Job 20
1 Respondens autem Sophar Naamathites, dixit:
Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,
2 Idcirco cogitationes meæ variæ succedunt sibi, et mens in diversa rapitur.
“I'm forced to reply because I'm really upset!
3 Doctrinam qua me arguis audiam, et spiritus intelligentiæ meæ respondebit mihi.
What I hear you say insults me, but I know how to reply to you!
4 Hoc scio a principio, ex quo positus est homo super terram,
Don't you know that since ancient times, since human beings were put on this earth,
5 quod laus impiorum brevis sit, et gaudium hypocritæ ad instar puncti.
that the triumph of the wicked doesn't last long, that those who reject God are only happy for a short time?
6 Si ascenderit usque ad cælum superbia ejus, et caput ejus nubes tetigerit,
Even though they are so tall they reach the heavens, even though their heads reach the clouds,
7 quasi sterquilinium in fine perdetur, et qui eum viderant, dicent: Ubi est?
they will vanish forever like their own excrement. People who knew them will ask, ‘Where have they gone?’
8 Velut somnium avolans non invenietur: transiet sicut visio nocturna.
They will vanish like a dream, never to be found, fleeing like a vision of the night.
9 Oculus qui eum viderat non videbit, neque ultra intuebitur eum locus suus.
Those who once saw them will not see them anymore; their families will never set eyes on them again.
10 Filii ejus atterentur egestate, et manus illius reddent ei dolorem suum.
Their children will have to pay back the poor; they will have to return their wealth.
11 Ossa ejus implebuntur vitiis adolescentiæ ejus, et cum eo in pulvere dormient.
Though the wicked have bodies that are young and strong, they will die and be buried.
12 Cum enim dulce fuerit in ore ejus malum, abscondet illud sub lingua sua.
Though evil tastes sweet in their mouths and they hide it under their tongues,
13 Parcet illi, et non derelinquet illud, et celabit in gutture suo.
not letting it go but keeping it in their mouths,
14 Panis ejus in utero illius vertetur in fel aspidum intrinsecus.
in their stomachs it turns bitter, becoming like snake venom inside them.
15 Divitias quas devoravit evomet, et de ventre illius extrahet eas Deus.
They swallow wealth and vomit it up again; God forces it from their stomachs.
16 Caput aspidum suget, et occidet eum lingua viperæ.
They suck in snake venom; the bite of the viper will kill them.
17 (Non videat rivulos fluminis, torrentes mellis et butyri.)
They will not live to enjoy the streams, the rivers of milk and honey.
18 Luet quæ fecit omnia, nec tamen consumetur: juxta multitudinem adinventionum suarum, sic et sustinebit.
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 Quoniam confringens nudavit pauperes: domum rapuit, et non ædificavit eam.
For they have oppressed and abandoned the poor; they have seized houses they did not build.
20 Nec est satiatus venter ejus: et cum habuerit quæ concupierat, possidere non poterit.
Because their greed was never satisfied, nothing they liked is left that they didn't consume.
21 Non remansit de cibo ejus, et propterea nihil permanebit de bonis ejus.
Nothing escapes their ravenous appetites, so their happiness doesn't last long.
22 Cum satiatus fuerit, arctabitur: æstuabit, et omnis dolor irruet super eum.
Even when the wicked have all that they want they run into trouble; all kinds of misery will fall upon them.
23 Utinam impleatur venter ejus, ut emittat in eum iram furoris sui, et pluat super illum bellum suum.
While they are busy filling their bellies, God's hostility will burn against them, raining down on them.
24 Fugiet arma ferrea, et irruet in arcum æreum.
As they flee to escape an iron weapon, a bronze arrow will strike them down.
25 Eductus, et egrediens de vagina sua, et fulgurans in amaritudine sua: vadent et venient super eum horribiles.
The arrow is pulled out of their gall bladder, glistening with blood. They are absolutely terrified!
26 Omnes tenebræ absconditæ sunt in occultis ejus; devorabit eum ignis qui non succenditur: affligetur relictus in tabernaculo suo.
All they value will disappear into the darkness; divine fire will destroy them; all they have left will go up in smoke.
27 Revelabunt cæli iniquitatem ejus, et terra consurget adversus eum.
The heavens reveal what they have done wrong; the earth will rise up against them.
28 Apertum erit germen domus illius: detrahetur in die furoris Dei.
All their possessions will be carried from their homes; they will be dragged off on the day of God's judgment.
29 Hæc est pars hominis impii a Deo, et hæreditas verborum ejus a Domino.
This is the share the wicked receive from God, the inheritance God says they should have.”
