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Job 20

Zophar speaks to Job again [ a ]

20 Then Zophar replied to Job. This is what he said:

2 ‘I am very upset by the things that you have said.
So I must say more to answer you.
3 You have said things that insult me.
But now I know how to reply to you.
4 I am sure that you know this fact.
It has been true from long ago,
since people first lived on the earth.
5 You know that a wicked person is only happy for a short time.
His joy continues only for a moment.
6 He may think that he is more important than other people.
He may be proud of the honour that he receives.
7 But he will disappear for ever,
like dung that people throw away.
His friends will ask, “Where is he?”
8 He will disappear like a dream that quickly goes away.
Nobody can find him any more.
9 People who knew him will never see him again.
His family will no longer recognize him.
10 His children will have to give things back to poor people.
Those are the valuable things that he took from them.
11 He still had the strength of a young man.
But his strength will die with him when he lies in his grave.

12 He enjoys the wicked things that he does.
They are like something sweet in his mouth.
13 He continues to enjoy wicked things,
like the taste of sweet food that he keeps in his mouth.
14 But those things will become poison that hurts him.
Like bitter food that goes into his stomach.
15 Like a person who is sick and loses the food from his stomach,
God will cause the wicked person to lose all his riches.
16 He will drink the poison of snakes.
A dangerous snake will bite him and it will kill him.
17 He will never enjoy the good things that the earth provides.
He will not enjoy the honey and milk which pours out like rivers of water.
18 He will have to give back everything that he owned.
He will not enjoy the things that he has worked for.
19 This will happen because he has been cruel to poor people.
He has refused to help them.
He has taken houses for himself that do not belong to him.
20 He will always want to have more things for himself.
He takes anything that he wants to have.

21 Now nothing remains for him to take.
So his riches will come to an end.
22 When he has everything that he wants,
trouble suddenly comes to him.
23 When he is filling himself with good food,
God will punish him.
God will be very angry with him.
God will attack the wicked person so that he suffers.
24 He may escape from a soldier who has an iron sword.
But then a soldier will shoot a bronze arrow into him.
25 He pulls the arrow out of his back.
His blood makes its sharp point shine brightly.
He is very afraid.
26 All his riches disappear in the dark.
God will send a fire to destroy him.
It will destroy all his things that remain.
27 The heavens will show that he is guilty.
People on earth will speak against him.
28 A flood will destroy his house
and everything that he has.
That will happen on the day when God punishes people
because he is angry with them.
29 That is how God punishes wicked people.
God has decided to punish them as they deserve.’

Footnotes

  1. 20:1 Zophar continues to says thing that do not help Job. He tells him that God only punishes bad people.

Zophar Answers Job

20 Then Zophar from Naamah answered:

2 “You upset me, so I must answer you.
I must tell you what I am thinking.
3 You insulted me with your answers!
But I am wise and know how to answer you.

4-5 “You know that the joy of the wicked does not last long.
That has been true a long time, ever since Adam was [ a ] put on earth.
Those who don’t know God are happy for only a short time.
6 Maybe an evil man’s pride will reach up to the sky,
and his head will touch the clouds.
7 But he will be gone forever like his own body waste.
People who knew him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 Like a dream, he will fly away, never to be found.
He will be chased away like a bad dream. [ b ]
9 Those who knew him before will not see him again.
His family will never again get to see him.
10 His children will have to give back what he took from the poor.
His own hands will give up his wealth.
11 When he was young, his bones were strong,
but, like the rest of his body, they will soon lie in the dirt.

12 “Evil tastes sweet in his mouth.
He keeps it under his tongue to enjoy it fully.
13 He hates to let it go
and holds it in his mouth.
14 But that evil will turn sour in his stomach.
It will be like a snake’s bitter poison inside him.
15 The evil man will spit out the riches he has swallowed.
God will make him vomit them up.
16 What he drank will be like a snake’s poison;
it will kill him like the bite of a deadly snake.
17 He will never again enjoy so much wealth—
rivers flowing with honey and cream. [ c ]
18 He will be forced to give back his profits.
He will not be allowed to enjoy what he worked for,
19 because he hurt the poor and left them with nothing.
He took houses he did not build.

20 “The evil man is never satisfied.
But the things he wants cannot save him.
21 After filling himself, there is nothing left.
His success will not continue.
22 Even while he has plenty, he will be pressed down with trouble.
His problems will come down on him!
23 If he does get all he wants,
God will throw his burning anger against him.
God will attack him and rain down punishment on him.
24 Maybe he will run away from an iron sword,
but then a bronze arrow [ d ] will strike him down.
25 It will go through his body
and stick out of his back.
Its shining point will pierce his liver,
and he will be shocked with terror.
26 All his treasures will be lost in darkness.
He will be destroyed by a fire, a fire that no human started.
It will destroy everything left in his house.
27 Heaven will prove that he is guilty.
The earth will be a witness against him.
28 His house and everything in it will be carried away
in the flood of God’s anger.
29 That is what God will do to those who are evil.
That is what he plans to give them.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 20:4 Adam was Or “people were.”
  2. Job 20:8 bad dream Or “vision of the night.”
  3. Job 20:17 rivers … cream A figure meaning a plentiful supply of rich food. The word translated “cream” could mean butter, curds, or yogurt.
  4. Job 20:24 bronze arrow Literally, “bronze bow.” Or “powerful bow,” possibly a bow made of sinew, wood and horn.

20 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,

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

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

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

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

6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;

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

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

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

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

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

12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;

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

14 Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.

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

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

17 He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

18 That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.

19 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.

Zophar Says the Rejoicing of the Wicked Is Short

20 Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,

2 “Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me [ a ] respond,
Even because of my [ b ] inward agitation.
3 I listened to ( A ) the reprimand which insults me,
And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.
4 Do you know this from ( B ) ancient times,
From the establishment of mankind on earth,
5 That the ( C ) rejoicing of the wicked is short,
And ( D ) the joy of the godless momentary?
6 Though his arrogance [ c ] ( E ) reaches the heavens,
And his head touches the clouds,
7 He ( F ) perishes forever like his refuse;
Those who have seen him ( G ) will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 He flies away like a ( H ) dream, and they cannot find him;
Like a vision of the night he is ( I ) chased away.
9 The ( J ) eye which saw him sees him no longer,
And ( K ) his place no longer beholds him.
10 His ( L ) sons [ d ] favor the poor,
And his hands ( M ) give back his wealth.
11 His ( N ) bones are full of his youthful strength,
But it lies down with him [ e ] in the dust.

12 “Though ( O ) evil tastes sweet in his mouth
And he hides it under his tongue,
13 Though he [ f ] desires it and will not let it go,
But holds it ( P ) in his [ g ] mouth,
14 Yet his food in his stomach is changed
To the [ h ] venom of cobras within him.
15 He swallows riches,
But will ( Q ) vomit them up;
God will expel them from his belly.
16 He sucks ( R ) the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue kills him.
17 He does not look at ( S ) the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and curds.
18 He ( T ) returns the product of his labor
And cannot swallow it ;
As to the riches of his trading,
He cannot even enjoy them .
19 For he has ( U ) oppressed and neglected the poor;
He has seized a house which he has not built.

20 “Because he knew no quiet [ i ] within him,
He does ( V ) not retain anything he desires.
21 Nothing remains [ j ] for him to devour,
Therefore ( W ) his prosperity does not endure.
22 In the fullness of his excess he will be cramped;
The ( X ) hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.
23 When he ( Y ) fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And ( Z ) rain it on him [ k ] while he is eating.
24 He may ( AA ) flee from the iron weapon,
But the bronze bow will pierce him.
25 It is drawn and comes out of his back,
Even the flashing point from ( AB ) his gallbladder;
( AC ) Terrors come upon him,
26 Complete ( AD ) darkness is held in reserve for his treasures,
And unfanned ( AE ) fire will devour him;
It will consume the survivor in his tent.
27 The ( AF ) heavens will reveal his guilt,
And the earth will rise up against him.
28 The ( AG ) increase of his house will disappear;
His possessions will flow away ( AH ) on the day of His anger.
29 This is a wicked person’s ( AI ) portion from God,
The inheritance decreed to him by God.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 20:2 Lit return
  2. Job 20:2 Lit haste within me
  3. Job 20:6 Lit goes up to
  4. Job 20:10 Or seek the favor of
  5. Job 20:11 Lit on
  6. Job 20:13 Lit spares it
  7. Job 20:13 Lit palate
  8. Job 20:14 Lit gall
  9. Job 20:20 Lit in his belly
  10. Job 20:21 Or of what he devours
  11. Job 20:23 Or as his food

Zophar

20 Then Zophar the Naamathite ( A ) replied:

2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed. ( B )
3 I hear a rebuke ( C ) that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.

4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old, ( D )
ever since mankind [ a ] was placed on the earth,
5 that the mirth of the wicked ( E ) is brief,
the joy of the godless ( F ) lasts but a moment. ( G )
6 Though the pride ( H ) of the godless person reaches to the heavens ( I )
and his head touches the clouds, ( J )
7 he will perish forever, ( K ) like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ ( L )
8 Like a dream ( M ) he flies away, ( N ) no more to be found,
banished ( O ) like a vision of the night. ( P )
9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more. ( Q )
10 His children ( R ) must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth. ( S )
11 The youthful vigor ( T ) that fills his bones ( U )
will lie with him in the dust. ( V )

12 “Though evil ( W ) is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue, ( X )
13 though he cannot bear to let it go
and lets it linger in his mouth, ( Y )
14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; ( Z )
it will become the venom of serpents ( AA ) within him.
15 He will spit out the riches ( AB ) he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit ( AC ) them up.
16 He will suck the poison ( AD ) of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him. ( AE )
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers ( AF ) flowing with honey ( AG ) and cream. ( AH )
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; ( AI )
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading. ( AJ )
19 For he has oppressed the poor ( AK ) and left them destitute; ( AL )
he has seized houses ( AM ) he did not build.

20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving; ( AN )
he cannot save himself by his treasure. ( AO )
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure. ( AP )
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; ( AQ )
the full force of misery will come upon him. ( AR )
23 When he has filled his belly, ( AS )
God will vent his burning anger ( AT ) against him
and rain down his blows on him. ( AU )
24 Though he flees ( AV ) from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him. ( AW )
25 He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors ( AX ) will come over him; ( AY )
26 total darkness ( AZ ) lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire ( BA ) unfanned will consume him ( BB )
and devour what is left in his tent. ( BC )
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him. ( BD )
28 A flood will carry off his house, ( BE )
rushing waters [ b ] on the day of God’s wrath. ( BF )
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.” ( BG )

Footnotes

  1. Job 20:4 Or Adam
  2. Job 20:28 Or The possessions in his house will be carried off, / washed away
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