Job 20
20
Zophar
1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2“My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.
3I hear a rebuke that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.
4“Surely you know how it has been from of old,
ever since mankind#20:4 Or Adam was placed on the earth,
5that the mirth of the wicked is brief,
the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.
6Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens
and his head touches the clouds,
7he will perish forever, like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found,
banished like a vision of the night.
9The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.
10His children must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.
11The youthful vigor that fills his bones
will lie with him in the dust.
12“Though evil is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,
13though he cannot bear to let it go
and lets it linger in his mouth,
14yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;
it will become the venom of serpents within him.
15He will spit out the riches he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit them up.
16He will suck the poison of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.
17He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.
19For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute;
he has seized houses he did not build.
20“Surely he will have no respite from his craving;
he cannot save himself by his treasure.
21Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.
22In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;
the full force of misery will come upon him.
23When he has filled his belly,
God will vent his burning anger against him
and rain down his blows on him.
24Though he flees from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.
25He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors will come over him;
26total darkness lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire unfanned will consume him
and devour what is left in his tent.
27The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.
28A flood will carry off his house,
rushing waters#20:28 Or The possessions in his house will be carried off, / washed away on the day of God’s wrath.
29Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.”
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Job 20: NIV
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Job 20
20
Traditional belief
1Zophar from Naamah said:
2Therefore, my troubled thoughts make me turn back—
because of my inner turmoil.
3I hear teaching that insults me,
but I am forced to answer based on my own understanding.#20.3 Heb uncertain
4Do you know this from long ago—
from when humans were placed on earth—
5that the rejoicing of the wicked is short,
the joy of the godless, brief?
6Though their height reaches heaven
and their heads touch the clouds,
7they will perish forever like their dung;
those who saw them will say, “Where are they?”
8They will disappear like a dream,
and none will find them,
carried away like a nighttime vision.
9The eye that saw them will do so no more;
they won’t be seen again at home.
10Their children will repay the poor;
their hands will give back their wealth.
11Vigor filled their bones
and now sleeps with them in the dust.
12Though wickedness is sweet in their mouths,
they hide it under their tongues;
13they like it, won’t let it go;
they hold it in their cheeks.
14Food turns their stomachs,
becoming a cobra’s poison inside.
15They swallow wealth and vomit it;
God dislodges it from their belly.
16They suck cobra’s poison;
a viper’s tongue kills them.
17They won’t experience streams,
rivers of honey, and brooks of cream.
18They won’t receive the reward for their labor;
they won’t enjoy the wealth from their business.
19They crushed and abandoned the poor;
stole a house they didn’t build;
20didn’t know contentment in their belly;
couldn’t escape with their treasure.
21Nothing remained of their food,
so their riches will not endure.
22Even in their plenty, they are hard-pressed;
all sorts of trouble come on them.
23Let God#20.23 Or him fill their belly,
unleash his burning anger on them,
rain punishing blows on them.
24If they flee an iron weapon,
a bronze bow pierces them.
25They pull it out, but it sticks out from their backs;
its shaft in their liver brings terror.
26Complete darkness waits for their treasured possessions;
fire that no one stoked consumes them;
what’s left in their tent is ruined.
27Heaven exposes their guilt;
earth opposes them.
28Their household wealth will be carried off
by rushing streams on the day of his anger.
29This is a wicked person’s lot from God,
their heritage decreed by God.
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