Job 11:13-20

Job 11:13-20

[13] If thou prepare  thine heart,  and stretch  out thine hands  [14] If iniquity  be in thine hand,  put it far away,  and let not wickedness  dwell  in thy tabernacles.  [15] For then shalt thou lift up  thy face  without spot;  yea, thou shalt be stedfast,  and shalt not fear:  [16] Because thou shalt forget  thy misery,  and remember  it as waters  that pass away:  [17] And thine age  shall be clearer  than the noonday;  thou shalt shine forth,  thou shalt be as the morning.  [18] And thou shalt be secure,  because there is  hope;  yea, thou shalt dig  about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest  in safety.  [19] Also thou shalt lie down,  and none shall make thee afraid;  yea, many  shall make suit  unto thee.  [20] 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. 

What does Job 11:13-20 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Three steps would bring Job back to where he should be, said Zophar: repentance ( Job 11:13), prayer ( Job 11:13), and reformation ( Job 11:14). He also painted the fruits of conversion for Job. These benefits were a clear conscience, faithfulness, and confidence ( Job 11:15); forgetfulness of his troubles ( Job 11:16); joy ( Job 11:17); hope and rest ( Job 11:18); and peace, popularity, and leadership ( Job 11:19). Like Bildad, Zophar ended his first speech with a fire-breathing warning ( Job 11:20; cf. Job 8:22).
"If Zophar was rough of manner, his desire and hope for Job may be observed, for his description of the prosperity which will come if he but set his heart right is longer and more beautiful than that of either Eliphaz or Bibdad." [1]
Whereas Eliphaz"s authority was personal experience, and Bildad"s was tradition, Zophar"s seems to have been intuition (cf. Job 20:1-5). It appears that Zophar held to what he believed about divine retribution simply because it seemed right to him. He offered no other reason for adopting this view than that it was self-evident, to him at least. His speech was more emotional than any given so far.
"The child who defined "sympathy" as "your pain in my heart" knew more about giving comfort than did these three." [2]