Job 20

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¹Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said:

²For this do my thoughts lead me to reply, And for this is my ardor within me.

³I have heard my shameful rebuke; And the spirit, from my understanding, answereth for me.

⁴Knowest thou not, that from the days of old, From the time when man was placed upon the earth,

⁵The triumphing of the wicked hath been short, And the joy of the impious but for a moment?

⁶Though his greatness mount up to the heavens, And his head reach to the clouds,

⁷Yet shall he perish for ever, and be mingled with dust; They who saw him shall say, Where is he?

⁸He shall flee away like a dream, and shall not be found; Yea, he shall disappear like a vision of the nigh.

⁹The eye also which saw him shall see him no more, And his dwelling-place shall never more behold him.

¹⁰His sons shall seek the favor of the poor, And their hands shall give back his wealth.

¹¹His bones are full of his youth, But they shall lie down with him in the dust.

¹²Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, Though he hide it under his tongue,

¹³Though he cherish it, and will not part with it, And keep it fast in his mouth,

¹⁴Yet his meat shall be changed within him, And become to him the poison of asps.

¹⁵He hath glutted himself with riches, And he shall throw them up again; Yea, God shall cast them out of his body.

¹⁶He shall suck the poison of asps; The tongue of the viper shall destroy him.

¹⁷He shall never see the flowing streams, And the rivers of honey and milk.

¹⁸The fruits of his toil he shall give back, and shall not enjoy them: It is substance to be restored, and he shall not rejoice therein.

¹⁹Because he hath oppressed and abandoned the poor, And seized upon the house which he did not build;

²⁰Because he knew no rest in his bosom, He shall not save that in which he delighteth.

²¹Because nothing escaped his greediness, His prosperity shall not endure.

²²In the fulness of his abundance he shall be brought low; Every hand of the wretched shall come upon him.

²³He shall, indeed, have wherewith to fill himself: God shall send upon him the fury of his anger, And rain it down upon him for his food.

²⁴If he fleeth from the iron weapon, The bow of brass shall pierce him through.

²⁵He draweth the arrow, and it cometh forth from his body; Yea, the glittering steel cometh out of his gall. Terrors are upon him;

²⁶Calamity of every kind is treasured up for him. A fire not blown shall consume him; It shall consume whatever is left in his tent.

²⁷The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him.

²⁸The substance of his house shall disappear; It shall flow away in the day of His wrath.

²⁹Such is the portion of the wicked man from God, And the inheritance appointed for him by the Almighty.

Job 20

¹Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,

²Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.

³I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.

⁴Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,

⁵That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

⁶Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;

⁷Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

⁸He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

⁹The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.

¹⁰His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.

¹¹His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.

¹²Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;

¹³Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:

¹⁴Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.

¹⁵He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

¹⁶He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.

¹⁷He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

¹⁸That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.

¹⁹Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;

²⁰Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.

²¹There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

²²In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

²³When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

²⁴He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.

²⁵It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.

²⁶All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

²⁷The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

²⁸The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

²⁹This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.