Job 20
1 Then responded Zophar the Naamathite, and said: —
Then Zophar the Naamathite answered by saying:
2 Not so, do my thoughts answer me, and to this end, is my haste within me:
In response, various thoughts succeed one another in me, and my mind moves quickly through different ideas.
3 The correction meant to confound me, I must hear, but, the spirit—out of my understanding, will give me a reply.
The teaching you use to admonish me, I will hear, and the spirit of my understanding will respond for me.
4 Knowest thou, this—from antiquity, from the placing of man upon earth: —
This, I know, is from the beginning, from the time that man was set over the earth:
5 That, the joy-shout of the lawless, is short, and, the rejoicing of the impious, for a moment?
that the praise of the impious shall be short, and the joy of the hypocrite lasts only a moment.
6 Though his elevation mount up to the heavens, and, his head, to the clouds, doth reach,
If his pride ascends even towards the heavens, and his head touches the clouds,
7 Like his own stubble, shall he utterly perish, They who had seen him, shall say, Where is he?
in the end, he will be destroyed like a trash heap, and those who had seen him will say: “Where is he?”
8 Like a dream, shall he fly away, and they shall not find him, yea he shall be chased away, as a vision of the night.
Like a dream that flies away, he will not be found; he will pass away like a nightmare.
9 The eye that hath scanned him, shall not do it again, neither, any more, shall his place behold him:
The eyes that had seen him, will not see him; no longer will his own place admire him.
10 His children, shall seek the favour of the poor, and, his own hand, shall give back his wealth.
His sons will be worn away by poverty, and his own hands will deliver his grief to him.
11 His bones, are full of youthful vigour, yet, with him—in the dust, shall it lie down.
His bones will be filled with the vices of his youth, and they will sleep with him in the dust.
12 Though, a sweet taste in his mouth, be given by vice, though he hide it under his tongue;
For, when evil will be sweet in his mouth, he will hide it under his tongue.
13 Though he spare it, and will not let it go, but retain it in the midst of his mouth,
He will permit it, and not abandon it, and he will conceal it in his throat.
14 His food, in his stomach, is changed, the gall of adders, within him!
His bread in his belly will be turned into the venom of snakes within him.
15 Wealth, hath he swallowed, and hath vomited the same, Out of his belly, shall, GOD, drive it forth:
The riches that he devours, he will vomit up, and from his stomach God will draw them out.
16 The poison of adders, shall he suck, The tongue of the viper shall slay him;
He will suck the head of snakes, and the tongue of the viper will kill him.
17 Let him not see in the channels the flowings of torrents of honey and milk.
(May he never see the streams of the river, the torrents of honey and butter.)
18 In vain, he toiled, he shall not swallow, like wealth to be restored, in which he cannot exult!
He will be repaid for all he has done, yet he will not be consumed; according to the multitude of his schemes, so also will he suffer.
19 For he hath oppressed—hath forsaken the poor, A house, hath he seized, which he cannot rebuild.
For, having broken in, he stripped the poor. He has quickly stolen away a house he did not build.
20 Surely he hath known no peace in his inmost mind, —With his dearest thing, shall he not get away:
And yet his stomach will not be satisfied, and when he has the things he desires, he will not be able to possess them.
21 Nothing escaped his devouring greed, —For this cause, shall his prosperity not continue:
Nothing remained of his portion, and, because of this, nothing will continue of his kind.
22 When his abundance is gone, he shall be in straits, All the power of distress, shall come upon him.
When he will be satisfied, he will be constrained; he will seethe, and all anguish will fall upon him.
23 It shall be that, to fill his belly, he will thrust at him the glow of his anger, and rain [it] upon him for his punishment.
May his stomach be filled, so that God may send forth the fury of his wrath to him and may rain down his battle upon him.
24 He shall flee from the armour of iron, —There shall pierce him, a bow of bronze!
He will flee from weapons of iron, and he will fall in an arc of brass,
25 He hath drawn it out, and it hath come forth out of his back, —yea the flashing arrow-head, out of his gall, There shall march on him—terrors:
which had been drawn and had issued forth from its sheath, glittering in its bitterness: the horrible ones will go forth and approach over him.
26 Every misfortune, is laid up for his treasures, —There shall consume, a fire, not blown up, —it shall destroy what remaineth in his tent:
All darkness has been hidden in his secrecy. A fire that has not been set will devour him; he will be thrown down and forsaken in his tabernacle.
27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, and, the earth, be rising up against him:
The heavens will reveal his sinfulness, and the earth will rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house shall vanish, melting away in the day of his anger.
The offspring of his house will be exposed; he will be pulled down in the day of God’s wrath.
29 This, is the portion of the lawless man, from God, and the inheritance decreed him from the Mighty One.
This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the inheritance of his words from the Lord.
