Job 20

Zophar’s Heated Response

1 Then Zophar from Naamath jumped in and said,

2 “My thoughts got me heated, and my feelings push me to speak up.

3 You been throwing insults at me, but I got the knowledge to set the record straight.”

The Wicked’s Short-lived Shine

4 “Do you not know this from way back, since humans first walked the earth.

5 The joy of the wicked is short, the hype of the godless lasts just a minute.

6 Even if his pride touches the sky, head high as the clouds.

7 He will vanish forever like his own waste, those who knew him will say, ‘Where he at?’

8 He disappears like a dream, gone like a vision in the night.

9 Eyes that saw him will not see him again; his own place will not even know him.

The Collapse of His House

10 His kids must beg the poor, his own hands give back what he stole.

11 His bones full of youthful energy, but it lays down with him in the dust.

12 Evil might taste sweet in his mouth, he hides it under his tongue.

13 He savors it, holds onto it, will not let it go.

14 But that food in his stomach turns sour, becomes snake poison inside him.

15 He swallows riches but throws them back up, God makes him vomit it all out.

16 What he sucked up was cobra venom; snake fangs strike him down.

Losing It All

17 He will not see streams of honey, rivers flowing with milk and cream.

18 He gives back what he earned, cannot enjoy it; trades and deals bring him no joy.

19 Because he crushed the poor, left them empty; snatched houses he is not build.

20 His belly never satisfied, nothing he desires slips by him.

21 Nothing is left to eat, so his wealth cannot last.

22 In the middle of plenty, he has stressed out; misery hits when he thinks he is secure.

23 When he is about to fill his stomach, God’s anger rains on him, pelts him with fire.

24 He runs from iron weapons, but a bronze arrow pierces him.

25 He pulls it out his back, the shining point through his liver, terror takes hold.

The Judgment of God

26 All darkness waits for his treasure; fire not lit by humans devours him, burns what is left in his tent.

27 The heavens expose his guilt, earth rises up against him.

28 His household wealth vanishes, swept away in the day of God’s wrath.

29 This the portion God gives the wicked, the heritage God lays on him.”