Job 20–21

The Second Speech of Zophar

20Then Zophar the Naamathite replied,

²“My troubled thoughts force me to answer you.

That’s because I’m very upset.

³What you have just said makes fun of 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 man was placed on this earth.

⁵Those who are evil are happy for only a short time.

The joy of ungodly people lasts only for a moment.

⁶Their pride might reach all the way up to the heavens.

Their heads might touch the clouds.

⁷But they will disappear forever,

like the waste from their own bodies.

Anyone who has seen them will say,

‘Where did they go?’

⁸Like a dream they will fly away.

They will never be seen again.

They will be driven away like visions in the night.

⁹The eyes that saw them won’t see them anymore.

Even their own families won’t remember them.

¹⁰Their children must pay back what they took from poor people.

Their own hands must give back the wealth they stole.

¹¹They 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.

¹³They can’t stand to let it go.

So they hold it in their mouths.

¹⁴But their food will turn sour in their stomachs.

It will become like the poison of a serpent inside them.

¹⁵They will spit out the rich food they swallowed.

God will make their stomachs throw it up.

¹⁶They will suck the poison of a serpent.

The fangs of an adder will kill them.

¹⁷They won’t enjoy streams that flow with honey.

They won’t enjoy rivers that flow with cream.

¹⁸What they worked for they must give back

before they can eat it.

They won’t enjoy what they have earned.

¹⁹They’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.

²¹There isn’t anything left for them to eat up.

Their success won’t last.

²²While they are enjoying the good life,

trouble will catch up with them.

Terrible suffering will come on them.

²³When they’ve filled their stomachs,

God will pour out his burning anger on them.

He’ll strike them down with blow after blow.

²⁴They might run away from iron weapons.

But arrows that have bronze tips will wound them.

²⁵They will pull the arrows out of their backs.

They will remove the shining tips from their livers.

They will be filled with terror.

²⁶Total 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.

²⁷Heaven will show their guilt to everyone.

The earth will be a witness against them.

²⁸A flood will carry their houses away.

Rushing water will wash them away

on the day when God judges.

²⁹Now you know what God will do to sinful people.

Now you know what he has planned for them.”

Job’s Reply

21Job replied,

²“Listen carefully to what I’m saying.

Let that be the comfort you people give me.

³Put up with me while I speak.

After I’ve spoken, you can make fun of me!

⁴“I’m not arguing with mere human beings.

So why shouldn’t I be angry and uneasy?

⁵Look at me and be amazed.

Put your hand over your mouth and stop talking!

⁶When I think about these things, I’m terrified.

My whole body trembles.

⁷Why do sinful people keep on living?

The older they grow, the richer they get.

⁸They see their children grow up around them.

They watch their family increase in number.

⁹Their homes are safe.

They don’t have to be afraid.

God isn’t punishing them.

¹⁰Every time their bulls mate, their cows become pregnant.

And the calves don’t die before they are born.

¹¹Sinful people send their children out like a flock of lambs.

Their little ones dance around.

¹²They sing to the music of tambourines and harps.

They have a good time while flutes are being played.

¹³Those who are evil spend their years living well.

They go down to their graves in peace.

¹⁴But they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!

We don’t want to know how you want us to live.

¹⁵Who is the Mighty One? Why should we serve him?

What would we get if we prayed to him?’

¹⁶But they aren’t in control of their own success.

So I don’t pay any attention to the advice they give.

¹⁷“How often are their lamps blown out?

How often does trouble come on them?

How often does God punish them when he’s angry?

¹⁸How often are they like dried-up seed coverings blowing in the wind?

How often are they like straw swept away by a storm?

¹⁹People say, ‘God punishes a man’s children for his sins.’

But let him punish the man himself.

Then he’ll learn a lesson from it.

²⁰Let his own eyes see how he is destroyed.

Let him drink the wine of the Mighty One’s anger.

²¹What does he care about the family he leaves behind?

What does he care about them

when his life comes to an end?

²²“Can anyone teach God anything?

After all, he judges even the angels in heaven.

²³Some people die while they are still very strong.

They are completely secure. They have an easy life.

²⁴They are well fed.

Their bodies are healthy.

²⁵Others die while their spirits are bitter.

They’ve never enjoyed anything good.

²⁶Side by side they lie in the dust of death.

The worms in their graves cover all of them.

²⁷“I know exactly what you people are thinking.

I know you are planning to do bad things to me.

²⁸You are saying to yourselves,

‘Where is the great man’s house now?

Where are the tents where his evil family lived?’

²⁹Haven’t you ever asked questions of those who travel?

Haven’t you paid any attention to their stories?

³⁰They’ll tell you that sinful people

are spared from the day of trouble.

They’ll say that those people

are saved from the day when God will judge.

³¹Who speaks against them for the way they act?

Who pays them back for what they’ve done?

³²Their bodies will be carried to their graves.

Guards will watch over their tombs.

³³The soil in the valley will be pleasant

to those who have died.

Many people will walk along behind their bodies.

Many others will walk in front of them.

³⁴“So how can you comfort me with your speeches?

They don’t make any sense at all.

Your answers are nothing but lies!”