Job 20–21

Zophar Speaks

20Then Zophar the Naamathite ^hreplied:

²This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer,

because I am upset! ⁱ

³I have heard a rebuke that insults me,

and my understanding ^jmakes me reply. ^k

⁴Don’t you know that ever since antiquity,

from the time man was placed on earth,

⁵the joy of the wicked has been brief

and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment? ^l

⁶Though his arrogance reaches heaven,

and his head touches the clouds, ^m

⁷he will vanish forever like his own dung.

Those who know ⁿhim will ask, “Where is he?” ^o

⁸He will fly away like a dream and never be found;

he will be chased away like a vision in the night. ^p

⁹The eye that saw him will see him no more, ^q

and his household will no longer see him. ^r

¹⁰His children will beg from ^sthe poor,

for his own hands must give back his wealth.

¹¹His bones may be full of youthful vigor,

but will lie down with him in the grave. ^t

¹²Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth

and he conceals it under his tongue,

¹³though he cherishes it and will not let it go

but keeps it in his mouth, ^u

¹⁴yet the food in his stomach turns

into cobras’ venom inside him.

¹⁵He swallows wealth but must vomit it up;

God will force it from his stomach.

¹⁶He will suck the poison of cobras;

a viper’s fangs ^vwill kill him. ^w

¹⁷He will not enjoy the streams,

the rivers flowing with honey and cream. ^x

¹⁸He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it;

he doesn’t enjoy the profits from his trading.

¹⁹For he oppressed and abandoned the poor;

he seized a house he did not build. ^y

²⁰Because his appetite is never satisfied, ^z

he does not let anything he desires escape.

²¹Nothing is left for him to consume; ^a

therefore, his prosperity will not last.

²²At the height of his success ^bdistress will come to him; ^c

the full weight of misery ^dwill crush him.

²³When he fills his stomach,

God will send His burning anger against him,

raining ^eit down on him while he is eating. ^f

²⁴If he flees from an iron weapon,

an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him.

²⁵He pulls it out of his back,

the flashing tip out of his liver. ^g

Terrors come over him. ^h

²⁶Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.

A fire unfanned by human hands will consume ⁱhim;

it will feed on what is left in his tent.

²⁷The heavens will expose his iniquity, ^j

and the earth will rise up against him. ^k

²⁸The possessions in his house will be removed,

flowing away on the day of God’s anger.

²⁹This is the wicked man’s lot ^lfrom God,

the inheritance God ordained for him.

Job’s Reply to Zophar

21Then Job answered:

²Pay close attention to my words;

let this be the consolation you offer.

³Bear with me while I speak;

then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.

⁴As for me, is my complaint ^magainst a man?

Then why shouldn’t I be impatient?

⁵Look at me and shudder; ⁿ

put your hand over your mouth. ^o

⁶When I think about it, I am terrified

and my body trembles ^pin horror.

⁷Why do the wicked continue to live,

growing old and becoming powerful?

⁸Their children are established while they are still alive, ^q

and their descendants, before their eyes.

⁹Their homes are secure and free of fear; ^r

no rod from God strikes them. ^s

¹⁰Their bulls breed without fail;

their cows calve and do not miscarry.

¹¹They let their little ones run around like lambs;

their children skip about,

¹²singing to the tambourine and lyre

and rejoicing at the sound of the flute. ^t

¹³They spend ^utheir days in prosperity ^v

and go down to Sheol in peace.

¹⁴Yet they say to God: “Leave us alone!

We don’t want to know Your ways. ^w

¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,

and what will we gain by pleading with Him?” ^x

¹⁶But their prosperity is not of their own doing.

The counsel of the wicked is far from me! ^y

¹⁷How often is the lamp ^zof the wicked put out?

Does disaster ^acome on them?

Does He apportion destruction in His anger?

¹⁸Are they like straw before the wind,

like chaff ^ba storm sweeps away?

¹⁹God reserves a person’s punishment for his children. ^c

Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.

²⁰Let his own eyes see his demise;

let him drink from the Almighty’s wrath! ^d

²¹For what does he care about his family once he is dead, ^e

when the number of his months has run out? ^f

²²Can anyone teach God knowledge, ^g

since He judges the exalted ones? ^h

²³One person dies in excellent health, ⁱ

completely secure ^jand at ease.

²⁴His body is ^kwell fed, ^l

and his bones are full of marrow. ^m

²⁵Yet another person dies with a bitter ⁿsoul,

having never tasted prosperity.

²⁶But they both lie in the dust,

and worms cover them. ^o

²⁷I know your thoughts very well,

the schemes you would wrong me with.

²⁸For you say, “Where now is the nobleman’s house?”

and “Where are the tents ^pthe wicked lived in?”

²⁹Have you never consulted those who travel the roads?

Don’t you accept their reports? ^q

³⁰Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster,

rescued from the day of wrath.

³¹Who would denounce his behavior to his face?

Who would repay ^rhim for what he has done?

³²He is carried to the grave,

and someone keeps watch over his tomb.

³³The dirt on his grave is ^ssweet to him.

Everyone follows behind him,

and those who go before him are without number.

³⁴So how can you offer me such futile comfort?

Your answers are deceptive.