Job 11:2
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
American King James Version (AKJV)
Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
American Standard Version (ASV)
Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be justified?
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Are all these words to go unanswered? and is a man seen to be right because he is full of talk?
Webster's Revision
Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
World English Bible
"Shouldn't the multitude of words be answered? Should a man full of talk be justified?
English Revised Version (ERV)
Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
Clarke's Job 11:2 Bible Commentary
Should not the multitude of words be answered? - Some translate, "To multiply words profiteth nothing."
And should a man full of talk be justified - איש שפתים 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.
Barnes's Job 11:2 Bible Commentary
Should 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 greater virtue than with us, and that it was regarded as one of the proofs of wisdom. The wise man with them was he who sat down at the feet of age, and desired to learn; who carefully collected the maxims of former times; who diligently observed the course of events; and who deliberated with care on what others had to say. Thus, Solomon says, "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise;" Proverbs 10:19; so James 1:19, "let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak." It was supposed that a man who said much would say some foolish or improper things, and hence, it was regarded as a proof of prudence to be distinguished for silence. In Oriental countries, and it may be added also, in all countries that we regard as uncivilized, it is unusual and disrespectful to be hasty in offering counsel, to be forward to speak, or to be confident and bold in opinion; see the notes at Job 32:6-7. It was for reasons such as these that Zophar maintained that a man who was full of talk could not be justified in it; that there was presumptive proof that he was not a safe man, or a man who could be vindicated in all that he said.
Wesley's Job 11:2 Bible Commentary
11:2 Answered - Truly, sometimes it should not. Silence is the best confutation of impertinence, and puts the greatest contempt upon it.