English Standard Version
Job 11:2
2"Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and a man full of talk be judged right?
Job 11:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
- New International Version (NIV)“Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be vindicated?
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Shouldn’t someone answer this torrent of words? Is a person proved innocent just by a lot of talking?
Context of Job 11:2
1Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: "Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and a man full of talk be judged right? 3Should your babble silence men, and when you mock, shall no one shame you? 4For you say, 'My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God's eyes.'
Read all of Job 11Job 11:2 word by word
הֲרֹ֣ב דְּ֭בָרִים לֹ֣א יֵעָנֶ֑ה וְאִם־אִ֖ישׁ שְׂפָתַ֣יִם יִצְדָּֽק׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 11:2
- Job 16:3Shall windy words have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer?
- Job 18:2"How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and then we will speak.
- Psalms 140:11Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
- Proverbs 10:19When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
- Acts 17:18Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, "What does this babbler wish to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities"—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
- James 1:19Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
Commentaries on Job 11:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Should not the multitude of words be answered? - Some translate, "To multiply words profiteth nothing." And should a man full of talk be justified - שפתים איש ish sephathayim, "a man of lips," a proper appellation for a great talker: he is "a man of lips," i.e., his lips are the only active parts of his system.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Should not the multitude of words be answered? - As if all that Job had said had been mere words; or as if he was remarkable for mere garrulity. And should a man full of talk be justified - Margin, as in Hebrew “of lips.” The phrase is evidently a Hebraism, to denote a great talker - a man of mere lips, or empty sound. Zophar asks whether such a man could be justified or vindicated. It will be recollected that taciturnity was with the Orientals a much…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3This stream of words: Those who are foolish and those who sin often talk too much, but Job was innocent (Proverbs 10:8, 14; Proverbs 10:19). Will you scoff without rebuke?: Zophar thought Job's comments were full of sin because he was making fun of God's justice (Job 10:2–7, 13–15).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-20FIRST SERIES. 2. Zophar assails Job for his empty words, and indirectly, the two friends, for their weak reply. Taciturnity is highly prized among Orientals (Pr 10:8, 19).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 11:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries