²⁰ The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
    through all the ^(A)years that are laid up for ^(B)the ruthless.
^21 (C)Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
    in ^(D)prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.
²² He does not believe that he will return out of darkness,
    and he is marked for the sword.
²³ He ^(E)wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
    He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;
²⁴ distress and anguish terrify him;
    they ^(F)prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.
²⁵ Because he has stretched out his hand against God
    and defies the Almighty,
^26 (G)running ^(H)stubbornly against him
    with a thickly bossed shield;
²⁷ because he has ^(I)covered his face with his fat
    and gathered fat upon his waist
²⁸ and has lived in desolate cities,
    in houses that none should inhabit,
    which were ready to become heaps of ruins;
²⁹ he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure,
    nor will his possessions spread over the earth;^[a]
30 he will not depart from darkness;
    the flame will dry up his shoots,
    and by ^(J)the breath of his mouth he will depart.
³¹ Let him not ^(K)trust in emptiness, deceiving himself,
    for emptiness will be his payment.