Of Job’s three friends, Zophar appears to have been the most zealous in his attempt to defend God’s honour and condemn Job’s critique of how God was running his universe. His verbal thrusts, no doubt, wounded Job deeply, who responded with great angst. We find in this interaction the familiar pattern in which those at ease offer suffering saints simplistic but unhelpful platitudes. We should pay careful attention lest we fall into the same trap. We will consider the text before us under six major headings:

1. Job Insulted (11:1–12)
2. Job Indicted (11:13–20)
3. Job’s Complaint (12:1–12)
4. Job’s Conundrum (12:13–25)
5. Job’s Contempt (13:1–5)
6. Job’s Confused Confidence (13:6–14:22)