Job 11:3

Should thy lies make men hold their peace?.... By which he means, either lies in common, untruths wilfully told, which are sins of a scandalous nature, which good men will not dare to commit

Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? Should thy lies make men hold their peace? - "lies" - rather, vain boasting [ badiym (H907)] (Isaiah 16:6; Jeremiah 48:30).

Thy lies, i.e. thy false opinions and assertions, both concerning thyself and thy own innocency, and concerning the counsels and ways of God, make men hold their peace; as if thy arguments were unanswerable. When thou mockest, both God, , and us, and our friendly and faithful counsels, ,15,25,26, shall no man make thee ashamed, by discovering thy errors and follies?

Job 11:3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?Ver. 3. Should thy lies make men hold their peace?] Or, thy toys, toilsome toys, hammered in thine own head, hatched in thine own heart, which is deceitful above all things, and so a fit shop to frame lies in; but should we be silent at the hearing of them, and so become guilty of thy sin by a tacit consent? Can any mortal wight hear what thou hast said in behalf of thine own imaginary innocence, Job 6:29-30, and how bold an appeal thou hast made to God as a witness thereof, Job 10:7, and not reply upon thee, and reprove thee? The truth is, had Job been a liar, as Zophar would make of him (even mendaciorum loquacissimum, as Tertullian saith of Tacitus, one that fearing his many words would not carry his cause, had intermixed various untruths, the better to grace the business), he ought not to have been forborne by Zophar or any else that wished well to his soul: but it was far from good Job to be guilty of this foul sin, so hated of God, so like the devil, so inconsistent with religion. Christianus est, non mentietur, he is a Christian, you may be sure he will not lie, was the old argument; he will rather die than lie. David indeed, in a distress, roundly told two or three lies together to Abimelech the high priest, who suspected that he fled as a proscribed person, 1 Samuel 21:2; 1 Samuel 21:8; 1 Samuel 27:10. But that he allowed not this sin in himself it appeareth in that, 1. He had chosen the way of truth, his election was truth, Psalms 119:30. And, 2. He prayed against the contrary evil, "remove from me the way of lying," Psalms 119:29. He was not one of those that took fast hold of deceit, as Jeremiah phraseth it, Job 8:5. Much less was Job; however, Zophar was mistaken in him, as he was much more in his next charge, wherein he maketh him a scoffer of God and good people. And when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?] Job is made a mocker here; yea, a scorner, and derider, as the word signifieth, such as David describeth, Psalms 22:6, and the author to the Hebrews, Hebrews 11:36, where he speaks of cruel mockings, such as the Scripture everywhere (but especially in the Proverbs) brandeth for the worst sort of sinners. See Psalms 1:1, where the Septuagint translate for scorners, pests; as elsewhere incorrigible, Proverbs 21:1; naught, Proverbs 9:12; λοιμοι, ακολαστος, κακος, proud, Proverbs 3:34; workers of iniquity, υπερηφανοιπαρηνομουν, Psalms 119:51. But where did Job mock in Zophar’ s judgment? First, he spoke contemptuously (as he thought) of God, as Job 10:3, "Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress?" &c.

Verse 3. 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.

3. Should thy lies] Or, Shall thy boastings, or, as Reuss, “ton verbiage.” The reference is probably to Job’s assertions of his own innocence, or perhaps the general scope of his speech. The word “men” is as we should say “people”—shall thy boastings put people to silence? and when thou mockest] Or, so that thou mockest, none putting thee to shame. Job’s “mockery” or irreligious, sceptical talk is summed up in Job 11:4. This mockery is called “scorning,” ch. Job 34:6.

Should thy lies - Margin, “devices.” Rosenmuller renders this, “should men bear thy boastings with silence?” Dr.

3. Thy lies — The Hebrew also means babblings, boastings. “To say or to suggest that a man lies, is, with us, enough to kindle the weakest spirit, and is, with many, a murderous affront, while an