12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
    though he hides it (A)under his tongue,
13 though he is loath to let it go
    and holds it in his mouth,
14 yet his food is turned in his stomach;
    it is the venom of (B)cobras 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;
    (C)the tongue of a viper will kill him.
17 He will not look upon (D)the rivers,
    the streams flowing with (E)honey and (F)curds.
18 He will (G)give back the fruit of his toil
    and will not (H)swallow it down;
from the profit of his trading
    he will get no enjoyment.
19 For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;
    he has seized a house that he did not build.

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12 Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth,
    though he conceals it under his tongue,
13 though he savors it and delays swallowing it
    so he can taste it again and again in his mouth,[a]
14 his food will turn rancid in his stomach—
    it will become a cobra’s poison inside him.

15 “Though he swallows wealth, he will vomit it;
    God will dislodge it from his stomach.
16 He will suck the poison of cobras;
    the fangs[b] of a viper will slay him.
17 He won’t look at the rivers—
    the torrents of honey and curd.[c]

18 “He will restore what he has attained from his work
    and won’t consume it;
        he won’t enjoy the profits from his business transactions,
19 because he has crushed and abandoned the poor;
    he has seized a house that he didn’t build.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 20:13 Lit. can hold it in the middle of his palate
  2. Job 20:16 Or tongue
  3. Job 20:17 Or butter