Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
Parallel translations
- WEB “Shouldn’t the multitude of words be answered? Should a man full of talk be justified?
- BSB “Should this stream of words go unanswered and such a speaker be vindicated?
- NKJV “Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be vindicated?
- NASB “Shall a multitude of words go unanswered, And a talkative man be acquitted?
- NLT “Shouldn’t someone answer this torrent of words? Is a person proved innocent just by a lot of talking?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Zophar asks whether Job's flood of words should go unanswered or a talkative man be deemed right. He accuses Job of mere empty speech.
Overview
Zophar opens by dismissing Job's lengthy laments as babble that must be rebutted. His sarcasm reveals impatience rather than understanding of Job's grief. The episode warns against measuring a sufferer's case by the volume of complaint, and reminds us that God Himself, not glib accusers, will vindicate the upright (Job 42:7-8; Proverbs 18:13).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Jas 1:19Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
- Prov 10:19In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
- Job 18:2How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? mark, and afterwards we will speak.
- Job 8:2How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?
- Acts 17:18Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
- Job 16:3Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?
- Ps 140:11Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 11:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.