Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Job 11:6 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 6. 6And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Job 11:6 closes the thought unit with the words “And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is!….” Zophar claims without evidence that Job deserves worse punishment than he has received.
Zophar answers volume with contempt
This verse is one part of that explanation in Job 11:1–11:6. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Job 11:1–11:6
Read Job 11:6 with 11:1–11:6. Read alone, “And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is!…” could lose its speaker, the question or claim it develops, and the unit's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Zophar calls Job's many words empty, rejects his claim to purity, and wishes God would expose wisdom so Job would know he deserves worse.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Zophar answers Job's legal protest by claiming he deserves worse, an accusation the narrator never supplies and the final divine verdict does not endorse. Within that relationship, Job 11:6 closes the thought unit through “And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is!….”
Read Job 11:1–6 together
Why these verses belong together: Job 11:1–11:6 follows the pinned KJV paragraphing and holds together one sustained speech movement: “Zophar Accuses Job and Claims God Has Underpunished Him.” The next unit begins with a new stanza, question sequence, scene, speaker response, or rhetorical turn.
Verse 1. 1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
Verse 2. 2 Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
Verse 3. 3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
Verse 4. 4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.
Verse 5. 5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;
Verse 6. 6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
Follow the Context
- Identify Zophar's stated claim in Job 11:1–11:6.
- Zophar calls Job's many words empty, rejects his claim to purity, and wishes God would expose wisdom so Job would know he deserves worse.
- Keep this interpretive control visible: Zophar's assertion is directly challenged by the prologue and final verdict; it must never be used to speculate that a sufferer hides worse sins.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Job 11:6 does not permit “And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is!…” to be detached from its named speaker and complete thought unit. Job 11:6 does not establish that Job, or a later sufferer, has been punished less than hidden guilt deserves.
What Remains True
Zophar's claim that Job deserves worse is his accusation, not information supplied by God or the narrator. Job 11:6 keeps that conclusion accountable to the line “And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is!….”
How It Can Shape Life
- Reject any attempt to intensify shame by speculating about undisclosed sin or deserved pain. Keep the selected wording “And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is!…” and Job 11:1–11:6's complete movement visible while acting.
Teach It Back
Explain why Job 11:6 closes the thought unit. Paraphrase “And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is!…,” identify Zophar, use 11:1–11:6, state one material uncertainty when present, and reject one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Job 11:1–11:6 — Zophar Accuses Job and Claims God Has Underpunished HimSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Job 11:1–11:6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Job
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Job.xml, OSIS 11:1–11:6
Open the fixed Hebrew Job file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Job
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Job's difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, textual issues, speech boundaries, and alternatives in Job 11:1–11:6.
Exact location: Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 11:1–11:6
Open the official NET Job PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Job course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Daniel J. Simundson and Kathryn Schifferdecker
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Book-level and passage-level literary, historical, theological, and pastoral synthesis with speaker distinctions and visible uncertainty.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Job course, Outline and passage studies: lament and first dialogue cycle; applied to Job 11:1–11:6
Open the Enter the Bible Job course ↗peer reviewed open access literary and theological article
A Matter of Justice: The Openness of the Book of Job
Hans Ausloos
Old Testament Essays 36.1, 2023
Supports: Polyphony, retribution critique, justice, Job's response, divine verdict, and the book's interpretive openness.
Exact location: Ausloos, 'A Matter of Justice,' OTE 36.1 (2023), pp. 151-165, poetic dialogue, protest, retribution, and polyphony; applied to Job 11:1–11:6
Open Ausloos on Job and justice ↗