Job 20:1–21:34
20 Then Zophar the Naamathitep replied:
2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.q
3 I hear a rebuker that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.
4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old,s
ever since mankinda was placed on the earth,
5 that the mirth of the wickedt is brief,
the joy of the godlessu lasts but a moment.v
6 Though the pridew of the godless person reaches to the heavensx
and his head touches the clouds,y
7 he will perish forever,z like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’a
8 Like a dreamb he flies away,c no more to be found,
banishedd like a vision of the night.e
9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.f
10 His childreng must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.h
11 The youthful vigori that fills his bonesj
will lie with him in the dust.k
12 “Though evill is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,m
13 though he cannot bear to let it go
and lets it linger in his mouth,n
14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;o
it will become the venom of serpentsp within him.
15 He will spit out the richesq he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomitr them up.
16 He will suck the poisons of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.t
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the riversu flowing with honeyv and cream.w
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;x
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.y
19 For he has oppressed the poorz and left them destitute;a
he has seized housesb he did not build.
20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;c
he cannot save himself by his treasure.d
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.e
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;f
the full force of misery will come upon him.g
23 When he has filled his belly,h
God will vent his burning angeri against him
and rain down his blows on him.j
24 Though he fleesk from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.l
25 He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
26 total darknesso lies in wait for his treasures.
A firep unfanned will consume himq
and devour what is left in his tent.r
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.s
28 A flood will carry off his house,t
rushing watersb on the day of God’s wrath.u
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.”v
21 Then Job replied:
2 “Listen carefully to my words;w
let this be the consolation you give me.x
and after I have spoken, mock on.y
4 “Is my complaintz directed to a human being?
Why should I not be impatient?a
clap your hand over your mouth.b
6 When I think about this, I am terrified;c
trembling seizes my body.d
growing old and increasing in power?e
8 They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.f
9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;g
the rod of God is not on them.h
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.i
11 They send forth their children as a flock;j
their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;k
they make merry to the sound of the pipe.l
13 They spend their years in prosperitym
and go down to the graven in peace.a o
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!p
We have no desire to know your ways.q
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’r
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.s
17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?t
How often does calamityu come upon them,
the fate God allots in his anger?v
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
like chaffw swept awayx by a gale?y
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’z
Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!a
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;b
let them drinkc the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.d
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behinde
when their allotted monthsf come to an end?g
22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,h
since he judges even the highest?i
23 One person dies in full vigor,j
completely secure and at ease,k
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,o
never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust,p
27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,s
the tents where the wicked lived?’t
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,u
that they are delivered fromc the day of wrath?v
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
Who repays them for what they have done?w
32 They are carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over their tombs.x
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;y
everyone follows after them,
and a countless throng goesd before them.z
34 “So how can you console mea with your nonsense?
Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”b