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Should thy lies make men hold their peace? - This is a very severe reproof, and not justified by the occasion.
And when thou mockest - As thou despisest others, shall no man put thee to scorn? Zophar could never think that the solemn and awful manner in which Job spoke could be called bubbling, as some would translate the term לעג laag . He might consider Job's speech as sarcastic and severe, but he could not consider it as nonsense.
Should thy lies - Margin, “devices.” Rosenmuller renders this, “should men bear thy boastings with silence?” Dr. Good, “before thee would man-kind keep silence?” Vulgate, “tibi soli tacebunt homines?” “Shall men be silent before thee alone? The Septuagint tenders the whole passage, “he who speaketh much should also hear in turn; else the fine speaker ( εὔλαλος eulalos ) thinketh himself just. - Blessed be the short-lived offspring of woman. Be not profuse of words, for there is no one that judges against thee, and do not say that I am pure in works and blameless before him?” How this was made out of the Hebrew, or what is its exact sense, I am unable to say. There can be no doubt, I think, that our present translation is altogether too harsh, and that Zophar by no means designs to charge Job with uttering lies. The Hebrew word commonly used for lies, is wholly different from that which is used here. The word here (בד bad ) denotes properly “separation;” then a part; and in various combinations as a preposition, “alone separate.” “besides.” Then the noun means empty talk, vain boasting; and then it may denote lies or falsehood. The leading idea is that of separation or of remoteness from anything, as from prudence, wisdom, propriety, or truth. It is a general term, like our word “bad,” which I presume has been derived from this Hebrew word (בד bad ), or from the Arabic “bad.” In the plural (בדים badı̂ym ) it is rendered “liars” in Isaiah 44:25; Jeremiah 50:36; “lies” in Job 11:3; Isaiah 16:6; Jeremiah 48:30; and “parts” in Job 41:12. It is also often rendered “staves,” Exodus 27:6; Exodus 25:14-15, Exodus 25:28, et sap, at. That it may mean “lies” here I admit, but it may also mean talk that is aside from propriety, and may refer here to a kind of discourse that was destitute of propriety, empty, vain talk.
And when thou mockest - That-is, “shalt thou be permitted to use the language of reproach and of complaint, and no one attempt to make thee sensible of its impropriety?” The complaints and arguments of Job he represented as in fact mocking God.
Shall no man make thee ashamed? - Shall no one show thee the impropriety of it, and bring thy mind to a sense of shame for what it has done? This was what Zophar now proposed to do.