(13) В¶ If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; (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.
There is much good counsel in this advice of Zophar; though less applicable to Job than he thought. Job had confessed himself a sinner; but would not allow himself to be an hypocrite: and this was the point of contention. Zophor intimates by his speech, that he thought there was some secret dreadful transaction, which he had been guilty of, known only to the LORD, and Job's own conscience; and therefore urgeth him to make confession, and to put it away. All the rest of his discourse is founded upon the same arguments, as had been pressed upon Job before, namely, that great sins required great punishment; and that Job's calamities were on this account. So that until a reform took place, he could expect no relief: but when that point was accomplished, GOD'S mercy would follow.