New International Version | International Standard Version |
1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: | 1Zophar from Naamath had this to say: |
2"Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? | 2"Shouldn't a multitude of words be answered, or a person who talks too much be vindicated? |
3Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? | 3Will your irrational babble silence people, and when you mock them, will you escape without being shamed? |
4You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.' | 4You've said, 'My teaching is flawless; I'm clean in God's sight.' |
5Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you | 5"But what if God were to speak? What if he were to talk with you, |
6and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin. | 6and disclose his wise secrets? After all, there's so much more to understanding. So be aware that God will exact from you less than your sin deserves." |
7"Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? | 7"Can you search through God's complex things? Can you uncover the limits of the Almighty? |
8They are higher than the heavens above--what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below--what can you know? | 8These things are higher than the heavens, so what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol, so what can you know? |
9Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. | 9They are longer than the earth's circumference, and broader than the ocean. |
10"If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him? | 10"If he bypasses, or imprisons, or convenes a court, who can stop him? |
11Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? | 11For he knows mankind's deceitfulness; when he sees iniquity, won't he himself consider it? |
12But the witless can no more become wise than a wild donkey's colt can be born human. | 12An empty-headed person will gain understanding when a wild donkey is born a human being!" |
13"Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, | 13"Now for you, if you will prepare your heart, spread out your hands to him. |
14if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, | 14If you have any iniquity, throw it far away. Don't let evil live in your residence. |
15then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. | 15Then your confidence will be flawless, and your security will keep you from terror. |
16You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. | 16You'll forget your suffering; you'll remember it like water that has evaporated. |
17Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. | 17Your life will be brighter than noonday. Even its darkness will be like dawn. |
18You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. | 18You'll be secure, because there is hope; you'll see that you're at rest and safe. |
19You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. | 19When you sleep, there'll be nothing to fear; and many will court your favor. |
20But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp." | 20But what the wicked look for will fail; their way of escape will be taken away from them; their only hope is to take their final breath." |
New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
|
|