Job 20

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¹Forsothe Sophar Naamathites answeride, and seide,

²Therfor my thouytis dyuerse comen oon aftir anothir; and the mynde is rauyischid in to dyuerse thingis.

³Y schal here the techyng, bi which thou repreuest me; and the spirit of myn vndurstondyng schal answere me.

⁴Y woot this fro the bigynnyng, sithen man was set on erthe,

⁵that the preisyng of wickid men is schort, and the ioie of an ypocrite is at the licnesse of a poynt.

⁶Thouy his pride `stieth in to heuene, and his heed touchith the cloudis,

⁷he schal be lost in the ende, as a dunghil; and, thei that sien hym, schulen seie, Where is he?

⁸As a dreem fleynge awei he schal not be foundun; he schal passe as `a nyytis siyt.

⁹The iye that siy hym schal not se; and his place schal no more biholde him.

¹⁰Hise sones schulen be `al to-brokun with nedynesse; and hise hondis schulen yelde to hym his sorewe.

¹¹Hise boonys schulen be fillid with the vices of his yong wexynge age; and schulen slepe with hym in dust.

¹²For whanne yuel was swete in his mouth, he hidde it vndur his tunge.

¹³He schal spare it, and schal not forsake it; and schal hide in his throte.

¹⁴His breed in his wombe schal be turned in to galle of snakis withynne.

¹⁵He schal spue out the richessis, whiche he deuouride; and God schal drawe tho ritchessis out of his wombe.

¹⁶He schal souke the heed of snakis; and the tunge of an addre schal sle hym.

¹⁷Se he not the stremys of the flood of the stronde, of hony, and of botere.

¹⁸He schal suffre peyne for alle thingis whiche he hath do, netheles he schal not be wastid; aftir the multitude of his fyndyngis, so and `he schal suffre.

¹⁹For he brake, and made nakid the hows of a pore man; he rauyschide, and bildide it not.

²⁰And his wombe was not fillid; and whanne he hath that, that he couetide, he may not holde in possessioun.

²¹`No thing lefte of his mete; and therfor no thing schal dwelle of his goodis.

²²Whanne he is fillid, he schal be maad streit; he schal `be hoot, and alle sorewe schal falle in on hym.

²³`Y wolde, that his wombe be fillid, that he sende out in to hym the ire of his strong veniaunce, and reyne his batel on hym.

²⁴He schal fle yrun armuris, and he schal falle in to a brasun boowe.

²⁵Led out, and goynge out `of his schethe, and schynynge, `ether smytinge with leit, `in to his bittirnesse; orrible fendis schulen go, and schulen come on hym.

²⁶Alle derknessis ben hid in hise priuytees; fier, which is not teendid, schal deuoure hym; he schal be turmentid left in his tabernacle.

²⁷Heuenes schulen schewe his wickidnesse; and erthe schal rise togidere ayens hym.

²⁸The seed of his hows schal be opyn; it schal be drawun doun in the dai of the strong veniaunce of the Lord.

²⁹This is the part of a wickid man, `which part is youun of God, and the eritage of hise wordis of the Lord.

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.