Zophar

11Job had three friends. They heard about all the trouble that had come to him. Their names were Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Each one came from his own home. They planned together to go and be sad with Job and comfort him.

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.

NoteThese three friends each came from a town far away. Long ago people were often named for the place they came from. To comfort someone means to sit with them and help them feel less sad.

12They looked up while they were still far away. They could hardly tell it was Job. They cried out loud. Each man tore his coat. They threw dust in the air over their heads.

And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

NoteTearing your coat showed everyone that you were very sad. Throwing dust over your head did the same thing. These were the ways people showed big sorrow, the way we might cry at a funeral.

13They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him. They saw that his pain was very great.

So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

NoteSeven days was how long people usually mourned when someone died. Sitting quietly beside a hurting friend was a way of showing love.

1Then Zophar, a man from the town of Naamah, answered Job. He said:

Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,

NoteJob had lost everything and was very sad. Three friends came to sit with him. Zophar is the third friend to speak.

2"You have said so many words. Should nobody answer them? Should a big talker be called right?"

Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?

3"Should your empty talk make everyone else stay quiet? You laugh at us. Should no one correct you?"

Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?

4"You have said, 'What I believe is right. God sees me as clean.'"

For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.

Note"Clean" here does not mean washed. It means not guilty of doing wrong.

5"I wish God himself would speak. I wish he would answer you out loud."

But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;

6"I wish he would show you the secrets of wisdom. Real wisdom has more sides than you see. Then you would know this: God is giving you less punishment than your sin deserves."

And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.

NoteWisdom means knowing what is true and what is right to do.

7"Can you search and find out all about God? Can you fully know the Almighty, the God who can do anything?"

Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?

Note"The Almighty" is a name for God. It means the one who has all power.

8"God's wisdom is higher than the heavens. What can you do about that? It is deeper than the place of the dead. What can you know about it?"

It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?

NoteThe King James says "deeper than hell." The old word here meant the place where dead people go. It did not mean a place of fire.

9"It reaches farther than the whole earth. It is wider than the sea."

The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

10"Suppose God comes and shuts a person up, or calls him to court. Who could stop him?"

If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?

NoteCourt is where people decide if someone has done wrong.

11"God knows when people are not honest. He sees the wrong they do. He surely takes notice of it."

For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?

12"A foolish man wants to be wise. But he can no more become wise than a wild donkey's baby can be born a man."

For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.

NoteA colt is a baby donkey. Wild donkeys ran free and would not obey anyone.

13"But you could turn your heart back to God. You could lift up your hands to him."

If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;

NoteLong ago people held their hands up in the air when they prayed.

14"If you are holding on to wrong, put it far away. Do not let evil live in your tents."

If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.

NoteMost families back then lived in tents made of cloth. "Your tents" means your home and family.

15"Then you could lift up your face and feel no shame. You would stand strong and not be afraid."

For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:

NoteLifting up your face means not hanging your head. People look down when they feel ashamed.

16"You would forget your sadness. You would remember it like water that has flowed away."

Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away:

17"Your life would shine brighter than the sun at noon. Even the dark parts would feel like morning."

And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday: thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.

NoteNoon is the middle of the day. The sun is brightest then.

18"You would feel safe, because there would be hope. You would look around you and lie down in peace."

And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.

19"You would lie down, and nobody would frighten you. Many people would come asking you for help."

Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.

NoteThe King James says "many shall make suit unto thee." That meant people would come and ask you for a favor.

20"But wicked people will look for help and find none. There will be no way for them to escape. The only thing left to hope for is their last breath."

But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.

NoteThe King James says "the giving up of the ghost." That was an old way of saying dying.

1Then Zophar from Naamah spoke. He was one of Job's three friends.

Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,

NoteZophar was one of three friends who came to visit Job. Naamah was the town he came from. This is the second time he speaks to Job.

2"My thoughts push me to answer you. I am upset inside, so I hurry to speak."

Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.

3"I heard you scold me, and it stung. My own understanding makes me answer back."

I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.

NoteThe King James says "the check of my reproach." A reproach is a scolding. Zophar means Job's words stung him.

4"Don't you know how things have always been? Since the first people lived on earth,"

Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,

5"bad people cheer for only a short time. A person who fakes being good is happy for only a moment."

That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

Note"The wicked" means people who choose to do bad things. A "hypocrite" is someone who pretends to be good.

6"A proud man may seem to rise as high as the sky. His head may seem to touch the clouds."

Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;

NoteThe King James word "excellency" here means being puffed up and proud. It does not mean being excellent at something.

7"But he will be gone forever, like waste thrown away. People who knew him will ask, 'Where is he?'"

Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

NoteThe King James says "like his own dung." Dung is animal waste. It was a strong way to say worthless.

8"He will fly away like a dream, and no one will find him. He will vanish like something seen at night."

He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

9"The eyes that once saw him will not see him again. The place where he lived will not see him either."

The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.

10"His children will have to beg poor people for help. He must give back the money he took."

His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.

NoteLong ago, poor people had to beg others for food. Zophar says even this man's children will have to beg.

11"His bones were once full of young, strong life. Now that strength lies down with him in the dirt."

His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.

Note"Lie down in the dust" was a way of saying die and be buried.

12"Doing wrong tasted sweet in his mouth. He hid it under his tongue like candy."

Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;

NotePeople sometimes kept a sweet bite under the tongue. That made the good taste last longer.

13"He could not bear to let it go. He kept it in his mouth."

Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:

14"But in his stomach the food turned sour. Inside him it became like snake poison."

Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.

NoteAn asp is a snake with poison in its bite. People were very afraid of them.

15"He swallowed riches, but he will throw them up again. God will make his stomach give them back."

He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

NoteThis is a word picture. The man did not really eat money. It means he will lose everything he took.

16"He drank the poison of snakes. A snake's sharp bite will kill him."

He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.

NoteA viper is another kind of snake with poison. Its bite could kill a person.

17"He will never enjoy the streams. He will not see rivers of honey and cream."

He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

NoteHoney and cream were rich treats, hard to get. Rivers of them meant having plenty of good things.

18"He must give back everything he worked for. He does not get to enjoy it. The more he gained, the more he must return."

That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.

19"He was cruel to poor people and left them with nothing. He grabbed houses that he did not build."

Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;

NoteLong ago a strong man could take a poor family's house. The poor family often had no one to help them.

20"He always wanted more and was never full. So he cannot keep the things he wanted."

Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.

21"Nothing will be left for him to eat. His good times will not last."

There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

NoteIn the King James, "meat" means any food, not just meat from animals.

22"Even when he has plenty, trouble will come. Great pain will fall on him."

In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

23"Just as he fills his stomach, God will send his anger. It will pour down on him while he eats."

When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

24"He may run away from an iron weapon. But an arrow will go right through him."

He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.

NoteThe King James says "bow of steel." People then did not have steel. It was really bronze, a hard metal.

25"The arrow is pulled out of his back. Its shiny point comes out too. Fear fills him."

It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.

NoteThe gall is a small part deep inside the body. The King James means the arrow went in very deep.

26"Deep darkness is waiting for the treasure he hid. A fire that no one lit will burn him up. It will eat what is left in his tent."

All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

NoteFires were kept burning by blowing on them. "A fire not blown" means a fire no person started.

27"The heavens above will show what he did wrong. The earth will stand up against him."

The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

NoteHere the sky and the ground are pictured like people at a trial. They tell everyone what the man did.

28"All that his house gained will be carried off. His goods will wash away on the day God is angry."

The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

29"This is what God gives a wicked man. This is what God has set aside for him."

This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.

NoteA "portion" was your share of something, like your part of a meal. A "heritage" was what a family passed down to you.

7After the LORD said these things to Job, he spoke to Eliphaz from Teman. He said, "I am angry with you and your two friends. You did not say true things about me, but my servant Job did.

And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.

NoteEliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were Job's three friends. They had come to visit him when he lost everything. They kept telling him his troubles were his own fault.

8So bring seven bulls and seven rams. Go to my servant Job. Burn them on an altar as a gift to me for yourselves. Then my servant Job will pray for you. I will listen to his prayer. I will not punish you for your foolish words, though you did not say true things about me, as my servant Job did.

Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

NoteA burnt offering was a gift given to God. An animal was burned on a stone table called an altar. Seven bulls and seven rams was a very big, costly gift.

9So Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah went and did what the LORD said. And the LORD listened to Job's prayer.

So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job.

NoteTeman, Shuah, and Naamah were the places the three friends came from.