Job 20:12-19

New American Standard Bible

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

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Job 20:13 Lit spares it
Job 20:13 Lit palate
Job 20:14 Lit gall

Job 20:12-19

New Living Translation

¹²“They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness,
    letting it melt under their tongue.
¹³They savored it,
    holding it long in their mouths.
¹⁴But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour,
    a poisonous venom in their stomach.
¹⁵They will vomit the wealth they swallowed.
    God won’t let them keep it down.
¹⁶They will suck the poison of cobras.
    The viper will kill them.
¹⁷They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil
    or rivers of milk and honey.
¹⁸They will give back everything they worked for.
    Their wealth will bring them no joy.
¹⁹For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute.
    They foreclosed on their homes.

Read full chapter

Job 20:12-19

New International Version

¹²“Though evil^(A) is sweet in his mouth
    and he hides it under his tongue,^(B)
¹³though he cannot bear to let it go
    and lets it linger in his mouth,^(C)
¹⁴yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;^(D)
    it will become the venom of serpents^(E) within him.
¹⁵He will spit out the riches^(F) he swallowed;
    God will make his stomach vomit^(G) them up.
¹⁶He will suck the poison^(H) of serpents;
    the fangs of an adder will kill him.^(I)
¹⁷He will not enjoy the streams,
    the rivers^(J) flowing with honey^(K) and cream.^(L)
¹⁸What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;^(M)
    he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.^(N)
¹⁹For he has oppressed the poor^(O) and left them destitute;^(P)
    he has seized houses^(Q) he did not build.