Job 20
New International Reader's Version
The Second Speech of Zophar
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied,
2 “My troubled thoughts force me to answer you.
That’s because I’m very upset.
3 What you have just said dishonors me.
So I really have to reply to you.
4 “I’m sure you must know how things have always been.
They’ve been that way
ever since human beings were placed on this earth.
5 Those who are evil are happy for only a short time.
The joy of ungodly people lasts only for a moment.
6 Their pride might reach all the way up to the heavens.
Their heads might touch the clouds.
7 But they will disappear forever,
like the waste from their own bodies.
Anyone who has seen them will say,
‘Where did they go?’
8 Like a dream they will fly away.
They will never be seen again.
They will be driven away like visions in the night.
9 The eyes that saw them won’t see them anymore.
Even their own families won’t remember them.
10 Their children must pay back what they took from poor people.
Their own hands must give back the wealth they stole.
11 They might feel young and very strong.
But they will soon lie down in the dust of their graves.
12 “Anything that is evil tastes sweet to them.
They keep it under their tongues for a while.
13 They can’t stand to let it go.
So they hold it in their mouths.
14 But their food will turn sour in their stomachs.
It will become like the poison of a serpent inside them.
15 They will spit out the rich food they swallowed.
God will make their stomachs throw it up.
16 They will suck the poison of a serpent.
The fangs of an adder will kill them.
17 They won’t enjoy streams that flow with honey.
They won’t enjoy rivers that flow with cream.
18 What they worked for they must give back
before they can eat it.
They won’t enjoy what they have earned.
19 They’ve crushed poor people and left them with nothing.
They’ve taken over houses they didn’t even build.
20 “No matter how much they have,
they always long for more.
But their treasure can’t save them.
21 There isn’t anything left for them to eat up.
Their success won’t last.
22 While they are enjoying the good life,
trouble will catch up with them.
Terrible suffering will come on them.
23 When they’ve filled their stomachs,
God will pour out his great anger on them.
He’ll strike them down with blow after blow.
24 They might run away from iron weapons.
But arrows that have bronze tips will wound them.
25 They will pull the arrows out of their backs.
They will remove the shining tips from their livers.
They will be filled with terror.
26 Total darkness hides and waits for their treasures.
God will send a fire that will destroy them.
It will burn up everything that’s left in their tents.
27 Heaven will show their guilt to everyone.
The earth will be a witness against them.
28 A flood will carry their houses away.
Rushing water will wash them away
on the day when God judges.
29 Now you know what God will do to sinful people.
Now you know what he has planned for them.”
Job 20
Living Bible
20 The speech of Zophar the Naamathite:
2 “I hasten to reply, for I have the answer for you. 3 You have tried to make me feel ashamed of myself for calling you a sinner, but my spirit won’t let me stop.
4 “Don’t you realize that ever since man was first placed upon the earth, 5 the triumph of the wicked has been short-lived, and the joy of the godless but for a moment? 6 Though the godless be proud as the heavens and walk with his nose in the air, 7 yet he shall perish forever, cast away like his own dung. Those who knew him will wonder where he has gone. 8 He will fade like a dream. 9 Neither his friends nor his family will ever see him again.
10 “His children shall beg from the poor, their hard labor shall repay his debts. 11 Though still a young man, his bones shall lie in the dust.
12 “He enjoyed the taste of his wickedness, letting it melt in his mouth, 13 sipping it slowly, lest it disappear.
14 “But suddenly the food he has eaten turns sour within him. 15 He will vomit the plunder he gorged. God won’t let him keep it down. 16 It is like poison and death to him. 17 He shall not enjoy the goods he stole; they will not be butter and honey to him after all. 18 His labors shall not be rewarded; wealth will give him no joy. 19 For he has oppressed the poor and foreclosed their homes; he will never recover. 20 Though he was always greedy, now he has nothing; of all the things he dreamed of—none remain. 21 Because he stole at every opportunity, his prosperity shall not continue.
22 “He shall run into trouble at the peak of his powers; all the wicked shall destroy him. 23 Just as he is about to fill his belly, God will rain down wrath upon him. 24 He will be chased and struck down. 25 The arrow is pulled from his body—and the glittering point comes out from his gall. The terrors of death are upon him.
26 “His treasures will be lost in deepest darkness. A raging fire will devour his goods, consuming all he has left. 27 The heavens will reveal his sins, and the earth will give testimony against him. 28 His wealth will disappear beneath the wrath of God. 29 This is what awaits the wicked man, for God prepares it for him.”
Job 20
New King James Version
Zophar’s Sermon on the Wicked Man
20 Then (A)Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
2 “Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer,
Because of the turmoil within me.
3 I have heard the rebuke [a]that reproaches me,
And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.
4 “Do you not know this of (B)old,
Since man was placed on earth,
5 (C)That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a (D)moment?
6 (E)Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens,
And his head reaches to the clouds,
7 Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 He will fly away (F)like a dream, and not be found;
Yes, he (G)will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9 The eye that saw him will see him no more,
Nor will his place behold him anymore.
10 His children will seek the favor of the poor,
And his hands will restore his wealth.
11 His bones are full of (H)his youthful vigor,
(I)But it will lie down with him in the dust.
12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he hides it under his tongue,
13 Though he spares it and does not forsake it,
But still keeps it in his [b]mouth,
14 Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
It becomes cobra venom within him.
15 He swallows down riches
And vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
16 He will suck the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue will slay him.
17 He will not see (J)the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18 He will restore that for which he labored,
And will not swallow it down;
From the proceeds of business
He will get no enjoyment.
19 For he has [c]oppressed and forsaken the poor,
He has violently seized a house which he did not build.
20 “Because(K) he knows no quietness in his [d]heart,
He will not save anything he desires.
21 Nothing is left for him to eat;
Therefore his well-being will not last.
22 In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;
Every hand of [e]misery will come against him.
23 When he is about to fill his stomach,
God will cast on him the fury of His wrath,
And will rain it on him while he is eating.
24 (L)He will flee from the iron weapon;
A bronze bow will pierce him through.
25 It is drawn, and comes out of the body;
Yes, (M)the glittering point comes out of his [f]gall.
(N)Terrors come upon him;
26 Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
(O)An unfanned fire will consume him;
It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.
27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house will depart,
And his goods will flow away in the day of His (P)wrath.
29 (Q)This is the portion from God for a wicked man,
The heritage appointed to him by God.”
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
