Job 20

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,

2 “So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer, because of the turmoil within me.

Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for [this] I make haste.

3 I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding prompts a reply.

I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.

4 Do you not know that from antiquity, since man was placed on the earth,

Knowest thou [not] this of old, since man was placed upon earth,

5 the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?

That the triumphing of the wicked [is] short, and the joy of the hypocrite [but] for a moment?

6 Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds,

Though his excellence shall mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds;

7 he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’

[Yet] he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they who have seen him shall say, Where [is] he?

8 He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.

He shall fly away as a dream, and will not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

9 The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him.

The eye also [which] saw him shall [see him] no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.

10 His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth.

His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.

11 The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust.

His bones are full [of the sin] of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.

12 Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,

Though wickedness may be sweet in his mouth, [though] he may hide it under his tongue;

13 though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth,

[Though] he may spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:

14 yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him.

[Yet] his food in his bowels is turned, [it is] the gall of asps within him.

15 He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach.

He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

16 He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.

He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.

17 He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

He shall not see the river, the floods, the brooks of honey and buttermilk.

18 He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.

That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow [it]: according to [his] substance [shall] the restitution [be], and he shall not rejoice [in it].

19 For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.

Because he hath oppressed [and] hath forsaken the poor; [because] he hath violently taken away a house which he did not build.

20 Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure.

Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.

21 Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure.

There shall none of his food be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

22 In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.

In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

23 When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.

[When] he is about to fill his belly, [God] shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain [it] upon him while he is eating.

24 Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.

He shall flee from the iron weapon, [and] the bow of steel shall strike him through.

25 It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver. Terrors come over him.

It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yes, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors [are] upon him.

26 Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.

All darkness [shall be] hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

27 The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.

The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

28 The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.

The increase of his house shall depart, [and his goods] shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

29 This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.”

This [is] the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed to him by God.