Job 20–21

CHAPTER 20

Zophar Says the Joy of the Wicked Is Short

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

²“Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me ¹respond,

Even because of my haste within me.

³“I listened to ^athe discipline which dishonors me,

And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.

⁴“Do you know this from ^aof old,

From the establishment of man on earth,

⁵That the ^ashouts of joy of the wicked are short,

And ^bthe gladness of the godless momentary?

⁶“Though his loftiness ^agoes up to the heavens,

And his head touches the clouds,

⁷He ^aperishes forever like his refuse;

Those who have seen him ^bwill say, ‘Where is he?’

⁸“He flies away like a ^adream, and they cannot find him;

Even like a vision of the night he is ^bchased away.

⁹“The ^aeye which saw him sees him no longer,

And ^bhis place no longer beholds him.

¹⁰“His ^asons seek the favor of the poor,

And his hands ^bgive back his wealth.

¹¹“His ^abones are full of his youthful vigor,

But it lies down with him ¹in the dust.

¹²“Though ^aevil is sweet in his mouth

And he hides it under his tongue,

¹³Though he ¹desires it and will not forsake it,

And holds it ^ato his palate,

¹⁴Yet his food in his stomach is changed

To the ¹venom of cobras within him.

¹⁵“He swallows up wealth,

But will ^avomit it up;

God will expel it from his belly.

¹⁶“He sucks ^athe poison of cobras;

The viper’s tongue kills him.

¹⁷“He does not look at ^athe streams,

The rivers flowing with honey and curds.

¹⁸“He ^areturns what he has attained

And cannot swallow it;

As to the wealth of his trading,

He cannot even enjoy it.

¹⁹“For he has ^acrushed and forsaken the poor;

He has seized a house which he has not built.

²⁰“Because he knew no ease within his belly,

In his covetousness, he does ^anot let anything escape.

²¹“Nothing remains ¹for him to devour;

Therefore ^ahis prosperity does not endure.

²²“In the fullness of his plenty he will be confined;

The ^ahand of everyone who is troubled will come against him.

²³“So it will be that he ^afills his belly,

And God will send His burning anger on him

And will ^brain it on him ¹while he is eating.

²⁴“He may ^aflee from the iron weapon,

But the bronze bow will pierce him.

²⁵“It is drawn forth and comes out of his back,

Even the glittering point from ^ahis gall;

^bBouts of dread come upon him.

²⁶Complete ^adarkness is held in reserve for his treasures;

A ^bfire unfanned will devour him;

It will consume the survivor in his tent.

²⁷“The ^aheavens will reveal his iniquity,

And the earth will rise up against him.

²⁸“The ^aincrease of his house will depart;

His possessions will flow away ^bin the day of His anger.

²⁹“This is the wicked man’s ^aportion from God,

Even the inheritance decreed to him by God.”

CHAPTER 21

God Does Not Punish the Wicked

¹Then Job answered and said,

²“Listen carefully to my speech,

And let this be your way of consolation.

³“Bear with me that I may speak;

Then after I have spoken, you may ^amock.

⁴“As for me, is ^amy musing ¹to man?

And ^bwhy should ²I not be impatient?

⁵“Look at me, and be appalled,

And ^aput your hand over your mouth.

⁶“Even when I remember, I am dismayed,

And ^ahorror seizes my flesh.

⁷“Why ^ado the wicked still live,

Continue on, also become very ^bpowerful?

⁸“Their ^aseed is established with them in their presence,

And their offspring before their eyes,

⁹Their houses ^aare safe from dread,

And the rod of God is not on them.

¹⁰“His ox mates and does not fail;

His cow calves and does not miscarry.

¹¹“They send forth their little ones like the flock,

And their children skip about.

¹²“They lift up the tambourine and harp

And are glad at the sound of the pipe.

¹³“They ^aspend their days in prosperity,

And ¹suddenly they go down to Sheol.

¹⁴“They say to God, ‘^aDepart from us!

We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

¹⁵‘¹Who is ²the Almighty, that we should serve Him,

And ^awhat would we profit if we entreat Him?’

¹⁶“Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;

The ^acounsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷“How often is ^athe lamp of the wicked put out,

Or does their ^bdisaster fall on them?

Does ¹God apportion destruction in His anger?

¹⁸“Are they as ^astraw before the wind,

And like ^bchaff which the storm steals away?

¹⁹“You say, ‘^aGod stores away ¹a man’s wickedness for his sons.’

Let ²God repay him so that he may know it.

²⁰“Let his ^aown eyes see his decay,

And let him ^bdrink of the wrath of ¹the Almighty.

²¹“For what desire does he have for his household ¹after him,

When the number of his months is cut off?

²²“Can anyone ^ateach God knowledge,

In that He ^bjudges those on high?

²³“One ^adies in his full strength,

Being wholly carefree and at ease;

²⁴His ¹sides are filled out with fat,

And the ^amarrow of his bones is moist,

²⁵But another dies with a bitter soul,

Never even eats anything good.

²⁶“Together they ^alie down in the dust,

And ^bworms cover them.

²⁷“Behold, I know your thoughts,

And the plans by which you do violence against me.

²⁸“For you say, ‘Where is the house of ^athe nobleman,

And where is the ^btent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

²⁹“Have you not asked those who pass by along the way,

And do you not recognize their ¹witness?

³⁰“That the ^awicked is reserved for the day of disaster;

They will be led forth at ^bthe day of fury.

³¹“Who will declare to his face about his actions,

And who will repay him for what he has done?

³²“While he is led forth to the grave,

Men will keep watch over his tomb.

³³“The ^aclods of the valley will ¹gently cover him;

Moreover, ^ball men will draw up after him,

While countless ones go before him.

³⁴“How then will you vainly ^acomfort me,

Indeed when your answers remain full of ¹falsehood?”