Job 20
New Living Translation
Zophar’s Second Response to Job
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2 “I must reply
because I am greatly disturbed.
3 I’ve had to endure your insults,
but now my spirit prompts me to reply.
4 “Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time,
ever since people were first placed on the earth,
5 the triumph of the wicked has been short lived
and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?
6 Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens
and their heads touch the clouds,
7 yet they will vanish forever,
thrown away like their own dung.
Those who knew them will ask,
‘Where are they?’
8 They will fade like a dream and not be found.
They will vanish like a vision in the night.
9 Those who once saw them will see them no more.
Their families will never see them again.
10 Their children will beg from the poor,
for they must give back their stolen riches.
11 Though they are young,
their bones will lie in the dust.
12 “They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness,
letting it melt under their tongue.
13 They savored it,
holding it long in their mouths.
14 But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour,
a poisonous venom in their stomach.
15 They will vomit the wealth they swallowed.
God won’t let them keep it down.
16 They will suck the poison of cobras.
The viper will kill them.
17 They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil
or rivers of milk and honey.
18 They will give back everything they worked for.
Their wealth will bring them no joy.
19 For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute.
They foreclosed on their homes.
20 They were always greedy and never satisfied.
Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.
21 Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves.
Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.
22 “In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble
and be overcome by misery.
23 May God give them a bellyful of trouble.
May God rain down his anger upon them.
24 When they try to escape an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them.
25 The arrow is pulled from their back,
and the arrowhead glistens with blood.[a]
The terrors of death are upon them.
26 Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness.
A wildfire will devour their goods,
consuming all they have left.
27 The heavens will reveal their guilt,
and the earth will testify against them.
28 A flood will sweep away their house.
God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.
29 This is the reward that God gives the wicked.
It is the inheritance decreed by God.”
Footnotes
- 20:25 Hebrew with gall.
Job 20
New American Standard Bible
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.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
