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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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
Zophar Speaks
1Then Zophar the Naamathite # Jb 2:11; 11:1; 42:9 replied:
2This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer,
because I am upset! # Lit because of my feeling within me
3I have heard a rebuke that insults me,
and my understanding # Lit and a spirit from my understanding makes me reply. # Jb 19:3; 32:18; Ac 2:20
4Don’t you know that ever since antiquity,
from the time man was placed on earth,
5the joy of the wicked has been brief
and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment? # Jb 8:12-13; Ps 37:35-36; 92:7
6Though his arrogance reaches heaven,
and his head touches the clouds, # Gn 11:4; Is 14:13-14; Ob 3-4
7he will vanish forever like his own dung.
Those who know # Lit have seen him will ask, “Where is he? ” # Jb 4:20; Ps 90:5-6; Jms 4:14
8He will fly away like a dream and never be found;
he will be chased away like a vision in the night. # Ps 73:20; 90:5; Is 29:7
9The eye that saw him will see him no more, # Jb 7:8,21; Ps 37:36
and his household will no longer see him. # Jb 7:10; 8:18; Ps 103:16
10His children will beg from # Or children must compensate the poor,
for his own hands must give back his wealth.
11His bones may be full of youthful vigor,
but will lie down with him in the grave. # Jb 7:21; 17:16; Ps 7:5
12Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth
and he conceals it under his tongue,
13though he cherishes it and will not let it go
but keeps it in his mouth, # Ps 10:7; Pr 9:17; 20:17
14yet the food in his stomach turns
into cobras’ venom inside him.
15He swallows wealth but must vomit it up;
God will force it from his stomach.
16He will suck the poison of cobras;
a viper’s fangs # Lit tongue will kill him. # Dt 32:33; Pr 23:32; Is 59:5
17He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and cream. # Dt 32:13; Jb 29:6; Ps 36:8
18He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it;
he doesn’t enjoy the profits from his trading.
19For he oppressed and abandoned the poor;
he seized a house he did not build. # Dt 28:30; Is 5:8; Mc 2:2
20Because his appetite is never satisfied, # Lit Because he does not know ease in his stomach
he does not let anything he desires escape.
21Nothing is left for him to consume; # Jb 15:29; Pr 17:1; Ec 5:13
therefore, his prosperity will not last.
22At the height of his success # Lit In the fullness of his excess distress will come to him; # Jdg 2:15; Jb 21:17; Zph 1:17
the full weight of misery # Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg; other Hb mss read the hand of everyone in misery will crush him.
23When he fills his stomach,
God will send His burning anger against him,
raining # Gn 19:24; Ps 11:6; Ezk 38:22 it down on him while he is eating. # Text emended; MT reads him, against his flesh
24If he flees from an iron weapon,
an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him.
25He pulls it out of his back,
the flashing tip out of his liver. # Or gallbladder
Terrors come over him. # Jb 18:11; 27:20; Jr 6:25
26Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
A fire unfanned by human hands will consume # Jb 15:34; Ps 21:9; 50:3 him;
it will feed on what is left in his tent.
27The heavens will expose his iniquity, # Jb 13:23,26; 15:5; 22:5
and the earth will rise up against him. # Dt 4:26; Jb 16:18-19; Ps 50:4
28The possessions in his house will be removed,
flowing away on the day of God’s anger.
29This is the wicked man’s lot # Jb 27:13; 31:2; Ps 17:14 from God,
the inheritance God ordained for him.
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