1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should man ful of talke be iustified?
3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am cleane in thine eyes.
5 But, O that God would speake, and open his lippes against thee,
6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisedome, that they are double to that which is: know therefore that God exacteth of thee lesse then thine iniquitie deserueth.
7 Canst thou by searching finde out God? canst thou finde out the Almightie vnto perfection?
8 It is as high as heauen, what canst thou doe? deeper then hell, what canst thou know?
9 The measure therof is longer then the earth, and broader then the sea.
10 If he cut off, and shut vp, or gather together, then who can hinder him?
11 For, he knoweth vaine men: hee seeth wickednesse also, will he not then consider it?
12 For vaine man would be wise; though man be borne like a wilde asses coult.
13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him:
14 If iniquitie be in thine hand, put it farre away, and let not wickednes dwell in thy tabernacles.
15 For then shalt thou lift vp thy face without spot, yea thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not feare:
16 Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that passe away:
17 And thine age shalbe clearer then the noone day; thou shalt shine foorth, thou shalt be as the morning.
18 And thou shalt be secure because there is hope, yea thou shalt digge about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
19 Also thou shalt lye downe, and none shall make thee afraid; yea many shall make suite vnto thee.
20 But the eyes of the wicked shall faile, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giuing vp of the ghost.
Zophar reproves Job. (1-6) God's perfections and almighty power. (7-12) Zophar assures Job of blessings if he repented. (13-20)1-6 Zophar attacked Job with great vehemence. He represented him as a man that loved to hear himself speak, though he could say nothing to the purpose, and as a man that maintained falsehoods. He desired God would show Job that less punishment was exacted than he deserved. We are ready, with much assurance, to call God to act in our quarrels, and to think that if he would but speak, he would take our part. We ought to leave all disputes to the judgment of God, which we are sure is according to truth; but those are not always right who are most forward to appeal to the Divine judgment.
7-12 Zophar speaks well concerning God and his greatness and glory, concerning man and his vanity and folly. See here what man is; and let him be humbled. God sees this concerning vain man, that he would be wise, would be thought so, though he is born like a wild ass's colt, so unteachable and untameable. Man is a vain creature; empty, so the word is. Yet he is a proud creature, and self-conceited. He would be wise, would be thought so, though he will not submit to the laws of wisdom. He would be wise, he reaches after forbidden wisdom, and, like his first parents, aiming to be wise above what is written, loses the tree of life for the tree of knowledge. Is such a creature as this fit to contend with God?
13-20 Zophar exhorts Job to repentance, and gives him encouragement, yet mixed with hard thoughts of him. He thought that worldly prosperity was always the lot of the righteous, and that Job was to be deemed a hypocrite unless his prosperity was restored. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; that is, thou mayst come boldly to the throne of grace, and not with the terror and amazement expressed in ch. #9:34|. If we are looked upon in the face of the Anointed, our faces that were cast down may be lifted up; though polluted, being now washed with the blood of Christ, they may be lifted up without spot. We may draw near in full assurance of faith, when we are sprinkled from an evil conscience, #Heb 10:22|.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.