Job 20

1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,

Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

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

“I'm forced to reply because I'm really upset!

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

What I hear you say insults me, but I know how to reply to you!

4 Know you not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,

Don't you know that since ancient times, since human beings were put on this earth,

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

that the triumph of the wicked doesn't last long, that those who reject God are only happy for a short time?

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

Even though they are so tall they reach the heavens, even though their heads reach the clouds,

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

they will vanish forever like their own excrement. People who knew them will ask, ‘Where have they gone?’

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

They will vanish like a dream, never to be found, fleeing like a vision of the night.

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

Those who once saw them will not see them anymore; their families will never set eyes on them again.

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

Their children will have to pay back the poor; they will have to return their wealth.

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

Though the wicked have bodies that are young and strong, they will die and be buried.

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

Though evil tastes sweet in their mouths and they hide it under their tongues,

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

not letting it go but keeping it in their mouths,

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

in their stomachs it turns bitter, becoming like snake venom inside them.

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

They swallow wealth and vomit it up again; God forces it from their stomachs.

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

They suck in snake venom; the bite of the viper will kill them.

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

They will not live to enjoy the streams, the rivers of milk and honey.

18 That 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.

They will have to give back what they have gained and will not have any benefit; they will not enjoy any of their profits.

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

For they have oppressed and abandoned the poor; they have seized houses they did not build.

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

Because their greed was never satisfied, nothing they liked is left that they didn't consume.

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

Nothing escapes their ravenous appetites, so their happiness doesn't last long.

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

Even when the wicked have all that they want they run into trouble; all kinds of misery will fall upon them.

23 When 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.

While they are busy filling their bellies, God's hostility will burn against them, raining down on them.

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

As they flee to escape an iron weapon, a bronze arrow will strike them down.

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

The arrow is pulled out of their gall bladder, glistening with blood. They are absolutely terrified!

26 All 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.

All they value will disappear into the darkness; divine fire will destroy them; all they have left will go up in smoke.

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

The heavens reveal what they have done wrong; the earth will rise up against them.

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

All their possessions will be carried from their homes; they will be dragged off on the day of God's judgment.

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

This is the share the wicked receive from God, the inheritance God says they should have.”