Job 20
1 Then answered Zophar the Na'amathite, and said,
Respondens autem Sophar Naamathites, dixit:
2 Even therefore do my inmost thoughts give me an answer, and for this reason do I feel a strong excitement within me.
[Idcirco cogitationes meæ variæ succedunt sibi, et mens in diversa rapitur.
3 Reproof which casteth shame on me must I hear; yet out of my understanding will the spirit give me an answer.
Doctrinam qua me arguis audiam, et spiritus intelligentiæ meæ respondebit mihi.
4 Dost thou know this? from the very beginning of things, from the very time when man was placed upon earth it was,
Hoc scio a principio, ex quo positus est homo super terram,
5 That the triumphal shouting of the wicked is ever of but a recent date, and the joy of the hypocrite endureth only for a moment.
quod laus impiorum brevis sit, et gaudium hypocritæ ad instar puncti.
6 Though his exaltation should mount up to the heavens, and his head should reach unto the clouds;
Si ascenderit usque ad cælum superbia ejus, et caput ejus nubes tetigerit,
7 Yet when he but turneth round will he vanish for ever; those who have seen him will say, Where is he?
quasi sterquilinium in fine perdetur, et qui eum viderant, dicent: Ubi est?
8 Like a dream will he fly away, and men will find him no more; yea, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
Velut somnium avolans non invenietur: transiet sicut visio nocturna.
9 If an eye have surveyed him, it will not do so again, and it will not behold him any more in his place.
Oculus qui eum viderat non videbit, neque ultra intuebitur eum locus suus.
10 His children will suffer oppression from the indigent, and his hands will have to restore his [ill-gotten] wealth.
Filii ejus atterentur egestate, et manus illius reddent ei dolorem suum.
11 [Now] his bones are full of his youthful vigor; but it will [suddenly] lie down with him in the dust.
Ossa ejus implebuntur vitiis adolescentiæ ejus, et cum eo in pulvere dormient.
12 If the evil be sweet in his mouth, he will conceal it under his tongue;
Cum enim dulce fuerit in ore ejus malum, abscondet illud sub lingua sua.
13 He will cherish it, and not forsake it; and hold it back within his palate;
Parcet illi, et non derelinquet illud, et celabit in gutture suo.
14 His food is thus changed within his bowels, and becometh the venom of asps within him.
Panis ejus in utero illius vertetur in fel aspidum intrinsecus.
15 The wealth which he hath swallowed, will he have to vomit up again; God will drive it out of his belly.
Divitias quas devoravit evomet, et de ventre illius extrahet eas Deus.
16 The poison of asps will he have to suck; the viper's tongue will slay him.
Caput aspidum suget, et occidet eum lingua viperæ.
17 He shall not look with pleasure on streams, on flowing brooks of honey and cream.
(Non videat rivulos fluminis, torrentes mellis et butyri.)
18 He restoreth what he hath labored for, and will not swallow it down; however much he may have obtained by toil, he will not have any joy of it.
Luet quæ fecit omnia, nec tamen consumetur: juxta multitudinem adinventionum suarum, sic et sustinebit.
19 Because he oppressed and forsook the indigent; because he took violently away a house, shall he not rebuild it;
Quoniam confringens nudavit pauperes: domum rapuit, et non ædificavit eam.
20 Because he knew not quietness in his bosom, shall he not escape through what is the most precious to him.
Nec est satiatus venter ejus: et cum habuerit quæ concupierat, possidere non poterit.
21 Nothing was spared from his craving to eat: therefore shall his wealth not prosper.
Non remansit de cibo ejus, et propterea nihil permanebit de bonis ejus.
22 In the fulness of his abundance will distress assail him: every hand of [those he] troubled will come against him.
Cum satiatus fuerit, arctabitur: æstuabit, et omnis dolor irruet super eum.
23 In order to fill his belly, [God] will send out against him the fury of his wrath, and will rain it upon him for his eating.
Utinam impleatur venter ejus, ut emittat in eum iram furoris sui, et pluat super illum bellum suum.
24 If he flee from the iron weapon, the brazen bow will strike him through.
Fugiet arma ferrea, et irruet in arcum æreum.
25 He draweth it, and it cometh out of the body; yea, out of his gall the glittering [arrow] cometh forth: over him come the terrors [of death].
Eductus, et egrediens de vagina sua, et fulgurans in amaritudine sua: vadent et venient super eum horribiles.
26 Entire darkness is laid by for his treasures: a fire not urged by blowing will consume him; it will destroy any one that is left in his tent.
Omnes tenebræ absconditæ sunt in occultis ejus; devorabit eum ignis qui non succenditur: affligetur relictus in tabernaculo suo.
27 The heavens will lay open his iniquity; and the earth will raise herself up against him.
Revelabunt cæli iniquitatem ejus, et terra consurget adversus eum.
28 The product of his house will be banished, flowing away on the day of his wrath.
Apertum erit germen domus illius: detrahetur in die furoris Dei.
29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and his decreed heritage from God.
Hæc est pars hominis impii a Deo, et hæreditas verborum ejus a Domino.]
