“Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?”
Zophar asserts that should a multitude of words go unanswered and should a man full of talk be justified, criticizing Job's extensive speech as inappropriate. The implied answer is that such a man should not be justified; his verbosity does not constitute wisdom. Zophar's criticism of Job's speech suggests that he views lament itself as a form of rebellion.
Church Fathers on Job 11:2
Should not he that talketh much hear in his turn? and should a man full of words be justified? It is the practice of the impertinent ever to answer by the opposite what is said aright, lest, if they assent to the things asserted, they should seem inferior. And to these the words of the righteous, however small in number they have been heard, are ‘much,’ in that as they cut their evil habits to the quick, they fall heavy upon the hearing, whence that is even wrested to a…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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