Job 11

This chapter concludes the first cycle of dialogue between Job and his friends in the Book of Job. After Eliphaz (chapters 4–5) and Bildad (chapter 8), the third friend, Zophar, now speaks. He responds to the protest Job poured out before God in Job 10, and Job replies in turn beginning in Job 12.

Outline

• Verses 1–6: Zophar rebukes Job as a man full of talk, boasting, and mockery. He sums up Job's claim as "My doctrine is pure." He then wishes that God Himself would speak and reveal the secrets of wisdom, and he asserts that God's punishment is lighter than Job's sin deserves.
• Verses 7–12: Zophar declares that the deep things of God are higher than heaven, deeper than Sheol, and broader than the earth and the sea, so that no one can fathom them. God knows vain men and sees all wickedness.
• Verses 13–19: He urges Job to set his heart aright and to put away the iniquity in his hand. If Job does so, Zophar promises, he will forget his misery, his life will be brighter than noonday, and he will rest securely in hope.
• Verse 20: He warns that the wicked will find no escape and that their hope will perish.

Key Verses

• Job 11:7: "Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" This verse is frequently cited as an acknowledgment that human beings cannot fully know God.
• Job 11:6: "Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth." Here Zophar's view of suffering as the consequence of sin appears in its sharpest form.
• Job 11:14: "If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away." This summarizes the call to repentance that the friends repeatedly press upon Job.

People and Places

• Zophar: One of the three friends who came to comfort Job. He speaks in this chapter and in chapter 20.
• Naamah: Zophar's place of origin. Its exact location is unknown.
• Job: He does not speak in this chapter but listens to Zophar.
• Sheol: Used in verse 8 as a point of comparison for the depth of God.

Points to Consider

• Zophar's speech contains ideas consistent with other parts of Scripture, such as the majesty of God and the need for repentance. However, in Job 42:7–10 God declares that the friends did not speak what was right. Many interpreters therefore conclude that Zophar forced general truths into the framework of "suffering is punishment for sin" and misapplied them to Job. Some commentators note that this context should be kept in mind when the friends' words are quoted directly as a basis for doctrine.
• The meaning of the Hebrew text in verses 6 and 12 is uncertain, and translations render these verses differently.
• The theme of verses 7–9 is often read alongside Romans 11:33–36, where Paul praises the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God.