Job 20

Chapter 20

Zophar Says, “The Triumph of the Wicked Is Short”

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite ¹answered,

²“Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me ¹respond,

Even because of my ²inward agitation.

³“I listened to ^athe reproof which insults 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 ^atriumphing of the wicked is short,

And ^bthe joy of the godless momentary?

⁶“Though his loftiness ^1areaches 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 ¹favor 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 let it go,

But holds it ^ain his ²mouth,

¹⁴Yet his food in his stomach is changed

To the ¹venom of cobras within him.

¹⁵“He swallows riches,

But will ^avomit them up;

God will expel them from his belly.

¹⁶“He sucks ^athe poison of cobras;

The viper’s tongue slays 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 riches of his trading,

He cannot even enjoy them.

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

He has seized a house which he has not built.

²⁰“Because he knew no quiet ¹within him,

He does ^anot retain anything he desires.

²¹“Nothing remains ¹for him to devour,

Therefore ^ahis prosperity does not endure.

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

The ^ahand of everyone who suffers will come against him.

²³“When he ^afills his belly,

God will send His fierce 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.

^bTerrors come upon him,

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

And unfanned ^bfire 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 heritage decreed to him by God.”