Job 20 — Legacy Standard Bible

Zophar Says the Joy of the Wicked Is Short

20Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

²“Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me ¹respond,Even because of my haste within me.³“I listened to ^athe discipline which dishonors 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 ^ashouts of joy of the wicked are short,And ^bthe gladness of the godless momentary?⁶“Though his loftiness ^agoes up to 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 seek the favor of 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 mouthAnd he hides it under his tongue,¹³Though he ¹desires it and will not forsake it,And holds it ^ato his palate,¹⁴Yet his food in his stomach is changedTo the ¹venom of cobras within him.¹⁵“He swallows up wealth,But will ^avomit it up;God will expel it from his belly.¹⁶“He sucks ^athe poison of cobras;The viper’s tongue kills him.¹⁷“He does not look at ^athe streams,The rivers flowing with honey and curds.¹⁸“He ^areturns what he has attainedAnd cannot swallow it;As to the wealth of his trading,He cannot even enjoy it.¹⁹“For he has ^acrushed and forsaken the poor;He has seized a house which he has not built.²⁰“Because he knew no ease within his belly,In his covetousness, he does ^anot let anything escape.²¹“Nothing remains ¹for him to devour;Therefore ^ahis prosperity does not endure.²²“In the fullness of his plenty he will be confined;The ^ahand of everyone who is troubled will come against him.²³“So it will be that he ^afills his belly,And God will send His burning anger on himAnd 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;^bBouts of dread come upon him.²⁶Complete ^adarkness is held in reserve for his treasures;A ^bfire unfanned 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 inheritance decreed to him by God.”