Job 20
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Job 20
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| Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, | Then Zophar the Naamathite made answer and said, |
| Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, Even by reason of my haste that is in me. | For this cause my thoughts are troubling me and driving me on. |
| I have heard the reproof which putteth me to shame; And the spirit of my understanding answereth me. | I have to give ear to arguments which put me to shame, and your answers to me are wind without wisdom. |
| Knowest thou [not] this of old time, Since man was placed upon earth, | Have you knowledge of this from early times, when man was placed on the earth, |
| That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless but for a moment? | That the pride of the sinner is short, and the joy of the evil-doer but for a minute? |
| Though his height mount up to the heavens, And his head reach unto the clouds; | Though he is lifted up to the heavens, and his head goes up to the clouds; |
| Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: They that have seen him shall say, Where is he? | Like the waste from his body he comes to an end for ever: those who have seen him say, Where is he? |
| He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: Yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. | He is gone like a dream, and is not seen again; he goes in flight like a vision of the night. |
| The eye which saw him shall see him no more; Neither shall his place any more behold him. | The eye which saw him sees him no longer; and his place has no more knowledge of him. |
| His children shall seek the favor of the poor, And his hands shall give back his wealth. | His children are hoping that the poor will be kind to them, and his hands give back his wealth. |
| His bones are full of his youth, But it shall lie down with him in the dust. | His bones are full of young strength, but it will go down with him into the dust. |
| Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, Though he hide it under his tongue, | Though evil-doing is sweet in his mouth, and he keeps it secretly under his tongue; |
| Though he spare it, and will not let it go, But keep it still within his mouth; | Though he takes care of it, and does not let it go, but keeps it still in his mouth; |
| Yet his food in his bowels is turned, It is the gall of asps within him. | His food becomes bitter in his stomach; the poison of snakes is inside him. |
| He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; God will cast them out of his belly. | He takes down wealth as food, and sends it up again; it is forced out of his stomach by God. |
| He shall suck the poison of asps: The viper's tongue shall slay him. | He takes the poison of snakes into his mouth, the tongue of the snake is the cause of his death. |
| He shall not look upon the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter. | Let him not see the rivers of oil, the streams of honey and milk. |
| That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down; According to the substance that he hath gotten, he shall not rejoice. | He is forced to give back the fruit of his work, and may not take it for food; he has no joy in the profit of his trading. |
| For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; He hath violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up. | Because he has been cruel to the poor, turning away from them in their trouble; because he has taken a house by force which he did not put up; |
| Because he knew no quietness within him, He shall not save aught of that wherein he delighteth. | There is no peace for him in his wealth, and no salvation for him in those things in which he took delight. |
| There was nothing left that he devoured not; Therefore his prosperity shall not endure. | He had never enough for his desire; for this cause his well-being will quickly come to an end. |
| In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him. | Even when his wealth is great, he is full of care, for the hand of everyone who is in trouble is turned against him. |
| When he is about to fill his belly, [God] will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating. | God gives him his desire, and sends the heat of his wrath on him, making it come down on him like rain. |
| He shall flee from the iron weapon, And the bow of brass shall strike him through. | He may go in flight from the iron spear, but the arrow from the bow of brass will go through him; |
| He draweth it forth, and it cometh out of his body; Yea, the glittering point cometh out of his gall: Terrors are upon him. | He is pulling it out, and it comes out of his back; and its shining point comes out of his side; he is overcome by fears. |
| All darkness is laid up for his treasures: A fire not blown [by man] shall devour him; It shall consume that which is left in his tent. | All his wealth is stored up for the dark: a fire not made by man sends destruction on him, and on everything in his tent. |
| The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him. | The heavens make clear his sin, and the earth gives witness against him. |
| The increase of his house shall depart; [His goods] shall flow away in the day of his wrath. | The produce of his house is taken away into another country, like things given into the hands of others in the day of wrath. |
| This is the portion of a wicked man from God, And the heritage appointed unto him by God. | This is the reward of the evil man, and the heritage given to him by God. |
