Job 20
1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said:
Then answered Zophar the Na'amathite, and said,
2 For this do my thoughts lead me to reply, And for this is my ardor within me.
Even therefore do my inmost thoughts give me an answer, and for this reason do I feel a strong excitement within me.
3 I have heard my shameful rebuke; And the spirit, from my understanding, answereth for me.
Reproof which casteth shame on me must I hear; yet out of my understanding will the spirit give me an answer.
4 Knowest thou not, that from the days of old, From the time when man was placed upon the earth,
Dost thou know this? from the very beginning of things, from the very time when man was placed upon earth it was,
5 The triumphing of the wicked hath been short, And the joy of the impious but for a moment?
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.
6 Though his greatness mount up to the heavens, And his head reach to the clouds,
Though his exaltation should mount up to the heavens, and his head should reach unto the clouds;
7 Yet shall he perish for ever, and be mingled with dust; They who saw him shall say, Where is he?
Yet when he but turneth round will he vanish for ever; those who have seen him will say, Where is he?
8 He shall flee away like a dream, and shall not be found; Yea, he shall disappear like a vision of the nigh.
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.
9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more, And his dwelling-place shall never more behold him.
If an eye have surveyed him, it will not do so again, and it will not behold him any more in his place.
10 His sons shall seek the favor of the poor, And their hands shall give back his wealth.
His children will suffer oppression from the indigent, and his hands will have to restore his [ill-gotten] wealth.
11 His bones are full of his youth, But they shall lie down with him in the dust.
[Now] his bones are full of his youthful vigor; but it will [suddenly] lie down with him in the dust.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, Though he hide it under his tongue,
If the evil be sweet in his mouth, he will conceal it under his tongue;
13 Though he cherish it, and will not part with it, And keep it fast in his mouth,
He will cherish it, and not forsake it; and hold it back within his palate;
14 Yet his meat shall be changed within him, And become to him the poison of asps.
His food is thus changed within his bowels, and becometh the venom of asps within him.
15 He hath glutted himself with riches, And he shall throw them up again; Yea, God shall cast them out of his body.
The wealth which he hath swallowed, will he have to vomit up again; God will drive it out of his belly.
16 He shall suck the poison of asps; The tongue of the viper shall destroy him.
The poison of asps will he have to suck; the viper's tongue will slay him.
17 He shall never see the flowing streams, And the rivers of honey and milk.
He shall not look with pleasure on streams, on flowing brooks of honey and cream.
18 The fruits of his toil he shall give back, and shall not enjoy them: It is substance to be restored, and he shall not rejoice therein.
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.
19 Because he hath oppressed and abandoned the poor, And seized upon the house which he did not build;
Because he oppressed and forsook the indigent; because he took violently away a house, shall he not rebuild it;
20 Because he knew no rest in his bosom, He shall not save that in which he delighteth.
Because he knew not quietness in his bosom, shall he not escape through what is the most precious to him.
21 Because nothing escaped his greediness, His prosperity shall not endure.
Nothing was spared from his craving to eat: therefore shall his wealth not prosper.
22 In the fulness of his abundance he shall be brought low; Every hand of the wretched shall come upon him.
In the fulness of his abundance will distress assail him: every hand of [those he] troubled will come against him.
23 He shall, indeed, have wherewith to fill himself: God shall send upon him the fury of his anger, And rain it down upon him for his food.
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.
24 If he fleeth from the iron weapon, The bow of brass shall pierce him through.
If he flee from the iron weapon, the brazen bow will strike him through.
25 He draweth the arrow, and it cometh forth from his body; Yea, the glittering steel cometh out of his gall. Terrors are upon him;
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].
26 Calamity of every kind is treasured up for him. A fire not blown shall consume him; It shall consume whatever is left in his tent.
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.
27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him.
The heavens will lay open his iniquity; and the earth will raise herself up against him.
28 The substance of his house shall disappear; It shall flow away in the day of His wrath.
The product of his house will be banished, flowing away on the day of his wrath.
29 Such is the portion of the wicked man from God, And the inheritance appointed for him by the Almighty.
This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and his decreed heritage from God.
