I have been clean in Your{eloah, Just Judge} eyes.”
5 But oh {mi-yitten: fervent wish}, that God {eloah: Job-Confronting Judge} would speak and open His lips to you.
6 And He may declare to you the mysteries {taalumot: hidden truths} of wisdom, for sound wisdom is double; and know that God {Eloah, Sin-Forbearing Judge} is requiring from you less than your iniquity deserves.
7 Will you find the searching out of God {Eloah, Unsearchable One}? Or will you find the Almighty {Shaddai, Unreachable Perfection} to the limit?
8 It is higher than the heavens{shamayim: cosmic heights}—what can you do? It is deeper than Sheol{sheol: realm of dead}—what can you know?
9 Its measure {middah: defined extent} is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea {yam: boundless waters}.
10 If He passes on, and He confines {yasgir: shuts in}, and He convenes {yaqhil: gathers assembly}, who can turn Him back?
11 For He {Elohim, All-Seeing Judge} knows men of falsehood {metei-shav: empty pretenders}, He sees iniquity, and does He not consider?
12 An empty man {navuv: hollow within} would gain understanding {yillavev: acquire sense} when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.
13 If you have prepared your heart {libbekha: inner resolve} and spread out your palms to Him {Eloah, Hearer Of Prayer}.
14 If iniquity is in your hand {yad: personal control}, put it far away, and do not let unrighteousness dwell in your tents {ohel: household sphere}.
15 For then you will lift up your face {fanekha: restored confidence} without blemish {mum: moral defect}, and you will be firmly set, and you will not fear.
16 For you will forget trouble{amal: painful toil}; you will remember it as waters that have passed{avru: gone on}.
17 And your lifetime{khaled: mortal span} will arise brighter than noon{mitsahorayim: peak daylight}; darkness will be like the morning.
18 And you will trust, because there is hope{tikvah: sure expectation}; you will look around{chafarta: look about} for security, and you will lie down.
19 And you will lie down{ravatzta: rest secure}, and there will be no one to make you afraid; and many will seek your favor{panekha: your presence}.
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail {tikhleinah: grow dim}, and escape has perished from them; and their hope is a gasp {mappakh: final breath} of life.